16-20th April 2018. Rebecca Jones and Conservation Volunteers Australia set up an experimental restoration planting of the critically endangered Eucalyptus morrisbyi
19th-23rd March 2018. In the leadup to National Eucalypt Day on Friday 23rd March, the Life Sciences foyer is filled with all-things-Eucalyptus from scientific posters, historical documents, wood products and weird gum nuts to food, beverages and medicinal products. At the Morris Miller library, historical specimens from the Herbarium are displayed alongside rarely seen illustrations from the University’s Rare Books Collection.
On Friday 23rd March at 11am there will be tastings of eucalypt-smoked cheese and an exotic eucalypt liqueur from a Roman monastery. There will also be a demonstration of ecodyeing with Tasmanian eucalypts.
At 12:30pm there will be a tour of notable eucalypts growing in the gardens of the UTAS campus, guided by Eucaflip authors Professor Brad Potts and Dr Rob Wiltshire. Meet at the Eucalyptus globulus var. “compacta” outside the tea room, near the picnic tables on the Herbarium roof.
17th January 2018. Tanya Bailey presented a talk “Establishing resilient ecological restoration in the face of future climate uncertainty” at the Australian Native Plants Society Biennial Conference, Wrest Point Casino Hobart 2018
8th December 2017. Eucalypt taxonomist Dr Dean Nicolle visited the group.
5-6th December 2017. Jules Freeman presented a talk, at the Myrtle Rust Environmental Impacts Workshop in Canberra, titled ‘Eucalypts: susceptibility and resistance’.
28th – 30th November 2017. Brad Potts, René Vaillancourt and PhD students Henry Nicholas and Manuel Rocha attended the technical meeting of the Southern Tree Breeding Association in Melbourne. Brad, Henry and Manuel gave talks.
29 November 2017. Rebecca Jones presented a talk at the meeting of Tasmanian Molecular Ecologists, IMAS, Hobart.
12-14, September 2017. Peter Harrison, Tom Baker and Zara Marais presented talks at the 3rd conference on “ Restoring Forests: regeneration and Ecosystem Function for the Future” in Lund, Sweden
4-8th Sept 2017. Peter Harrison visited Prof. Tom Whitham at the Marriam-Powell Centre for Environmental Research at the Northern Arizona University. He presented a talk to his research group as well as visited field sites which were part of the Southwest Experimental Garden Array (http://www.sega.nau.edu/)
28 August 2017 – Peter Harrison presented two talks entitled “Climate adaptation and provenance choice for ecological restoration: insights from Eucalyptus” and “Is local best? A 60 year review of provenance trials in Australia” at the 2017 Ecological Society for Restoration VII World Conference on Ecological Restoration held in Iguassu, Brazil.
21 August 2017 – Brad Potts presented a talk entitled “Landscape scale restoration planting in the Tasmanian Midlands” at the Forest Practices Authority 2017 Research update meeting in Hobart.
20-21 July 2017 – Peter Harrison and Tanya Bailey attended “National Guidelines for Experimental Restoration Plantings” workshop at CSIRO Black Mountain Science & Innovation Park, Canberra.
11 May 2017 Brad Potts attended the Conservation Landholders Tasmania’s forum on “Climate change and conservation properties”, in Campbell Town, Tasmania and presented a talk co-authored by Peter Harrison and others on “Modelling the impact of climate change on species distribution”.
13 April 2017 we will be saying farewell to Dr John Senior (who just completed his PhD) and John will be telling us what he will be doing in his postdoc position in Sweden.
6 April 2017 – Dorothy Steane present an invited seminar titled Using genomics to increase resilience of forest tree plantings at the School of Biological Sciences of Monash University.
23 March 2017 – NATIONAL EUCALYPT DAY. The School of Biological Sciences, the ARC Training Centre for Forest Value and the Morris Miller Library are teaming up with the State Library of Tasmania and the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens to celebrate Australia’s iconic eucalypts. Make some time to wander up to the foyer of the Life Sciences Building where you will find a vibrant display of all-things-Eucalyptus, from scientific posters, historical documents, wood products and weird gum nuts to medicinal products and exotic beverages. Visit the Morris Miller Library to see historical specimens from the Tasmanian Herbarium displayed alongside rarely seen illustrations from the University of Tasmania’s Rare Books Collection. At the UTAS Inveresk campus, a display of local Eucalyptus species, seedlings and eucalypt timber products of all kinds will adorn the foyer of the School of Architecture and Design. The Royal Tasmanian Botanic Gardens will be taking a guided tour of the many special Tasmanian Eucalyptus species that are growing in the gardens. The Hobart branch of the State Library of Tasmania is giving visitors a rare glimpse the 1788 publication in which the genus Eucalyptus was first described.
