Maureen Marra - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Maureen Marra

Research paper thumbnail of Leadership malpractice: exposing the reality underpinning unleaderly behaviour

International Journal of Contemporary Management

Background A mounting body of research literature is highlighting the prevalence of serious malpr... more Background A mounting body of research literature is highlighting the prevalence of serious malpractice by persons in leadership positions. Arguably, too many of those appointed to a leadership position believe that they have the right to act in any way that they choose. They believe that the title of ‘leader’ affords them the licence to act with little regard for others. But just because a person has been appointed to a leadership position, this does not automatically make them a leader. Nor does it imply that everything they do is leadership. Thus, the impetus for this article is the acknowledgement that it's time to clearly distinguish what truly constitutes leadership from that which is its antithesis – leadership malpractice. Not to do so only allows serious leadership malpractice to become normalised as acceptable leadership activity. Research Aim Therefore, the aim of this article is to first use research literature to describe the growing concern about the prevalence of ...

Research paper thumbnail of Reclaiming the Soul of the University in an Agile Corporate World

Leadership and Management Strategies for Creating Agile Universities

In today's agile corporate world, the expectation is that the university will be able to rapi... more In today's agile corporate world, the expectation is that the university will be able to rapidly adapt and evolve in response to its ever-changing global, educational, economic, social, political, and technical environments. But, at what cost? This chapter argues that many of our universities have lost their soul in their race to become agile because their focus has shifted away from fully achieving their core purpose—the creation and the dissemination of knowledge—to production-line teaching and learning and income-based research. There is now universal apprehension arising from the belief that university leaders are more concerned with income and budgets than knowledge and people. In response, this chapter argues for a radically new understanding of what constitutes truly effective university leadership which is readily able to create an agile university culture while simultaneously ensuring it sustains its commitment to its core purpose.

Research paper thumbnail of A New Theory of Organizational Ecology, and Its Implications for Educational Leadership

Research paper thumbnail of Comparing fossil and extant beetles in central North Island forests, New Zealand

Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand

ABSTRACT Restoration efforts around New Zealand provide safe havens for native species that have ... more ABSTRACT Restoration efforts around New Zealand provide safe havens for native species that have been seriously compromised since the arrival of people and introduced mammals approximately 750 yrs ago. Maungatautari in the Waikato is currently the largest area of almost (except for mice) mammal-free estate on the New Zealand mainland. We examined attributes, such as beetle size variation, dispersal ability and trophic structure, of the beetle community at Maungatautari and compared it with the fossil beetle assemblage from two central North Island sites where forest was preserved under up to 2 m of tephra and volcanic ash from the Taupo eruption (232 ± 5 AD (1718 ± 5 cal. yr BP)) prior to the introduction of mammals. A total of 334 fossil, and 206 extant, beetle species were found. No difference was observed between the trophic composition and dispersal ability of taxa within the beetle communities sampled from pre-mammal ecosystem compared with Maungatautari. Greater numbers of large species were found at Maungatautari compared to the two fossil sites. However, this disguised the loss of several large flightless ground-dwelling weevil species that were found as fossils but are now considered extinct. Surprisingly, only 1.2% of the fossil beetle species identified are now thought to be extinct. The fossil beetle assemblages from the central North Island are invaluable datasets that describe the pre-mammal beetle fauna and provide an important benchmark for assessing restoration outcomes in New Zealand forest ecosystems.

Research paper thumbnail of Leadership in Higher Education from a Transrelational Perspective

Leadership in Higher Education from a Transrelational Perspective

Research paper thumbnail of Marra, M.J. 2007. New Zealand Pleistocene Beetles. In: Elias, S.A. (editor-in-chief) Encyclopaedia of Quaternary Science. Elsevier, London, pp 236-246

Research paper thumbnail of Holocene evolution of the Waiotahi Estuary, Bay of Plenty /

Thesis (MSc--Geography)--University of Auckland, 1997.

