Description
The School of Biological Sciences at the University of Tasmania researches the ecology, function and genetics of flora and fauna The School of Biological Sciences can be primarily divided into two areas of research; Plant Science and Zoology.
Plant Science
The Discipline of Plant Science has international recognition for its teaching and research. It is an ideal location for the study of botany, with a varied vegetation of sclerophyll woodlands, tall wet eucalyptus forests, temperate rain forests; all with easy access of the hobart campus.
The rich diverse flora of fungi, lichens, mosses, ferns, algae and seed plants provides many opportunities to study the impact of ecological processes and patterns in both past and present floras.
In particular, Plant Science has worldwide recognition on the control of plant development by environmental factors and genetic makeup.
A dynamic ecology program undertakes a range of research with particular focus on landscape-scale change driven by management regimes, natural processes and global climate change.
All these research programs will produce rigorous scientific data to underpin community debate and discussion.
Zoology
Tasmania is an ideal location to study Zoology. It offers special opportunities for zoologists due to its unique, rich and fascinating fauna, its biogeographical history and relatively easy access to pristine terrestrial, marine and freshwater habitats.
- We offer an unbeatable opportunity to learn about Zoology by studying globally important fauna with top-class researchers.
- We are the only Australian university with alpine habitat on our doorstep.
- We are close to wilderness areas, which form natural laboratories for our students.
- We have access to more freshwater systems than any other Australian state.
- We focus on 'whole animal' biology so our students can expect to see, study and handle live animals both in the laboratory and in the field.
If you would like to know more about either of these disciplines, please feel free to email us at Biological.Sciences@utas.edu.au or on our website utas.edu.au
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Happy 2017 from all of us at UTAS School of Biological Sciences! After years of travelling between Europe and Australia, Hannah MacGregor finally completed her PhD project! Her PhD was entitled 'The consequences of sexual selection in the common wall lizard: insights following secondary contact and non-native introductions', under the supervision of Geoff While (University of Tasmania) and Tobias Uller (Lund University). Congratulations Hannah, an incredible way to start the new year! To learn more about Hannah's research, check out the new 'Behavioural and Evolutionary Ecology Research' group (BEER) website: www.beergrouputas.wordpress.com
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After many years of hard work, Leslie Watson-Mannix finally completed her PhD research project and submitted her thesis today! Her PhD was entitled "Sea anemones of the southern ocean: ecology, Phylogenetic relationships, life history an population genomics", under the supervision of Erik Wapstra, Karen Miller (AIMS), Jonny Stark and Glen Johnstone (Australian Antarctic Division) . A massive congratulations to you Leslie!
ABC iview : ABC News Sunday (TAS) - 18/12/2016
UTAS School of Biological Sciences PhD candidate Alynn Martin and wildlife ecologist Scott Carver were featured on the national ABC News Sunday program yesterday, discussing the sarcoptic mange disease that is affecting wombat populations in Tasmania. Click on the following link to watch the coverage (starts at 18min 43 seconds): http://iview.abc.net.au/programs/abc-news-sunday-tas/NN1614T051S00 People wishing to help can make tax-deductable donations through the following link: http://www.utas.edu.au/giving/research Thank you for representing the University of Tasmania, and sharing your passion and research with the world, Alynn and Scott!
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UTAS School of Biological Sciences Honours student Elise Ringwaldt was featured on The Mercury this week. She discusses her work on Chytridiomycosis, a disease threatening amphibian populations across the globe. 'Tasmanian tree frog and froglet populations, however, are not affected by this fungal disease' says Ringwaldt. Check out the article below. Congratulations on graduating with a First Class Honours Elise! And congratulations to all students graduating from the University of Tasmania this week.
UTAS School of Biological Sciences (SBS) Honours Seminar Tuesday, 20th December, 2:00 pm Life Sciences, Lecture Theatre ONE All welcome! 2:00 pm: Kerry Thomasson “Stressed out! Can oxytocin reduce stress-induced behaviour in dogs?” 2:15 pm: Ash Cresswell “Nanobrewing: testing lots of hops in the lab”
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Congratulations to UTAS School of Biological Sciences Prof Steven M Smith and A/ Prof Tim Brodribb for being listed as Thomson Reuters Highly Cited Researchers for 2016! Steve and Tim are 2 of 14 'Plant and Animal Science' researchers from Australia, and 2 of only 3 researchers from the University of Tasmania that were listed in 2016. The Highly Cited Researchers are the top 1% researchers in their field with global influence and impact, based on publication and citation figures drawn from Web of Science™. There are 3,265 researchers on the 2016 list, and these researchers have contributed markedly high numbers of top-cited papers over a recent eleven year period, 2004-2014. Congratulations to Steve and Tim for being amongst the best in what they do, and to those who also made it onto the list!
