Search Rutherford Discovery Fellowship awards 2010–2017

Public Summary: Sexual violence is a global problem of epidemic proportions. The incalculable costs of sexual crimes necessitate dedicated attention to understanding factors that increase or decrease convicted sex offenders’ risk of reoffending. Risk factors that increase the likelihood of reoffending have been researched extensively. Risk factors include the nature and extent of previous offending (e.g., number of prior convictions for sexual offences), as well as psychological problems that are targeted in sex offender treatment programmes (e.g., sexual self-regulation problems, difficulties managing emotions, poor problem solving skills). Convicted sex offenders can be reliably classified into different risk categories (e.g., low, moderate and high) based on their accumulation of risk factors. However, research estimates that anywhere between 30% and 70% of convicted sex offenders classified as “high risk” don’t sexually reoffend. Protective factors that decrease the likelihood of reoffending have been largely neglected in previous research and in risk classification systems, owing to the predominant risk management framework used in forensic psychology. Several domains of protective factors have been proposed – including healthy sexual interests and goal-directed living – yet methods for their assessment have not been developed. Moreover, processes by which previously persistent sex offenders stop sexual offending are poorly understood. The proposed research will address these important gaps in the literature in a series of interconnected studies, building on a contemporary strengths-based rehabilitation theory. Overall, the proposed research aims to generate knowledge about how previously persistent sex offenders desist from sexual offending, and identify protective factors that decrease the likelihood of sexual reoffending. First, I will conduct in-depth qualitative research to explore desistance pathways in men who have a history of repetitive sexual offending, but who have been living in the community without reconviction for several years. Second, I will develop structured measures for assessing protective factors. I will then test these measures in the first prospective, longitudinal study to understand relationships between risk factors, protective factors and sexual reoffending. Taken together, findings will have several real-world implications of global significance. The incorporation of protective factors into risk classification systems will enable better identification of the convicted sex offenders who are most likely to reoffend. Moreover, the identification of protective factors and an understanding of desistance pathways will inform additional intervention targets in sex offender treatment programmes. Treatment programmes that have a dual focus on reducing risk factors and actively promoting protective factors and desistance are likely to be more effective than treatment programmes that target risk factors alone. Indeed, research has found that a sole focus on risk factors can be demotivating for clients, reducing their likelihood of engaging in and thus benefitting from treatment. Ultimately, the proposed research aims to provide an empirical foundation for improving sex offender classification and treatment, thereby preventing sexual reoffending.

Public Summary: New Zealand’s extensive coastline comprises estuaries, wetlands, harbours and unsheltered coastal regions that are influenced by terrestrial- and marine-based events. Microbial communities inhabiting these environments mediate contaminant transport and abatement, influence geochemical cycles and, consequently, ecosystem health. Yet they are extremely sensitive to both natural and anthropogenic perturbations. Moreover, despite the environmental significance of marine microorganisms, their genomes, metabolisms and biogeochemical potential remain largely unmapped. The proposed research will examine how complex microbial communities are influenced by chemical (nutrient and hydrocarbon) and physical (burrowing marine animal) perturbations in coastal marine sediments. Cutting-edge genomics centred techniques will be used to generate unprecedented insights into the metabolism and metabolic potential of uncultivated marine microorganisms. These data (complemented by controlled experiments) will link specific disturbance events with changes in microbial community membership, microbiologically driven environmental processes, and organism-organism interactions. Since the global carbon content of Bacteria and Archaea rivals that of plants, it is of great importance that we do not underestimate the impact of these single-celled prokaryotic organisms on environmental processes and ecosystem functioning. In the upper 10 centimetres of marine sediments alone there are hundreds of millions of cells per cubic centimetre. These microorganisms participate in communities dependent on a complex network of relationships ranging from complementary to competitive. Their combined metabolism underpins nutrient and major element cycling in marine sediments (e.g. carbon, nitrogen, iron and sulfur), and contributes to the breakdown of organic matter (including contaminants such as petroleum). Predicting the long-term stability and health of marine ecosystems is therefore contingent on understanding how these microbial communities respond to environmental perturbations. The proposed research will increase our understanding of how coastal marine communities function normally, and how they respond to, and influence, three types of direct and indirect anthropogenic disturbances, namely: (1) eutrophication derived from nutrients (nitrogen) in urban wastewater and urban and rural surface runoff; (2) simulated hydrocarbon contamination associated with localized oil spills; and (3) changes in the intensity of macrofaunal (worms, shrimp, shellfish) bioturbation. To accomplish this, both field observational studies and laboratory-based perturbation experiments will be employed. The inner mechanisms and geochemical impact of complex, and largely culture-resistant, microbial communities in these sources will be unraveled by combining geochemical measurements, selective microbial cultivation, and state of the art DNA sequencing resources provided by NZ Genomics Ltd (a government-supported enterprise), coupled with NZ eScience Infrastructure (NeSI) high-performance computing services. The anticipated results will improve our knowledge of how microbial interactions support vital ecosystem services, respond to pollution, and as such results will also be leveraged to inform cleanup strategies and management decisions concerning this culturally and economically important environment. This research will fill a persisting gap in marine microbiology research in New Zealand, and will contribute to the University of Auckland initiative to increase its strengths in marine science, recognizing the importance of marine science for the sustainable management of our marine resource.

Public Summary: Why are some species so smart? Theories for the evolution of intelligence often propose that cognition gives animals an advantage in terms of survival or reproduction. This assumes that intelligence may evolve via natural selection. Yet, despite increasing research effort, there is currently no direct evidence that natural selection shapes cognition in any living animal. To investigate how intelligence evolves, cognition must be tested in the wild, within the context of all other factors that influence survival and reproduction. This is logistically challenging, as most wild animals will avoid interaction with humans. However, at Zealandia sanctuary in Wellington I have developed a unique natural laboratory for studying cognitive evolution in the wild, focusing on two animals that have never evolved fear of humans: the North Island robin and North Island kaka.
Building on several years of initial work, I will investigate whether and how natural selection shapes animal minds. I will examine whether cognitive traits fulfil the requirements for natural selection by assessing whether there is 1) individual cognitive variation 2) that influences fitness 3) and is heritable. To achieve this, I will give wild robins and kaka cognitive tests to quantify individual variation in social cognition and physical cognition and examine the link between cognition and behaviours that are key for survival and reproduction (including foraging, mate provisioning and nest building). I will monitor the breeding success of all individuals that participate in the cognitive tests and investigate the relationship between reproductive success and cognitive variation. Parent-offspring comparisons (robins and kaka) and cross fostering
experiments (robins) will be used to assess whether the variation in cognitive performance is heritable.
I will also use the knowledge generated about the link between behaviour and cognition to enhance conservation outcomes for robins and kaka. Zealandia is a 'mainland island' sanctuary; 225 ha of regenerating forest surrounded by a predator proof fence, with all mammalian predators (except mice) removed. The sanctuary's proximity to a major urban centre has created an unprecedented conservation issue, as vulnerable endemic species are dispersing beyond the protection of the sanctuary and into a risk-filled urban environment. My research will provide insight into how cognition influences behaviours that are critical for survival and reproduction. Using this information, I will develop cognitively-based techniques for manipulating behaviour (e.g. exploiting social learning to encourage robins to nest well above the ground), with the aim of enhancing the survival of individuals that disperse beyond the protection of the sanctuary.
In summary, my research will answer a fundamental question about the evolution of cognition; can natural selection act on cognitive traits in the wild? In addition, the knowledge generated will enhance the conservation outcomes of a mainland island sanctuary, by developing techniques that use cognition to better equip naive individuals to face the risks posed by the urban environment.