By Nikoo
I have come to the end of my Motion Vision Group journey! Thank you so much Karin for giving me this opportunity of a lifetime – it was an honour to work and learn alongside you and the team.
Wishing you all the best,
Nikoo
P.S. My favourite Batch, Batch 94 Females, died… RIP to you queens y’all slayed those flight mill tests.
  
 

By Matt 
Over the past two weeks we were fortunate to attend two talks on bees, biodiversity, the mechanics of pollination, and how these processes shape agriculture. The first, by Dr Amy-Marie Gilpin and James Cook at Western Sydney University examined the diversity of native insect crop pollinators. The second, by Dr Beth Nicholls, explored how bees make decisions when collecting pollen. Together, these seminars show pollination to be a far more complex ecological and behavioural system than a simple flower-to-bee transfer.

Professor James Cook from the Pollinator Lab, talked of mapping the diversity of pollinating insects in Australian landscapes and investigates how different species support horticultural crops. Hearing about this alongside the talks reinforced the idea that pollination services come from a wide suite of insects, not only honeybees, and that understanding this diversity is central to maintaining resilient food production systems. Dr Gilpin shortly after emphasised how limited our knowledge still is regarding the full spectrum of pollinating insects. Honeybees tend to dominate attention, yet native species vary widely in behaviour, floral preferences and seasonal patterns, and many other factors play significant roles in pollinating both crops and wild plants. It was interesting how pollination behaviour changed with insects and environments, for example, fruit trees at the edge of nature strips were visited by a higher variety of pollinators, with many of them native, while deep in the orchid away from these strips pollinators were mostly either flies or bees. I also learned that honeybees can be direct competitors with Australian native fauna, which I had not previously considered. 
Dr Nicholls’ talk shifted focus from diversity to decision-making. Bees rely entirely on nectar and pollen, yet their strategies for evaluating these resources differ. Nectar assessment is better understood, while pollen foraging involves more complex sensory, energetic and cognitive processes. The fact that some flowers need to be vibrated (“buzzed”) to release their pollen was new to me. These insects are strategic foragers, constantly navigating costs, benefits and uncertainty. I was impressed that the research group could quantify the energy required just to buzz a single flower by using a metabolic chamber, highlighting how expensive foraging behaviour can be. The work involving taste detection using electrophysiology was really interesting, showing that bumblebees can evaluate amino acid content of pollen and nectar using receptors on their mouth parts. 
I had assumed pollinators were broadly interchangeable, but it became clear from Beth’s talk that different species interact with plants in distinct ways, and some are far more effective at pollinating specific flowers. For example, smaller insects struggle to open the petals of closed flowers that the big beefy bees open with ease.  

I learned that pollination is dynamic, shaped by species diversity, behaviour and environmental conditions. Protecting pollinators therefore requires supporting whole ecosystems, understanding decision-making in foraging insects and recognising the combined contributions of many pollinator species. I left with a deeper appreciation of how scientific insight can guide agricultural management and conservation, and with renewed respect for the hidden complexity of the organisms that underpin much of our food system. 

by Sarah
Lately, I’ve found myself having more and more conversations about how we can use artificial intelligence (AI) responsibly and ethically in research and teaching. There’s no denying that AI is a powerful tool with incredible potential to accelerate discovery and enhance learning, but it needs to be used with extreme care. We need to safeguard the integrity of its outputs and keep in mind it is a tool to support rather than replace, the critical thinking and expertise that underpin good science and quality education.
 
So how do I use AI? Well, I decided to have a little fun and ask it to generate a Christmas-themed hoverfly perched on a decorated daisy. The result was amusing and far beyond anything I could have created in the short few minutes AI took, but it still needed my input and direction. That’s the point, AI is a tool, non a substitute. We should embrace its potential while remaining alert to its limitations and pitfalls, ensuring we uphold the ethics and integrity of our work.

 By Yuri

Earlier last week, we had the pleasure of attending the Flinders University EEE Seminar featuring Professor Shaun P. Collin (School of Agriculture, Biomedicine and Environment, La Trobe University), a world-leading neuroecologist whose work has transformed our understanding of how marine animals sense and interpret their environment.

