The satellite tags used are state-of-the-art transmitters able to transmit location data for hundreds of days. In addition, data on behaviour as well as blubber skin samples were taken for genetic studies.
Researchers expect that the tags will track the whales’ movements in the next three to six months to provide new insights into how humpback whales might adapt to climate change.
Humpback whales that frequent the coasts of Ecuador, Colombia, Panama and Costa Rica between June and October to reproduce belong to one of the seven stocks in the southern hemisphere.
Every year around 12,000 whales from this population migrate more than 15,000km along the west coast of South America to mate and nurse their calves in the warm tropical waters of north-western South America.
During this period, the whales spend between three and four months without feeding, so once the reserves are depleted, they have to return to Antarctic waters for feeding.
The work forms part of the global research activities of the Whales & Climate Research Program, an initiative that brings together more than 25 researchers from eight institutions in the southern hemisphere under the leadership of Griffith University.
So far, most of the tagged whales were still on the breeding grounds in the Gulf of Guayaquil, Ecuador, but some had already started their migratory route to feeding areas in southern Chile and Antarctica.
Griffith University’s WCP manager, Dr Olaf Meynecke said: “The data from these satellite-tagged humpback whales now travelling from their breeding to feeding grounds will provide us with unique information about migration patterns in that region. The data will assist in the development of models to predict climate change impacts on whales. A further 10-15 individuals will be fitted with satellite transmitters in the coming seasons.”
Dr Olaf Meynecke.
PUCE’s Dr Fernando Felix said: “Although this population has recovered from whaling, human activities such as fishing and shipping persist as major threats that take their toll every year. Changes in the physical and chemical conditions in the ocean as foreseen in the coming decades will exacerbate the problem. Scientists need more reliable information on the environmental conditions that drive whale distribution and migration behaviour to advise decision-makers.”
Dr Hector Guzman from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama said : “We placed satellite transmitters on 10 humpback whales in Salinas (Ecuador), already on their migratory route to feeding areas in Chile and Antarctica. We tagged 5 adult females with calves and five adults, mostly males. I have been deploying satellite tags on humpback whales, blue whales, orcas and other whales to learn about their little-known migration and movement ecology, and to detect how global change in oceans may be changing their behaviour.”
Professor Brendan Mackey — WCP Co-Director at Griffith said: “Understanding how climate change is affecting whales in the Southern Hemisphere is really important for their conservation. But this is a huge task that can only be achieved through scientists collaborating globally. The satellite tagging of the 10 humpback whales in Ecuador kicks off a new research program between Australia, South African and South American university researchers.”
The Australian Women’s National Rugby League team will set up camp at Griffith University’s Gold Coast campus from today as the team prepares for the World Cup in November.
The Jillaroos team training at Griffith University ahead of the World Cup
Griffith Sports Science Associate Professor Clare Minahan said the university has been working with the Jillaroos since 2017, with the campus providing elite training facilities ahead of their campaign in England.
“We’ll be working closely with the Jillaroos sports scientists conducting field tests to gauge the players development and physiological capabilities,” Associate Professor Minahan said.
“These capabilities are key factors for elite athletes ahead of a jam-packed tour, so we’ll be looking at how the World Cup effects their fatigue levels and how their strength is maintained or decreased over the course of the tournament.
“Most of these tests we’ll do in the gym, but we’ll also get the players on the field and use GPS tracking equipment to capture their movements.”
Griffith will be well-represented in the Jillaroos squad with key player Tarryn Aiken who is currently studying her Honours in Psychological Science, and alumnus Lauren Brown who graduated with a Bachelor of Business.
Off the field, alumnus Karlee Quinn is a Sport Scientist with the Jillaroos, and Lecturer and PhD candidate Tim Newans works as a Data Analyst for the team.
Jillaroos coach Brad Donald is full of praise for Griffith University and the work they’ve done in the women’s rugby league space.
Jillaroos in their training camp at Griffith University
“We’ve had a strong association with Griffith University for a number of years and they’ve always welcomed us with open arms,” Mr Donald said.
“We’ve worked together on a number of projects which has led to changes in the rules for NRLW, understanding and planning around menstrual cycles as well as female specific injuries.
“We are grateful for all of the assistance Griffith University has provided us with over the years and in the lead up to the World Cup.”