Research paper thumbnail of Late Quaternary climate change from the Awatere Valley, South Island, New Zealand using the maximum likelihood envelope method

We present a new climatic reconstruction method appropriate for biological proxies where modern d... more We present a new climatic reconstruction method appropriate for biological proxies where modern distributions are poorly defined and data sets are small. The technique uses a sine function in conjunction with maximum likelihood estimates of best high and best low values for the distribution of each species. To demonstrate the model we present temperature reconstructions for the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) and Holocene from beetle fossil assemblages from the Awatere Valley, New Zealand. The temperature estimates are determined by the mutual overlap of the climate range for all the species in the assemblage. The overlap is then compared with modern physio-chemical conditions. For our example, we estimate the LGM summer (February) mean temperature was about 3.5-4degreesC cooler, and July (winter) mean daily minimum temperature was about 4-5degreesC cooler than present day temperatures. The maximum likelihood estimates broaden the reconstructed temperature ranges to 2.5-5degreesC cooler ...

Research paper thumbnail of Last glacial maximum beetle fauna, Lyndon Stream, Rakaia River Valley, South Island, New Zealand

Quaternary Science Reviews

This paper presents fossil beetle data from a Last Glacial Maximum site at the Lyndon Stream, in ... more This paper presents fossil beetle data from a Last Glacial Maximum site at the Lyndon Stream, in the Canterbury foothills, South Island, New Zealand. Paleotemperatures are derived using the maximum likelihood envelope (MLE) model developed for regions where modern distribution data are incomplete [Marra et al., 2004. Late quaternary climate change in the Awatere Valley, South Island, New Zealand using a sine model with a maximum likelihood envelope on fossil beetle data. Quaternary Science Reviews 23, 1637–1650]. The MLE model results indicate that summer temperatures in the Canterbury foothills, in close proximity to the major Rakaia glacier, at ca 22,000 14C yr BP were between 0.5 °C warmer and 1.9 °C cooler than present day in February (summer). Mean minimum winter temperatures ranged between 1 °C warmer and 2.2 °C cooler than the present day. These apparently surprising results confirm and quantify existing climate reconstructions from plant macrofossils from this site [Soons, J...

Research paper thumbnail of Marra MJ. 2013: Late Pleistocene of New Zealand. In Elias, S.A. (editor-in-chief) Encyclopaedia of Quaternary Science, 2nd Edition. Elsevier, London, pp 244-254

Research paper thumbnail of Developing fossil beetle analysis for past environmental and climate reconstruction in New Zealand : a thesis submitted to the Victoria University of Wellington in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Geology /

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Victoria University of Wellington, 2002. Includes bibliographical references.

Research paper thumbnail of Marske K, Marra M, Leschen R, Barker GM, Rodrigo A, Buckley T. 2009: Beetles unravel the Last Glacial Maximum history of South Island forests. Geological Society of New Zealand Miscellaneous Series Publication 126: 31–32

Research paper thumbnail of Paleoenvironmental reconstruction of a well-preserved Stage 7 forest sequence catastrophically buried by basaltic eruptive deposits, northern New Zealand

Quaternary Science Reviews, 2006

Forest remnants, buried by catastrophically emplaced volcanic deposits, are identified on the sho... more Forest remnants, buried by catastrophically emplaced volcanic deposits, are identified on the shores of the Manukau Harbour, in northern New Zealand. Carbonaceous muds associated with the fossil forest were investigated through a combination of stratigraphy, chronology and palaeoecological proxies. The fossil forest was destroyed and buried by phreatomagmatic explosions from the adjacent Maungataketake Volcano. Small trees (o1 m diameter) in position of growth are observed extending 1-2 m upwards into the overlying volcanic deposits. The lowermost part of the phreatomagmatic succession contains well-preserved leaf fossils and small fallen logs and branches, many of which were incorporated into the phreatomagmatic succession during the initial eruptive phase. Optically stimulated luminescence dating of the phreatomagmatic succession together with palaeoecological evidence for interglacial climate suggests deposition in late Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 7. This extends the known age of volcanism in the Auckland Volcanic Field by up to 40 ka. Beetle and pollen assemblages indicate a northern conifer forest growing adjacent to a wetland on or near a coastal plain. The pollen record shows forest compositional changes, in particular a period of Agathis australis-dominance between two phases of Dacrydium cupressinum dominance. Concomitant developments in the wetland flora may have been linked to changes in groundwater conditions as sea level fluctuated across the coastal plain. Despite overall similarity to the modern flora and fauna, both beetle and pollen assemblages include elements that are found today at higher elevations in the region, indicating that slightly cooler climate conditions existed during late MIS 7 compared to present. We estimate this temperature depression at less than 1 1C relative to the present, broadly consistent with the late MIS 7 marine (ODP-1123) record located east of New Zealand. This study clearly demonstrates the complementarity of coleopteran and palynological analyses and the utility of a multi-proxy approach to reconstructing terrestrial environmental change.