Prof Collin’s talk, “Shark sensory systems: Understanding the neural basis of behaviour,” explored the remarkable sensory world of sharks, animals whose perception of the environment differs profoundly from our own. He discussed the integration of electroreception, hearing organs, and vision, and illustrated how these systems guide shark behaviour and decision-making in complex underwater environments.

A particularly insightful part of the seminar was his explanation of how sensory cues can sometimes lead to misidentification, where sharks may mistake humans for prey under certain environmental or visual conditions. Rather than framing these incidents simply as “attacks,” Prof Collin emphasised the sensory and neural processes behind them, offering a more nuanced and biologically grounded perspective.

The talk also showcased exciting applied outcomes. Prof Collin’s team has contributed to the development shark-deterrent wetsuits and validation of electrical shark-avoidance devices, leveraging detailed knowledge of shark sensory thresholds. These innovations demonstrate how fundamental sensory research can lead to practical tools that promote safer interactions between humans and marine wildlife.

On a personal note, it was meaningful to reconnect with this research community. Earlier in my career, when I worked with Prof Jan Hemmi at UWA, I was part of the same broader group that Prof Collin led. Seeing how the field continues to grow, and the people who shaped it, was inspiring. I was especially proud to see my friend Dr Laura Ryan’s work featured throughout the seminar. Her contributions to shark vision and behaviour are exceptional, and it was wonderful to see them highlighted so prominently. She is actually in the photo below, the one on the surfboard and swimming, which made the moment feel even more special.

After the seminar, we enjoyed a lovely lunch together, continuing the discussions in a relaxed setting. It was a great chance to share ideas across disciplines and catch up with colleagues.
A warm thank you to Dr Alice Clement for inviting us to the EEE seminar and for hosting such an engaging and enjoyable visit. We look forward to future events and collaborations.

By Nikoo
The final semester of my bachelor’s degree is near. So far, I’ve kept myself going with the hope of a bright future upon its completion; I plan to continue holding onto that, though I must admit that the cortisol in my veins during exam season tends to dull that hope a bit. Thankfully, coffee (and the overhanging dread of due dates) brings it right back.
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 By Karin

Yuri and me just spent a few days at Macquarie University attending a wonderful workshop that brought together people from robotics, philosophy, neuroscience, AI and engineering. It's very unusual to meet people from such diverse fields, and while it made my brain very full, it was so inspiring. As usual, I was hopeless at takin photos, but at least you can see the wonderful campus.

By Matt
A lot happening at the moment.
I found a looming sensitive descending neuron that adapts… to everything. So I guess they are likely all or nothing? More data will tell. We also added another experiment to determine if the adaptation (when it occurs) is simply driven by local luminance change (i.e., not motion).

In other news my second manuscript is now a paper – “Dragonfly target-detecting neurons adapt to stimulus saliency”. Here my coauthors and I show that small target motion detector neurons in dragonflies exhibit localised adaptation that scales with stimulus saliency, being stronger for higher contrast or preferred direction motion. We also demonstrate how adaptation interacts with facilitation and selective attention to dynamically regulate neural responsiveness, likely optimising target detection in complex environments. 

Finally and sadly, my time is rapidly running out with this amazing research group, so I’m working hard to put the years work together, while also applying for postdoc positions across the globe. The upside is meeting a lot of very interesting fellow scientists!
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By Sarah.

I thought Id share some of the photos Ive taken over the years, of the Wittunga Botanic Garden and the creatures that share this space. We are  so incredibly lucky to have such a beautiful, insect friendly, environment so close to Flinders.

By Yuri

This Tuesday, I had the opportunity to share our butterfly vision project at the “STEM at the Tav” event, organized by Rosie Coleman (PhD student in the Worm Lab) and the Flinders Academic Science Club.
It was a fantastic evening to talk about science in a relaxed setting with hot chips and drinks. I especially enjoyed the talks by A/Prof Ilka Wallis on hydrogeology and Dr Alice Clement on palaeontology. I highly recommend checking out Alice’s group’s recent Nature paper, “Earliest amniote tracks recalibrate the timeline of tetrapod evolution.” It’s fascinating to see how fossil discoveries, combined with iron-like scanning techniques for 3D reconstruction, can reshape our understanding of evolutionary history. Also, the animated ancient reptile is adorable!

Rosie, me and Alice