For Griffith University’s A Better Future for All series, in partnership with HOTA, Home of the Arts, Kerry O’Brien welcomed Hugh van Cuylenburg and Professor Patrick McGorry AO.
Australia is in the grip of an epidemic of anxiety, particularly affecting children and young adults. According to government health figures, 3.3 million Australians suffer from anxiety disorders. An estimated 500,000 children and adolescents have experienced mental illness in the past year.
Precise causes are still an educated guess but the uncertainties of the digital age, the pressures of social media, early exposure to a world of problems headlined by climate change, and most recently the global pandemic have obviously contributed. The question is: how should we respond?
Both Hugh and Patrick are experts in the field and have skills and insights that are invaluable. The help they have provided families to support young ones in crisis is internationally recognised.
This conversation focused on deepening our understanding and embolden our confidence in dealing with a health problem affecting the entire community. For anyone concerned with how we address one of the most significant public policy issues of the present time, this livestream is not to be missed.
Hugh van Cuylenburg
Bestselling author and co-host of the popular podcast The Imperfects, Hugh has been working in education for more than 15 years. He is the founder of The Resilience Project, which brings into focus decades of active campaigning to educate young people and their parents about positive mental health strategies.
Professor Patrick McGorry AO
Professor Patrick McGorry is a psychiatrist known world-wide for his development and scaling up of early intervention and youth mental health services and for mental health innovation, advocacy and reform. He is Professor of Youth Mental Health at the University of Melbourne, founding editor of the journal Early Intervention in Psychiatry, and the first psychiatrist to become a Fellow of the Academy of Science.
In 2010 Professor McGorry was selected as Australian of the Year and became an Officer of the Order of Australia.
Griffith University has been awarded more than $4 million across four National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) fellowships, at a success rate of 18.2% (national 14.9%).
This result places Griffith 8th nationally among the university sector for the number of grants awarded and 9th overall for total NHMRC funding awarded, which is the University’s best ever result for this scheme over the four years since it commenced.
The fellowships span the Emerging Leadership and Leadership categories, highlighting the existing and developing strength of health and biomedical research at Griffith University.
Congratulations to our successful researchers:
Professor Kate Seib
ProfKate Seib(Institute for Glycomics) has been awarded $2,082,170 for the project titled,A comprehensive vaccine-based strategy to combat gonorrhoea.
The sexually transmitted infection gonorrhoea has a significant impact on global health, with 100 million cases/year, many of which are associated with infertility and increased HIV transmission. Due to increasing antimicrobial resistance and the absence of a vaccine, the WHO has classified gonorrhoea an urgent threat to public health that requires immediate action. Professor Seib’s research aims to develop a vaccine to prevent gonorrhoea from becoming an untreatable ‘superbug’ in the near future.
Dr Laura Diamond
Dr Laura Diamond(Menzies Health Institute Queensland, Health Group) has been awarded $630,150 for the project titled,Smart technology for hip osteoarthritis: a personalised real-world ‘move’ into the future.
Dr Diamond will design and test a new treatment for hip osteoarthritis (OA). Dr Diamond’s team has proven that people with hip OA load their hip in a detrimental way during daily activities, and that hip load can be improved with laboratory-based movement retraining. To translate changes into everyday life, retraining must now happen in the real-world. Dr Diamond’s program will partner authentically with stakeholders to co-develop a body-worn smart device for personalised self-management in the real-world.
Dr Miaomiao Liu
Dr Miaomiao Liu(Griffith Institute for Drug Discovery, Sciences Group)has been awarded $655,150 for the project titled,New method to identify disease-associated drug targets.
Dr Liu’s Fellowship aims to develop mass spectrometry-based methods to identify or characterise new targets for drug discovery. The application of the methods in target identification will allow finding of unknown protein targets for bioactive compounds and will revolutionise and dramatically accelerate the drug discovery process. Furthermore, adapting to studying membrane proteins will result in finding novel therapeutic ligands that target membrane proteins, the most important class of drug targets.
Dr Leopold Aminde
Dr Leopold Aminde(School of Medicine and Dentistry, Health Group) has been awarded $655,150 for the project titled,Estimating the health equity and productivity impacts of dietary salt reduction in people with chronic kidney disease in Australia.