2 March 2017 – Euc group meeting at 11:15 am, in Room 227. Jak Butler who went to “PAG” in January, and Akira Weller-Wong and Co. who went to the “Restoration Conference” at UNE, Armidale a few weeks ago will describe their experience.
17 February 2017 – Dorothy Steane and Brad Potts were awarded a small grant from the Dahl Trust ($15,000) in February 2017. The grant will contribute to research that aims to develop methods of using rapid genomic screening to assist with selection of seed for climate-resilient ecological restoration plantings.
17 February 2017 – Tanya Bailey present a seminar entitled “Maintenance, repairs and insurance: ecological restoration in the Tasmanian Midlands and beyond” to the School of Biological Sciences, Utas.
17 February 2017 – Brad Potts was invited to speak at the VICNATURE 2050 workshop on “Building “climate future plots: designing trials to usefully inform management”. Arthur Rylah Research Institute, Heidelberg Victoria.
5 -9 February 2017 – ARC Centre for Forest Value Postdoctoral fellow Dr Tanya Bailey and students Stuart MacDonald, Claire Ranyard, Nicolo Camarretta, Yolanda Hanusch and Akira Weller-Wong attended the “Restore Regenerate Revegetate” conference at the University of New England, Armidale NSW. Tanya gave an oral presentation “Is local best? Testing forest tree provenancing strategies using field trials embedded in restoration plantings in Tasmania” in the seed genetics and management symposium and Stuart Macdonald presented a talk on “Recalcitrant soil C:N ratios, alternate states persist in woodland restoration” in the Soils and Restoration symposium. Posters by Claire, Nicolo, Yolanda and Akira outlining their projects were well received .
PhD student Jakob Butler attended the 2017 Plant and Animal Genome Conference in San Diego, California, USA in Jan 2017 and presented a poster entitled “ Comparative analysis of the terpene synthase gene family between Eucalyptus and Corymbia”
22 December 2016 – Our Dean’s Summer Research students, Radhika Mani and Sambavi Singarasa, will give a presentation that is the final requirement for their summer scholarship.
8 December 2016 – John Senior presents “Plant-soil interactions: a phylogenetic perspective from eucalypts” at the Eucalypt Genetics / Forest Value group meeting.
16-18 November 2016 – Dorothy Steane, Rebecca Jones and Jakob Butler present at Phylomania 2016 in Hobart.
10 November 2016 – Richard Kerr (PlantPlan Genetics) presents “Single-step genomic selection in Australian forest tree improvement programs” at the Eucalypt Genetics / Forest Value group meeting.
27 October 2016 – Jakob Butler presents “Comparative analysis of the terpene synthase gene family in different eucalypt lineages” at the Eucalypt Genetics / Forest Value group meeting.
23-26 October 2016 – Tanya Bailey presents at the Australian Forest Growers National Conference in Launceston.
13 October 2016 – Tanya Bailey presents “Establishing resilient ecological restoration in the face of future climate uncertainty” at the Eucalypt Genetics / Forest Value group meeting.
Several new eucalypt genetics PhD projects have been listed at http://www.utas.edu.au/research/degrees/available-phd-projects
6-7 October 2016 – Honours students Jess Newman and Hans Ammitzboll present their final Honours seminars in the School of Biological Sciences seminar series.
30 September 2016 – Kay Hodgins (Monash University) visits the group and gives a seminar: “The genomic basis of adaptation in conifers”
16 September 2016 – Akira Weller-Wong introduces his Honours project in the School of Biological Sciences seminar series: “Seed selection for resilient restoration plantings of Eucalyptus”
9 September 2016 – Rebecca Jones presents “A robust phylogeny of a globally significant Eucalyptus lineage” in the School of Biological Sciences seminar series.
1 September 2016 – Nathan Kotlarewski presents “New Product Development in the Timber Industry” at the Eucalypt Genetics / Forest Value group meeting.
18 August 2016 – Matt Larcombe (University of Otago) presents “Species distribution models and the phylogeography of niche space in conifers” at the Eucalypt Genetics / Forest Value group meeting.