Photos from UTAS School of Biological Sciences's post
UTAS School of Biological Sciences PhD student Nicolò Camarretta and Honours student Akira Weller-wong have been out with their supervisor Dr Tanya Bailey assessing 6 year old restoration plantings at Dungrove, near Bothwell in the Southern Midlands. Nicolò is developing ways of measuring the structural complexity of the plantings and nearby remnant vegetation using both ground measurements and remote sensing. Here he is using a Zeb1 handheld Lidar sensor, with the polystyrene balls on sticks enabling him to geo reference the scans and eventually link it to scans from drones flown over the plantings. Akira is measuring the survival, heights and canopy widths of the plantings in a Eucalyptus pauciflora genetics trial to assess whether there are population effects in plant fitness. Despite the damage done by feral deer, the plantings are developing well and some Eucalyptus tenuiramis are now flowering. Contact Tanya Bailey for more information on the projects: Tanya.Bailey@utas.edu.au
Epidemic host community contribution to mosquito-borne disease transmission: Ross River virus | Epidemiology & Infection | Cambridge Core
Ross River virus is Australia's most important mosquito-borne disease with 1,500 – 8,000 human clinical cases per year, costing $15 million to the national economy. This virus is naturally transmitted between mosquitoes and marsupials, and spills over to humans when infected mosquitoes feed upon them. However, there is little known about the transmission of Ross River virus among non-human animals. UTAS School of Biological Sciences Iain Koolhof has made an important contribution to understanding this by studying the transmission of Ross River Virus among both humans and other animals. He studied this across five national areas where disease epidemics frequently occur. In each case he identified the relative importance of different animals involved in transmission. This study was published in the journal of Epidemiology and Infection by Cambridge University Press. Click on the following link to read the full article: http://bit.ly/2giFaLQ Congratulations on your first publication Iain!
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UTAS School of Biological Sciences Seminar Series: John Senior “Plant-soil interactions: a phylogenetic perspective from eucalypts” (Final PhD Seminar) Friday, 9th, November 4:00 pm Life Sciences, Lecture Theatre ONE All welcome!
Andrew Dobson Lab
UTAS School of Biological Sciences Seminar Series: Professor Andrew Dobson (Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University) "The Eye of the Finch: Evolutionary Dynamics of an Emerging Pathogen" Thursday, 8th, December 10am Life Sciences, Lecture Theatre TWO All welcome! Andy is pre-eminent in the field of the population and community ecology of infectious diseases. He works in a variety of ecosystems across the globe. Please visit his website: https://www.princeton.edu/~dobber/
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Professor Hongxuan He, one of our collaborators in Beijing, will be giving a special seminar at the Medical Sciences Precinct tomorrow. Title: Surveillance and control of Wildlife borne diseases in China Date: Friday 2 December 2016 Time: 11.00 am– 12.00 noon Venue: Medical Sciences Precinct, MS1 lecture theatre 105 Speaker: Professor Hongxuan He Executive Deputy Director National Research Center for Wildlife Borne Diseases, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences All welcome! He will be here in the UTAS School of Biological Sciences tomorrow afternoon. If you would like to meet Professor He, please contact Steve Smith (steven.smith@utas.edu.au) or Menna Jones (Menna.Jones@utas.edu.au).
Last Devils
A new documentary on Tasmanian devils airs tonight on National Geographic Wild at 7:30pm. It was filmed almost entirely in the North West Tasmania and shows never before seen footage of wild Tasmanian devil behaviour. Check it out and catch a glimpse of UTAS School of Biological Sciences' Dr Gini Andersen's Tasmanian devil video collar footage! Click on the following link to find out more about the program: http://www.nationalgeographic.com.au/tv/last-devils/ Well done Gini for sharing your hardwork from your project at the University of Tasmania and contributing to the amazing documentary.
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