Excess salt intake increases blood pressure and puts persons at risk of complications like chronic kidney disease (CKD) that kills one in ten Australians. CKD contributes to health inequalities and has a major impact on quality of life and productivity, and the future impacts in Australia are unknown. Dr Aminde’s Fellowship will evaluate long-term impacts of strategies to reduce population salt intake on CKD burden, to guide policies that improve the quality of life of all Australians.
Speech Pathology Lecturer Shaun Ziegenfusz.
The purple lights will be shining at Griffith University’s Gold Coast campus tonight (14 October) to raise awareness for Developmental Language Disorder Awareness Day (DLD).
Speech Pathology Lecturer Shaun Ziegenfusz said Griffith will be lighting up the G40 building joining 70 other light up locations around the world including Niagara Falls.
“DLD Awareness Day has been recognised since 2017 to raise awareness about a condition effecting seven per cent of the population who struggle to learn to speak and understand their first language,” Mr Ziegenfusz said.
“There’s a difference in the brain we don’t fully comprehend, however, we do know it’s a learning difficulty that people will live with across their lifespan, which fits in with this year’s theme of ‘growing with DLD’.
“A person’s ability to communicate effectively is a crucial part of everyday life and it’s important to help those effected, while also continuing the research in this field.”
Niagara Falls lit up in purple for DLD Awareness Day
The signs to look out for include:
Words are spoken in the wrong order
Not understanding instructions
May not understand the meaning of a word
A person may use the wrong tense when speaking
May not know how to use the correct pro-nouns
Mr Ziegenfusz said there are 40 different terms to describe the condition so gaining awareness and an understanding of DLD was vital.
“Since 2017, 40 countries now recognise DLD, but we have more work to do to continue to see representation across the globe,” he said.
“So I encourage everyone to show their support and wear purple for DLD Awareness Day.”
Griffith University has played a key role in new research that shows hunter-gatherers used miniaturised stone tools and bone projectile points to consistently hunt a range of animals in the Sri Lankan rainforests over the past 45,000 years.
Fieldwork by the international team was conducted in one of Sri Lanka’s famous cave sites, called Kitulgala Beli-lena, well-known for its rich deposits of stone tools, bone artefacts, game animals and human remains.
The researchers found long-term stability in human occupations in the wet, forested rainforest zone, ranging between 45,000 to 8,000 years ago.
This new evidence, in combination with other cave records in the region, showed the repeated and consistent settlement of the rainforest zone.
The long-term stability of rainforest occupation was based on the continuous hunting of tree- and ground-dwelling species and the collection of freshwater molluscs and wild fruits.
This research establishes Sri Lanka as one of the most important areas of human occupation over the past 45,000 years, providing key insights into how humans adapted to rainforests among a range of ecosystems as they migrated across Asia.
The excavation at Kitulgala, Sri Lanka.
Professor Petraglia was one of the key Principal Investigators in the research and assembled the international team, working in collaboration with the Sri Lankan researchers and government authorities.
Lead author Dr Andrea Picin described the new findings, including how the rainforest occupants manufactured miniaturised stone tool technologies.
Dr Picin noted that foragers selected pebbles and cobbles from nearby streams and from there, they carefully placed the material on an anvil and struck it with a hammerstone.
The resultant small, sharp and slender pieces were then likely mounted into wooden shafts and used as projectiles to hunt prey, as supported by the presence of bone points which was used as part of bow and arrows.
Dr Oshan Wedage, of the University of Sri Jayewardnepura, added that “tropical rainforests have been seen as ecological barriers to human migrations, but our interdisciplinary archaeological research now convincingly shows that this was not the case at all”.
Examples of the stone projectiles.
Instead, the discoveries showed that our species, Homo sapiens, was able to exploit challenging habitats.
Although rainforests have high biomass, the exploitation of food resources was not an easy task. Occupation of Sri Lanka’s rainforest showed that foragers understood how to exploit fruits high above the ground and to deal with toxins from seeds to make them edible.
With respect to the wider message of the research, Professor Petraglia said: “The cave excavations in Sri Lanka have provided new insights into human behaviour over the long-term, showing that foragers were able to adapt and survive without adversely impacting their ecosystems.
“The hunting of prey high in the trees and in dense forests required special subsistence strategies, planning and sophisticated toolkits.
“Though these hunter-gatherers became quite proficient in obtaining their dietary needs from the forest, our research shows that they did so without adversely impacting their ecosystems.
