Life. Department of Animal and Plant Sciences. Newsletter | Autumn 2016
THANKS FOR CONSIDERING SHEFFIELD. We want to make sure you have everything you need to make an informed decision. Over the next few pages you can find out what’s new in Animal and Plant Sciences, and see what some of our staff and students have been getting up to recently. There are also details, below, about our Departmental Open Days in December, February and March. We hope to see you again soon. Dr Andrew Beckerman Director of Admissions
Departmental Open Days If you apply for a place in Animal and Plant Sciences, and we make you an offer, you’re automatically invited to a Departmental Open Day. On these visits, you get to spend more time with staff and students, who will tell you about their courses and the research they do. You can also visit the University of Sheffield exhibition to get details about funding, and take tours of the Students’ Union and our accommodation. APS open days are held between December and March – we get in touch with a choice of dates as quickly as we can once we receive your application, but we’ve also included them on this page so you can plan ahead. They’re a great opportunity for you to ask any questions you might have. 2
Departmental Open Day dates – 2016/17 WEDNESDAY 7 DECEMBER WEDNESDAY 8 FEBRUARY FRIDAY 17 FEBRUARY WEDNESDAY 22 FEBRUARY FRIDAY 24 FEBRUARY WEDNESDAY 8 MARCH
Climate change New £10m centre to tackle climate change launched at Royal Society The University of Sheffield is home to a new research centre that will work on finding safe and affordable ways to remove large amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The Leverhulme Centre for Climate Change Mitigation (LC3M) is being led by Professor David Beerling FRS, our Sorby Professor of Natural Sciences. LC3M aims to revolutionise the way scientists deal with climate change. Its focus is on how enhanced rock weathering can cool the Earth’s temperature by safely removing greenhouse gases from the atmosphere, at the same time as mitigating ocean acidification. A launch for LC3M was held at The Royal Society in London in September. David was elected a Fellow of The Royal Society in 2014, for the contributions he has made to how we understand the co-evolution of plants and the environment. This new endeavour will bring together University of Sheffield scientists and social scientists, with researchers from the Universities of Sheffield, Cardiff, Southampton, California (Riverside) and Illinois, as well as the Open University and the South East Asia Rainforest Research Programme. Research will be carried out in the labs here in Sheffield, and through field studies in the USA and Malaysian Borneo.
“Global climate change is one of the greatest challenges facing humanity. As recognised by the targets set in Paris at the end of 2015 there is an urgent need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions whilst at the same time developing methods to remove atmospheric CO2. “Enhanced rock weathering involves natural reactions that take place in soils and have been stabilising Earth’s climate for millennia. LC3M aims to take this knowledge and develop new, large-scale carbon capture strategies for croplands that will contribute to international efforts to mitigate climate change.” Professor David Beerling
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Field courses Between second and third year, our students get to go on an unforgettable field course in Borneo, Sweden, Portugal, Anglesey or the Peak District. Here, two of the students who went on this summer’s field courses share their experiences. CLOCKWISE FROM RIGHT: Behavioural Ecology in Portugal, Arctic Ecosystems in Sweden, Marine Ecology in Anglesey
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“The Anglesey marine ecology field course offered the chance to work with and study an ecosystem unlike anything we have here in Sheffield. It was very hands-on from the beginning, the entire group enjoying the childlike charm of rock pooling with the added rigour of scientific observation and study, as we developed our project ideas. “We learnt a huge amount in terms of species identification (from seaweed to snails to crabs) and also in the area of project design, learning how to craft a research topic that is interesting, exciting and achievable.”
“I really enjoyed the Sweden field course. On the trip I had the opportunity to plan and carry out a research project which gave me a much deeper understanding of the scientific process. I found the data collection really exciting, especially as the landscape we were surrounded by was so amazing. I enjoyed my project so much I decided to change my choice of dissertation topic! “On the trip I also made lots of new friends and it was great to work with so many new people with different ideas. It was a great adventure!” Hannah Ravenswater
Richard Bourton 5
Year abroad Our Biology with a Year Abroad degree gives students the chance to spend a year of their course studying at a top university in the USA, Canada or Australia. As she starts the fourth year of her MBioSci degree, we asked Barbara Ojei Agwaziam to tell us about the year she spent at Drexel University in Philadelphia.
“For my study abroad, I got the opportunity to go to Philadelphia for a year and study at Drexel University, one of the top 100 universities in the States. It was an amazing experience that truly brought me out of my shell. I got to get involved in a range of things, from field trips where I was knee deep in water studying the organisms in Lake Lacawac, to taking an environmental law class and learning about the American legal system. “However, it wasn’t all studying. I also got to discover all that Philadelphia had to offer, from a vibrant culinary scene, world renowned orchestras and the setting to many pop culture classics such as Rocky. I also made time to travel around the US, from Chicago to San Francisco to New Orleans. “All in all it was a truly amazing year and something which I would recommend to everyone. Studying abroad allowed be to become more independent, because my parents were no longer a car ride away, and I got to meet people from all over the world. I was also exposed to a different way of thinking and teaching which has helped me become more open-minded and adaptable, skills which I know will be invaluable when it comes to applying for jobs, especially in this era of globalisation.” Barbara Ojei Agwaziam 6
Research round-up When they aren’t teaching, our staff are producing world-class research. Here are some of the latest findings from Animal and Plant Sciences. Female birds select sperm ‘super swimmers’ to fertilise eggs Dr Nicola Hemmings found that sperm with specific ‘looks’ are selected to fertilise bird eggs more often. In a paper for the Royal Society journal Biology Letters, she explained that fewer than one per cent of inseminated sperm reach the egg, but successful sperm are more likely to have shorter heads and longer tails. Study finds gene responsible for changes in butterfly colour patterns A gene called cortex controls some of the major differences in butterfly warning colour patterns, according to a study led by Dr Nicola Nadeau. Researchers studied the wing colour patterns of the Heliconius, also known as passion-vine butterflies, a species of brightly coloured butterfly found in the rainforests of Latin America. C4 photosynthesis boosts plant growth by altering leaves and roots A sudy led by Professor Colin Osborne showed that plants using C4 photosynthesis grow 20-100 per cent quicker than more common C3, plants by altering the shape, size and structure of their leaves and roots. These findings could help scientists make crops more sustainable. READ MORE STORIES AT WWW.SHEFFIELD.AC.UK/NEWS
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STAY IN TOUCH +44 (0)114 222 0123 animal.plant@sheffield.ac.uk www.sheffield.ac.uk/aps