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Cutting down rainforests can destroy life deep below the sea's surface, as well as that below the trees, a young Dunedin scientist has discovered.
The research won University of Otago marine ecologist Rebecca McLeod the top prize at last night's MacDiarmid Young Scientist of the Year Awards in Auckland.
A further 10 prizes were awarded, for young scientists researching topics ranging from well-meaning tourists' harmful effects on yellow-eyed penguins to preventing blue-stain fungi in timber.
Dr McLeod's research began 420m beneath Doubtful Sound, where the 30-year-old encountered the jawless, toothless and blind slimy hagfish.
She began to research the fish's diet, and discovered a complex food web - coastal deep-water creatures relied on neighbouring coastal forests for their food.
Slips and rivers transport logs and leaves to the sea. The vegetation sinks, rots like compost on the seafloor and produces hydrogen sulphide. That is then taken up by bacteria and, through chemical reactions, is turned into carbohydrate energy.
Those bacteria live inside clams and worms, which are eaten by the hagfish - meaning the forest nearly half a kilometre above is feeding the deep-water fish below.
She concluded the fish depended on the forest above for half their nutritional needs. Other common species, including blue cod and rock lobster, also obtained energy originally from the forests, she found.
Fiordland was one of the few places where intact rainforest bordered a pristine marine ecosystem, she said.
"That environment gives us an insight into how our coastal ecosystem functioned before humans started cutting down trees. That link, between the condition of the forest and marine life, has been largely ignored in the past.
"I guess we'll never really know how much the deforestation that's been carried out already has altered the marine environment."
Dr McLeod said the knowledge could help in future marine reserves.
Her win includes a cash prize of $10,000 and a trip to Britain to attend the British Association for the Advancement of Science festival. She is named the Young Scientist of the Year and also receives the MacDiarmid Medal.
Dr McLeod said the award would help her chances of securing research funding in New Zealand, allowing her to stay here and achieve her long-term goal - to be a NZ-based academic.
The lead judge of the awards, Rutherford Medal winner Professor Richard Faull, said the judges had looked for innovation and research brilliance, mixed with good communication and simple concepts.
The awards:
Named after New Zealand's Nobel Prize-winning chemist, the late Alan MacDiarmid.
Now in their fifth year.
Open to all postgraduates undertaking science and technology research.
Entrants must have received their doctorate within the past five years.
The 11 prizes carry a combined value of $50,000 cash and two overseas trips.
Other honourees:
NATIONAL AWARD RUNNER-UP AND FUTURE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY CATEGORY WINNER
MATTHEW BRODIE (Massey University, Wellington)
Mr Brodie used a motion-capture system - with a network of sensors strapped to a skier's body - to track movement. The data can help skiers to go faster by teaching them to make the most efficient use of gravity. The technology could also be applied to rowing, cross-country running and cycling. UNDERSTANDING PLANET EARTH
- RUNNER-UP DR CRAIG RADFORD (University of Auckland)
Dr Radford found fish and crabs swim towards the source of underwater sound. The discovery is a potential technique for restocking depleted reefs. He found the noise of snapping shrimps and feeding sea urchins gave baby fish and crabs their bearings as they searched for a suitable habitat to settle. SCIENCE AND OUR SOCIETY
- WINNER GWENDA WILLIS (University of Canterbury)
Ms Willis studied how pre-release planning for sex offenders affected reoffending. She studied 39 child sex offenders who had reoffended and 42 who had not. Her results showed that good pre-release planning - especially organising a place to live on release - lowered reoffending from 17 to 6 per cent.
SCIENCE AND OUR SOCIETY
- RUNNER-UP LAUREN FRENCH (Victoria University, Wellington)
Memories can change when people discuss their experiences, Ms French discovered. Her research showed people were more likely to remember false information if it was suggested by their romantic partner, someone they trusted, or someone they considered highly credible. ADVANCING HUMAN HEALTH AND WELLBEING
- WINNER
DIANNE SIKA-PAOTONU (Malaghan Institute of Medical Research, Wellington)
Dendritic cells can activate T-cells - the foot soldiers of immune response. But dendritic cells often do not function properly in cancer patients. Ms Sika-Paotonu coated the cells with a sea sponge extract to make them work harder.
ADVANCING HUMAN HEALTH AND WELLBEING
- RUNNER-UP HAE JOO KANG
University of Auckland)
Ms Joo's discovery could lead to therapies for strep infections. She discovered a new type of bond in pili, or protein assemblies, allowing them to adhere to human cells.
FUTURE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGIES
- RUNNER-UP
ANDREW PAYNE (University of Waikato)
Mr Payne's research could eventually allow robots and other electronic devices to measure distance and generate 3D images. Most existing 3D imaging systems are slow and measure just one spot at a time. His system measures multiple points with very high accuracy.
ADDING VALUE TO NATURE
- WINNER
URSULA ELLENBERG (University of Otago)
By studying yellow-eyed penguins at Sandfly Bay on the Otago Peninsula, Ms Ellenberg discovered frequent tourist visits increased the birds' heart rate and decreased their breeding rate. Her research highlighted the need for appropriate visitor management at eco-tourism sites.
ADDING VALUE TO NATURE
- RUNNER-UP
DR TRIPTI SINGH (Scion)
Blue stain fungi discolour radiata pine logs soon after harvest and cost exporters up to $100 million a year. Traditional protection uses toxic chemicals, but Dr Singh has created a treatment using a common mould fungus combined with the natural compound chitosan found in sea creatures.
MASTERS LEVEL RESEARCH AWARD
- WINNER
KAREN LOVE (Scion)
Ms Love discovered a way to impregnate the cells of wood fibre with silica, allowing it to be coupled with modifying compounds in the same way the surface of glass is in fibreglass composites. Fibreglass is expensive to make and does not decompose easily. Wood is renewable, and far cheaper.