“In order not to over-exploit their local environments and food resources, foragers repeatedly moved from cave to cave, consistently shifting their residences without harming the long-term sustainability of their subsistence base.”
Griffith University Council proudly welcomes its new Deputy Chancellor Rebecca Frizelle OAM who brings a wealth of experience to the role.
Ms Frizelle has been a member of University Council since January 2021 and previously held the position of Chief Operating Officer of Frizelle Sunshine Automotive.
She spent 31 years growing the Southeast Queensland and Northern New South Wales business and was awarded the Motor Traders Association ‘Women in Industry Award’ in 2019. She resigned from her position ahead of the family operated business’ initial public offering in 2021.
In 2014 she was appointed to the Board of the Gold Coast Titans and became the first female Chair in the NRL.
Deputy Chancellor Rebecca Frizelle OAM
In 2020, Ms Frizelle was awarded an Order of Australia as recognition for her contributions to the motor industry and Rugby League.
Ms Frizelle, a proud mother of three and a loyal supporter of women in leadership roles, said she’s deeply honoured to accept the appointment of Deputy Chancellor..
“Under the outstanding leadership of our Vice Chancellor Professor Carolyn Evans, Griffith University continues to educate, innovate and lead,” she said.
“Griffith is proudly and consistently ranked amongst the top two per cent of universities around the world.
“Whilst our newly appointed Chancellor, Mr Andrew Fraser, has left big shoes to fill in the Deputy’s role, I am delighted to have this opportunity to work more closely with Andrew, our University Council and our Executive.
“Griffith’s mantra of ‘Make it Matter’ is at the heart of everything we do, and I look forward to ensuring that everything I can personally do will matter.”
Amelia Evans, Griffith University Council Pro-Chancellor
In addition to Ms Frizelle’s election, the following Pro Chancellorshave also been appointed:
Amelia Evans as Chair of the Finance, Resources and Risk Committee (from 10 October 2022 — 31 December 2022) and then as Chair of the reconstituted Finance and Infrastructure Committee (for a two-year term from 1 January 2023 up to and including 31 December 2024)
Karen Prentis as Chair of the reconstituted Audit and Risk Committee (for a three-year term from 1 January 2023 up to and including 31 December 2025)
Jessica Rudd as Chair of the new People, Nominations and Remuneration Committee (for a two-year term from 1 January 2023 up to and including 31 December 2024)
We trust Siri to give us directions, are happy to use a self-checkout at the supermarket, and the introduction of driverless cars is eagerly awaited by many, yet it seems bank customers are not ready to accept investment advice from artificial intelligence bots.
Banks have been investing heavily in the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and automation, with virtual bots frequently replacing human service staff in customer-controlled self-service.
This has led to the growth of robo-advisers, which are digital platforms that provide automated, algorithm-driven financial advice with little or no human supervision. In the US alone, it is projected robo-advisers will soon be managing over $1 trillion of Americans’ wealth.
A study by Griffith University researchers, titled Man vs Machine, has assessed the faith customers had in computer-generated investment advice, and found that while things like opening an account and depositing smaller amounts (up to around $1,000) were seen as acceptable, when the amount increases customers are more likely to demand that a human is involved.
Gavin Northey
Lead author Dr Gavin Northey from griffith’s Department of Marketing (GBS) said there were some notable advantages to AI.
“Artificial intelligence reduces the chance of human error, it reduces judgement bias and it gives greater forecasting accuracy and precision,” he said.
“Even though it may offer equally good, if not better, financial advice, consumers tend to consider the performance of AI as inferior to that of a human expert provider.”
Co-authorVanessa Hunter emphasised that the doubt becomes a lot more apparent in higher risk environments.
Vanessa Hunter
“Even though technology is so ubiquitous, there’s still that mistrust of AI and those Terminator sort of storylines,” she said.
“Thinking back to when airlines introduced self-baggage drop, or supermarkets brought in self-checkouts, people embraced it to an extent, but there still needs to be a person nearby to guide people through the technology.
“We’re incredibly social creatures. We want human interaction when risk is involved.
“The irony here, is the humans are using the same technology. They use the AI to form and provide their considered opinion.”
In what’s likely to be a multi-billion if not multi-trillion-dollar industry for digital online banking, Hunter suggests banks will need to be very careful with how they project themselves as being technologically based.
