RIP Mr Lee Kuan Kuan Yew

“Mr Lee Kuan Yew dedicated his entire life in service of our nation and its people. His leadership was always marked by hope and a sense of collective purpose, inspiring us all to work towards an ever better Singapore. We mourn the passing of an eminent alumnus, an inspirational leader, and a Singapore icon. Our thoughts are with PM and Mrs Lee, and the Lee family during this difficult time.”
– Prof Tan Chorh Chuan, NUS President

“NUS and Singapore have lost a great man. As Prime Minister, Mr Lee Kuan Yew and his team transformed an island with no natural resources into a thriving, cosmopolitan city – all in just one generation. Mr Lee focused on education as a key pillar for national development, and for this, we will always be grateful. We are proud that he was a part of Raffles College and NUS. We are deeply saddened by his passing, and send our condolences to PM Lee, Mrs Lee and the Lee family.”
– Prof Tan Eng Chye, Deputy President (Academic Affairs) and Provost

The NUS community is invited to share their thoughts in memory of Mr Lee on the NUS Facebook page.

Talk: Weevils with weapons: alternative mating tactics & exaggerated trait evolution in brentine weevils

With the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum now located halfway across the Kent Ridge campus and the advent of common labs at S3 and S14, catching up with the rest of the NUS Biodiversity Crew isn’t as convenient as the corridor talk that used to happen at S2.

However, I learnt about Spider Lab’s new postdoctoral research fellow – Chrissie Painting – and her work in Singapore through twitter, where she frequently posts images of her field sightings, specimens, and quips about Science. Chrissie will be working on jumping spider sexual selection, and will be giving a talk as part of an existing series organised by Seshadri. Would try to catch this! Talk details below:

Abstract

Many animal species have evolved weaponry as a means to resolve conflict between conspecifics in the acquisition of mates. In those species with high size variation, it is common for there to be alternative mating tactics, where dominant individuals behave differently to subordinate males during mate searching and copulation. Despite these alternative mating tactics, subordinate males are usually thought to have a lower mating success than dominant males, and are simply making the best of a bad situation. Males of the New Zealand giraffe weevil (Lasiorhynchus barbicornis) possess greatly elongated rostrums used as weapons during contests with other males for access to females. However, adult males are also highly size variable such that there is a 6-fold difference between the smallest and largest equivalent-aged individuals. I will discuss findings from my PhD research on the mating system of this species, in particular focusing on the evolution of flexible alternative mating tactics and our current evidence for sexual selection on male rostrum size. I will also highlight diversity in weaponry among other brentine weevils around the globe and our current research on these fascinating beetles.

Date: Wednesday 25th March 2015
Venue: Block S16 #04-31
Time: 4 pm to 5 pm
All are welcomed

Internship position open for mammal outreach and research

Do you have an interest in mammals? Want to learn more about wildlife and contribute to conservation in Singapore?

The NUS Common Palm Civet Research Team seeks an intern to help with outreach, research and public education activities for 2015.

An urban common palm civet (Photo by Xu Weiting)

Duties and responsibilities

1. Assist with the administration, communication, and implementation of outreach and public education activities e.g. setting up a common palm civet resource website and designing materials for public education
2. Maintenance of the common palm civet blog and Facebook page, and mammal sighting records
3. Recovery of mammal carcasses and collection of civet scat samples through public submissions
4. Assist in common palm civet research as needed

Requirements

The ideal candidate should be interested in nature and is passionate about conservation and the environment in Singapore. Candidate should be responsible, communicative, has to be proficient with social media and interacting with members of the public. Enthusiasm and the ability to work independently is a requirement. Able to work on weekends or at night depending on the activities.

Application deadline:  03 April 2015, Friday

Interview date:  Mid – late April 2015

Internship duration: 6 months commencing April 2015.

To apply, please send a cover letter and CV to Mr N. Sivasothi at mammal@sivasothi.com.

All applications will be processed in the 1st week of April and shortlisted applicants will be notified. The interviews for shortlisted applicants will be in the 2nd last week of April 2015.