Search Marsden awards 2008–2017

Recipient(s): Dr SM Ellis | PI | GNS Science
Dr DHN Barker | AI | GNS Science
Dr PM Barnes | AI | NIWA - The National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research Ltd
Dr A Fagereng | AI | University of Cape Town
Dr F Ghisetti | AI | University of Canterbury and TerraGeologica
Dr A Reyes | AI | GNS Science
Dr D Saffer | AI | Pennsylvania State University
Dr LM Wallace | AI | The University of Texas at Austin

Public Summary: Subduction of one tectonic plate beneath another produces the largest earthquakes on Earth, yet our understanding of subduction thrust faults is still imperfect. The Hikurangi subduction margin offshore of the North Island, New Zealand, is an ideal place to study subduction thrust faults, because it shows contrasting behaviour along its length; in the south, the subduction fault is currently mostly stuck, accumulating stress to be released suddenly in the next large earthquake, whereas in the north it is mostly creeping and relieving stress gradually. This transition in current fault behaviour is mirrored by other changes in the structure of the subduction margin, but the link between these changes remains a mystery. We will test the idea that fluid pressure variations along the subduction margin control sticking vs. creeping behaviour, by combining estimates for fluid sources and sinks with rock mechanics in a coupled fluid-mechanical model. Model predictions will be tested against geochemical evidence for residence times and fluid pathways and the 3D structural evolution of the margin in time. This project proposes the first ever integration of structural geology, geochemistry, geophysics and numerical experiments to form a comprehensive model of Hikurangi mechanics and earthquake potential.

Recipient(s): Dr CJ Hollis | PI | GNS Science
Dr C Agnini | AI | University of Padova
Dr G Cortese | AI | GNS Science
Prof GR Dickens | AI | Rice University
Assoc Prof M Huber | AI | Purdue University
Dr SI Kamikuri | AI | Kochi University
Dr DK Kulhanek | AI | GNS Science
Mr HEG Morgans | AI | GNS Science
Dr BS Wade | AI | University of Leeds
Prof JC Zachos | AI | University of California, Santa Cruz

Public Summary: During episodes of extreme global warming in the Eocene (56 to 34 million years ago), the polar oceans are thought to have become as warm as the tropics are today. If this is true, the oceans must have become unbearably warm for those organisms living at the limits of their tolerance in both tropical and polar waters. The Eocene was the last time that the Earth experienced a truly greenhouse climate with atmospheric CO2 levels >1000 ppmv. It is thus a critical interval for understanding the influence of extreme warmth on the oceans and predicting how physical and biological systems will respond to future global warming.
We will investigate how cool-water species that thrived in the late Paleocene ocean (~60 million years ago) responded to episodes of global warmth in the early Eocene. Our aim is to determine if trends in species turnover and geographic distribution for Paleogene marine plankton are consistent with evidence for extreme polar warmth during the early Eocene.
Potential advances in knowledge stemming from our research include: resolving the current high latitude proxy-model mismatch for greenhouse climate states; identifying the impact of extreme global warming on high-latitude marine organisms; and developing new fossil-based tools for Paleogene climate reconstruction.

Recipient(s): Dr A Grimes | PI | Motu Economic and Public Policy Research
Prof LT Oxley | PI | University of Waikato
Dr JM Ataria | AI | Lincoln University
Prof RJ MacCulloch | AI | The University of Auckland

Public Summary: We address a fundamental question: 'Are a country's policies and actions sustainably increasing its wellbeing?'. Social scientists and ecologists have developed many indicators of national wellbeing and sustainability. What is lacking, however, is an overarching study that tests the adequacy and robustness of these aggregate measures for answering our fundamental question. We will undertake multiple tests of the validity and properties of a range of aggregate indicators across a large sample of countries over time, and within New Zealand. We will pay particular attention to distinctions between Pakeha and Maori concepts of wellbeing and sustainability. Our research will employ both community consultation methods and estimated empirical approaches to determine whether aspects that contribute to wellbeing differ between Maori and Pakeha within New Zealand, and what such differences might imply for policy development.

Recipient(s): Assoc Prof SK Davy | PI | Victoria University of Wellington
Prof AR Grossman | AI | Stanford University
Prof VM Weis | AI | Oregon State University

Public Summary: Coral reefs are in serious decline, in part because warming causes corals to lose their symbiotic algae (bleaching). However, there is immense debate about whether corals can adapt to climate change, with some suggesting that bleached corals might acquire new algae that are better suited to the prevailing environment. We propose that the potential for partner 'switching' is linked to host-symbiont integration and the consequent nutritional flux between the two partners, with optimal nutritional exchange determining success. We will test this hypothesis by applying modern proteomic and metabolomic approaches. We will characterize the nutrient transporters on the membrane that separates the alga from its host cell and establish how the expression of these transporters is influenced by algal type. We will then identify and quantify the metabolites that pass across this interface in the presence of different algal types and at different temperatures, and how this transport influences the metabolic profile of the host animal and hence its nutritional potential and likelihood of survival. Our hugely experienced NZ-US team is ideally placed to tackle this project, at a time when the importance of cell biology to our understanding of coral reef ecology and health is gaining widespread acknowledgement.

