Biocommunications

NEWS FLASH

New Course at W.E.A. Sydney, Summer Term 2005: "Animals: Beyond Discovery Channel"

Course Description: Wildlife documentaries make spectacular entertainment, but how reliable are their storylines? What do we actually know about non-human animals, and how do we know it? Discover the romance AND the reality of studying animals with biologist and shark expert Meri Peach. We will examine our relationships with a diverse range of animals. Gain insight into how animals function, behave and experience the world, and how we humans interpret their behaviour.

Examples of biological consulting, writing and educational services

• Designing, illustrating and reviewing multiple-choice biology test items for secondary school students. Educational Testing Centre, University of NSW (2001, 2003).
• Lecturing in Biology: Lecturer, University of Technology, Sydney, Department of Environmental Sciences, Sydney (2003-2004) and University of Sydney (2001-2002). This work included writing, presenting and assessing course materials, including displays and web-based material.
• Judge, Intel Young Scientist Award 2004.
• Coordinator of the NSW Biodiversity Research Network, based at the Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney (2002-2003). This work involved coordinating an inter-agency committee, obtaining feedback from stakeholders, designing the BRN website and presenting seminars on biodiversity.
• Editor, NSW Biodiversity Research Network Newsletter. Four issues produced from March 2002 to January 2003.
• Authorship of the NSW Government report A Framework for Biodiversity Research in New South Wales, in collaboration with the Steering Committee of the NSW Biodiversity Research Network, for the Biodiversity Strategy Implementation Group, 2003. Not yet released as a public document.
• Invited presentations including: Biters and stingers under the microscope – research on sharks and jellyfish (Australian Marine Sciences Association, 2003); Biodiversity research in NSW: 'Western' and Aboriginal perspectives (Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney, 2003); How to finish your thesis and get a job (School of Biological Sciences Postgraduate Workshop, University of Sydney, 2002); Recent research on the pit organs of sharks (Manly Oceanworld, 2001).
• Media appearances: two guest segments on Channel 10's Totally Wild, as shark expert (2003); numerous radio interviews on biodiversity (2002); participation in NASA/ Australian Museum webcast, as coral expert (2002).
• Authorship of magazine and web articles: Changing perspectives on Heron Island Research Station (article in Marine Link, the newsletter of the Centre for Marine Studies, University of Queensland, 2001); SCUBA Diving at Lord Howe Island (article and photographs, The Northern Herald, 1995); The Romance of the Drovers (photographs and co-authored article with Bill Peach, New Idea Magazine, 1991).
• Authorship of scientific papers.
• Authorship of tour guide notes: Sex in the Sea, Corals, Fabulous Fishy Facts and Dangers of the Deep. Manly Oceanworld (1995).

List of Scientific Publications

• Peach, M.B. & Pitt, K.A. (in press) Nematocysts of the jellyfish Catostylus mosaicus (Rhizostomeae). Invertebrate Biology

• Peach, M.B. & Rouse, G.W. (in press) Phylogenetic trends in the abundance and distribution of pit organs (free neuromasts) on elasmobranchs. Acta Zoologica

• Peach, M. B. (2003) The behavioural role of pit organs in the epaulette shark. Journal of Fish Biology, 62(4): 793-802

• Peach, M. B. (2003) Inter- and intraspecific variation in the distribution and abundance of pit organs (free neuromasts) on sharks and rays. Journal of Morphology, 256(1): 89-102

• Peach, M. B. (2002) Rheotaxis by epaulette sharks Hemiscyllium ocellatum (Chondrichthyes: Hemiscylliidae) on a coral reef flat. Australian Journal of Zoology, 50(4): 407-414

• Peach, M. B. (2001) The pit organs of elasmobranchs – their structure, distribution, evolution and roles in behaviour. PhD Thesis, University of Sydney

• Peach, M. B. (2001) The dorso-lateral pit organs of the Port Jackson shark contribute sensory information for rheotaxis. Journal of Fish Biology 59(3): 696-704

• Peach, M. B. & Rouse, G. W. (2000) The morphology of the pit organs and lateral line canal neuromasts of Mustelus antarcticus (Chondrichthyes: Triakidae). Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 80: 155-164

• Peach, M. B. & Marshall, N. J. (2000) The pit organs of elasmobranchs: a review. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B 355: 1131-1134

• Peach, M. B. & Hoegh-Guldberg, O. (1999) Sweeper polyps of the coral Goniopora tenuidens (Scleractinia: Poritidae). Invertebrate Biology 118(1): 1-7

• Peach, M. B. (1996) The ecology, physiology and behaviour of Goniopora tenuidens (Quelch 1886) on One Tree Island reef. Honours Thesis, University of Sydney