“It is sort of counter-intuitive considering where we’re at in terms of digital marketing and online use, but the data shows customers, in particular wealthier investors, lose trust in the bank and are less willing to invest if they are only offered AI advice.”
New Griffith research is using biochemical profiles from the blood of sea turtles as a tool to monitor the health of populations in the wild.
Published in Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology, the researchers used metabolomics, which measures the by-products of physiological processes, to determine if environmental conditions or the way in which they were captured can affect their health.
“As iconic but threatened species, there is considerable interest in adapting cutting-edge analytical techniques to evaluate the health of wild populations of sea turtles,” said Dr Steve Melvin a Research Fellow at the Australian Rivers Institute.
“Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy is a powerful technique that can provide a metabolic fingerprint of the physiological processes taking place in an animal. It gives a direct indication of an organism’s health and how external conditions influence an animal’s physiological response.
“Being non-lethal, metabolomics provides an attractive method for comparing populations of threatened species like sea turtles, and to understand how the environment they are living in impacts their health. However, few studies have used this method to evaluate wild populations of sea turtles.”
Dr Steve Melvin a Research Fellow at the Australian Rivers Institute
This study is the first of its kind to compare the biochemical profiles of both resting and active turtles from coastal and reef locations, sampled across multiple seasons in Southeast Queensland.
“Our results show clear differences in the chemical fingerprints of turtles living in different locations, which can be attributed to varying diet or forage quality and potentially differing levels of exposure to stressors like chemical contaminants between coastal and reef sites,” Dr Melvin said.
“We also observed clear markers of physical exertion in animals captured while active, using a method called the ‘rodeo’ technique, which were absent in turtles sampled while resting.”
Turtles sampled from one location over an 8-month period had only modest differences in the metabolome over time, suggesting the technique is flexible and not prone to confounding factors.
“When evaluating the health of sea turtles, or other marine creatures in the wild, site characteristics like the quality of an animals’ food source, the amount of pollution and whether they are resting vs active appear to have a far bigger influence on turtle physiology than the effect of seasonal changes,” Dr Melvin said.
“Our study offers a real-world example of how an untargeted metabolomic technique, which provides a non-invasive snapshot of physiological health, can contribute towards the monitoring and management of sea turtle populations and serves as an example for the monitoring of other marine megafauna species across large areas and time scales in the wild.”
Academics from Griffith Business School (GBS) collaborated with a leading global consultancy firm to design and implement a survey to discover what one thousand top CEOs think about the power of a CEO’s purpose.
The findings revealed CEOs from leading worldwide brands like The Body Shop, Ernst & Young and Delta Air Lines are now recognising purpose as a catalyst for driving business growth.
Responses were gathered from the US, UK, France, Australia, Germany, India and China providing an opportunity for leadership analysis and comparison across the globe.
Professor Chris Fleming
Professor of Economics and Dean GBS (Research), Chris Fleming said the results were heartening.
“Progressive CEOs are already utilising purpose to grow healthy business ecosystems and we’ve found that many CEOs view employees as more important than shareholders in creating long-term value.
“It’s important that we team with a corporation which aligns with the Griffith vision of innovative and socially responsible business scholarship, contributing to a prosperous, equitable and sustainable future: Brandpie was an obvious fit for us,” Professor Fleming said.
Griffith Business School is ranked number one in Corporate Knights international The Better World MBA top-40 ranking, and Professor Fleming said this demonstrates Griffith is a leader in driving purposeful, responsible leadership.
Professor Nick Barter
Working with Brandpie in the UK, Professor of Strategy and Sustainability, Nick Barter said partnering with Brandpie provides a unique opportunity to explore and measure the intentions and attitudes of CEOs worldwide.
“Businesses face challenges of energy, inequality, pollution and climate change. There’s a societal expectation that business should have a meaningful impact on society.
“Organisational purpose is the ‘Why’ of a company. A CEO’s purpose is increasingly important as we shift our companies toward a more sustainable society,” Professor Barter said.
“We often think that the only purpose of business is money but, solving societal challenges profitably is the new ‘Why’ (purpose) for organisations.
“We’ve found that CEOs are changing their attitudes and values about issues like climate change, diversity & equity and supporting local communities. Business leaders are reflecting and adapting.”
A team comprising researchers from PUCE, The Whale Museum, Pacific Whale Foundation and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, deployed tags on adult whales in mid-September off Salinas, before whales started their migration to Antarctica.