16 August 2016 – Congratulations to Dr Mario Vega who received his PhD in the UTAS graduation ceremonies this week.
4 August 2016 – Workshop: “Making sure less garbage goes in to your analysis, so less garbage comes out” at the Eucalypt Genetics / Forest Value group meeting, presented by Greg Dutkowski (PlantPlan Genetics).
21 July 2016 – Workshop: “How to peer review scientific papers” at the Eucalypt Genetics / Forest Value group meeting.
19-20 July 2016 – Jules Freeman attends the workshop “Approaches for selection in eucalypts using genomic data” and the symposium “Forest industry preparedness for climate change: opportunities from genetics and genomics” organised by CSIRO in Canberra.
7 July 2016 – Rebecca Jones presents “A robust phylogeny of a globally significant Eucalyptus lineage” at the Eucalypt Genetics / Forest Value group meeting.
30 May to 3 June, 2016 – Dorothy Steane attends IUFRO Genomics and Forest Tree Genetics Conference in Arcachon, France
12 May 2016 – Dorothy Steane presents ‘Using genomic information to increase resilience of re-afforestation’ at the Eucalypt Genetics / Forest Value group meeting.
29 April 2016 – Mario Vega presents his final PhD seminar entitled ‘Characterisation of Eucalyptus nitens plantations for veneer production’ to the School of Biological Sciences (LTH2).
21 April 2016 – Mario Vega will present his PhD research “Characterisation of Eucalyptus nitens plantations for veneer production” at the next Eucalypt Genetics / Forest Value group meeting.
6-8 April 2016 – Brad Potts, Dorothy Steane and Peter Harrison attend “Restoring Australia’s future: a synthesis of Australian provenance trials in a climate change context” workshop at the University of Adelaide.
31 Mar 2016 – Assoc Prof Barbara Holland (School of Physical Sciences, Discipline of Mathematics) presents “A simulation-based attempt to measure the importance of hybridisation” at the Eucalypt Genetics / Forest Value group meeting.
23 Mar 2016 – the group celebrates National Eucalypt Day with a eucalypt-themed display in our foyer, and tastings of the famous Eucalyptus liqueur made by the Trappist monks of the Tre Fontane Abbey in Rome (Eucalittino delle Tre Fontane)
22 Mar 2016 – Jak Butler attends the Corymbia Genome Workshop at UQ in Brisbane. Jules Freeman, Brad Potts and René Vaillancourt participate via Skype.
18 Mar 2016 – Brad Potts, Tanya Bailey and Rebecca Jones attend the Bjarne K Dahl Trust / Royal Society of Victoria Symposium “Conserving eucalypts: the why and the how” in Melbourne. Members of the group coauthored two talks and three posters at the event.
14-18 Mar 2016 – Jak Butler has prepared two posters for the Forest Genetics for Productivity Conference in Rotorua, New Zealand titled: 1) Symptomless and hypersensitive resistance of Eucalyptus globulus to the rust pathogen Puccinia psidii; and 2) Structural differences between the genomes of the major eucalypt lineages.
02 March 2016 – Hans Ammitzboll and Jess Newman will practice their Introductory Honours Seminars at the Eucalypt Genetics / Forest Value group meeting.
18 February 2016 – Guest speaker at Eucalypt Genetics / Forest Value group meeting: Sylvain Delzon (INRA, University of Bordeaux, France) – phenological adaptive responses of oak and beech to altitudinal gradients.
9-12 Feb 2016 – Dr Dorothy Steane and PhD student Peter Harrison will attend the “Species on the Move” conference in Hobart.
04 Feb 2016 – First Eucalypt Genetics / Forest Value group meeting for 2016
28 Jan 2016 – Official opening of the ARC Training Centre for Forest Value. (https://www.greeningaustralia.org.au/news/transforming-forest-value-in-tasmania)
26-27 Nov 2015 – Brad Potts and René Vaillancourt attended the technical committee meeting of the Southern Tree Breeding Association in Melbourne.
20 Nov 2015 – Brad Potts spoke at the CSIRO-IFA workshop on “Creating our future: Facilitating innovation in the forest sector”
13 Nov 2015 – Jak Butler presented his PhD Confirmation Seminar “Genomic studies in Eucalyptus and Corymbia”.
30 Oct 2015 – Brad Potts was awarded an ARC Discovery grant titled “Genetics of species divergence and hybridisation in Eucalyptus” for 2016-18.
Eucalypt Genetics Research Group 