Recipient(s): Dr LJ Marriott | PI | Victoria University of Wellington

Public Summary: Do the Australasian judicial systems treat all people equally? A pilot study undertaken by the PI indicates that in New Zealand prosecuted white-collar crime is treated more leniently by the judicial system than financially equivalent blue-collar crime. International research indicates that this practice is well established. Are these different sentencing practices justified? This study will quantify the differences in penalties awarded to white- and blue-collar offences in New Zealand and Australia, by examining offending and sentencing of tax evasion and benefit fraud in each country. Interviews with senior members of the legal profession, interviews with offenders, and survey data will be used to capture attitudes towards these crimes and punishments. The empirical data will be used, in conjunction with theories of punishment, to offer an explanatory model of punishment that incorporates society’s attitudes to offending. The study will then examine the model in relation to different normative theories of justice. This provides the opportunity to encourage critical reflection on potential injustices in the justice system.

Recipient(s): Dr PF Battley | PI | Massey University
Dr AE Fidler | PI | Cawthron Institute

Public Summary: The epic migrations of birds toward distant breeding grounds in anticipation of seasonally-available resources reveal an ability to accurately ‘tell time’. Moreover, individuals may migrate on consistently different dates, indicating the existence of sensitive, individually-tuned timing mechanisms. This is particularly well-characterised in bar-tailed godwits, long-distance migrant shorebirds that travel from New Zealand to breed in Alaska. Individuals embark on northward migration across 30 days but, remarkably, each bird typically leaves in the same week annually with some birds leaving within just a day or two year after year. We hypothesise that these behavioural differences reflect individual variation in responses to photoperiod changes, arising in part from variation in genes involved in the circadian core oscillator (CCO). We will investigate genetic and epigenetic (DNA methylation) variation in candidate genes central to the CCO (BMAL1, CLOCK) or its output (AANAT) and in a non-CCO gene that may relate to migratory propensity (ACDYAP1). We will look for associations between migration time and individual genotype/methylation at these four loci, correcting for underlying population structure using microsatellites. This work will provide insights into the mechanisms behind vertebrate photoperiodic responses as well as the ecological and evolutionary significance of genetic and epigenetic variation in natural populations.

Recipient(s): Dr GR Hunt | PI | The University of Auckland
Prof NJ Gemmell | AI | University of Otago
Prof RD Gray | AI | The University of Auckland

Public Summary: The discovery of complex avian cognitive abilities has revolutionized our understanding of the evolution of intelligence. However, the genetic basis of these abilities is unknown. One possibility is that numerous changes in genes across a wide range of functional domains are required for the evolution of complex intelligence. Alternatively, only a limited number of genetic tweaks might be required. We will compare the tool manufacturing New Caledonian crow with closely related non-tool-using crows to search for genes that underpin a tool-using lifestyle. Once identified, we will test the involvement of specific genes by examining if genetic polymorphisms can explain the variability in the tool-using lifestyles of New Caledonian crows that exists between individuals and populations. Our pioneering study will use the extraordinary advances in Next-Generation-Sequencing to uncover the genetic basis of complex cognition in the wild.

Recipient(s): Dr PG Plieger | PI | Fundamental Sciences
Prof PJ Brothers | AI | The University of Auckland
Prof W Henderson | AI | University of Waikato

Public Summary: From mobile phones and aircraft braking systems, to golf clubs and the James Webb Space Telescope, the element beryllium (Be) is increasingly utilised in consumer, scientific and commercial applications. Unfortunately, beryllium has a poor reputation; it is considered the most toxic non-radioactive element on the planet and the cause of the incurable chronic beryllium disease (CBD). Surprisingly, this reputation has not deterred its use in manufacturing, but it has seriously hindered the exploration of the fundamental chemistry of beryllium. Given that Be usage in consumer and industrial products continues unabated, it is imperative that chemical chelating agents be developed for better detection of Be in the environment, that therapies for individuals exposed to beryllium be developed, and that protocols to remediate Be contamination are established. By building a greater understanding of the fundamental coordination chemistry of Be(2+), this project will develop strong, selective chelating agents for beryllium capture using a modern arsenal of chemical techniques. At the conclusion of this study we will have in hand a suite of chelators that bind beryllium both strongly and selectively. These ligands can then be refined and tailored for specific applications for which there are presently few effective solutions.

Recipient(s): Prof LJ Wevers | PI | Victoria University of Wellington

Public Summary: Reading was an essential component of colonial experience. Victorian novels filled cabin trunks and makeshift bookshelves but not much is known about how they were received and understood. We still know far too little about who was reading what where. This project will investigate the history of reading fiction in nineteenth century New Zealand and Australia and its associated culture of reading, including the connection of reading to colonial experience and imperialism. A nation defines itself by the books it produces, but also by the books it reads- were New Zealand and Australia separate 'reading nations' in William St Clair's phrase? Was a new readership developing in colonial societies that reflected the imbalances and pressures of colonial life, such as gender ratio distortions and class shocks? The project will have several points of focus, including the reading history of Dickens, and the reading preferences of indigenous readers. The project will result in the first history of reading in New Zealand and Australia in the nineteenth century,reflecting their shared cultures and markets but also seeking to tease out the differences and distinctions of two closely connected intellectual and social milieux.

Recipient(s): Dr DR Addis | PI | The University of Auckland
Prof CL Grady | AI | Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care

Public Summary: The human brain can think flexibly about the future - a process critical to enhancing future success. When imagining the future, a network of regions distributed across the brain, known as the default network, is strongly engaged. However, little is known about how this network enables flexible future thinking. We plan to combine neuroimaging (fMRI) with emerging analysis techniques to explore whether two properties of network activity - brain variability and multi-voxel patterns - can index flexible future thinking. This research will provide a comprehensive understanding of how the brain is uniquely positioned to think creatively about the future.