Research paper thumbnail of Reconstructing temperature during the Last Glacial Maximum from Lyndon Stream, South Island, New Zealand using beetle fossils and maximum likelihood envelopes

Quaternary Science Reviews, 2006

This paper presents fossil beetle data from a Last Glacial Maximum site at the Lyndon Stream, in ... more This paper presents fossil beetle data from a Last Glacial Maximum site at the Lyndon Stream, in the Canterbury foothills, South Island, New Zealand. Paleotemperatures are derived using the maximum likelihood envelope (MLE) model developed for regions where modern distribution data are incomplete [Marra et al., 2004. Late quaternary climate change in the Awatere Valley, South Island, New Zealand using a sine model with a maximum likelihood envelope on fossil beetle data. Quaternary Science Reviews 23, 1637-1650]. The MLE model results indicate that summer temperatures in the Canterbury foothills, in close proximity to the major Rakaia glacier, at ca 22,000 14 C yr BP were between 0.5 1C warmer and 1.9 1C cooler than present day in February (summer). Mean minimum winter temperatures ranged between 1 1C warmer and 2.2 1C cooler than the present day. These apparently surprising results confirm and quantify existing climate reconstructions from plant macrofossils from this site [

Research paper thumbnail of Late Quaternary climate change in the Awatere Valley, South Island, New Zealand using a sine model with a maximum likelihood envelope on fossil beetle data

Quaternary Science Reviews, 2004

... An example of this limitation is a taxon that is intolerant of freezing conditions and whichw... more ... An example of this limitation is a taxon that is intolerant of freezing conditions and whichwill display a finite distribution on its minimum temperature requirement range. ... Age=20,600±300 yr b, Full-size table. a NZA 13214 (Marra and Leschen 2004). ...

Research paper thumbnail of Last interglacial beetle fauna from New Zealand

Quaternary Research, 2003

Fossil beetles from two last interglacial lake deposits from southern Wairarapa, central New Zeal... more Fossil beetles from two last interglacial lake deposits from southern Wairarapa, central New Zealand are provisionally ascribed to marine oxygen isotope stages (MIS) 5a–e. Both assemblages represent ecological successions from lake margins to forest. The lower sample (MIS 5e) is characterized by species found today in northern New Zealand. These species, including Lorelus crassicornis, ‘Dasytes’ laticeps, Cryptobius nitidius, ‘Stenomalium’ sulcithorax, Psilocnaeia nana, and Microbrontes lineatus, represent a southward displacement from modern distributions by up to 700 km. Climate reconstruction indicates that temperatures at the time of deposition were 1.6–2.5°C warmer in the summer (January) and 2.3–3.2°C warmer in the winter (July) than at present. These results match local and regional pollen and phytolith findings of warmer, wetter conditions at the thermal maximum of the last interglaciation. In contrast, the upper sample is characterized by species that have widespread modern...

Research paper thumbnail of Persistence of New Zealand Quaternary beetles

New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics, 2011

... [CrossRef] View all references; Abellán et al. 20101. Abellán, P, Benetti, CJ, Angus, RB and ... more ... [CrossRef] View all references; Abellán et al. 20101. Abellán, P, Benetti, CJ, Angus, RB and Ribera, I. 2010. A review of Quaternary range shifts in European aquatic Coleoptera. ... 2009; Abellán et al. 20101. Abellán, P, Benetti, CJ, Angus, RB and Ribera, I. 2010. ...

Research paper thumbnail of Description and interpretation of a fossil beetle assemblage from marine isotope stage 6 from Banks Peninsula, New Zealand

New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics, 2003

ABSTRACT A penultimate glaciation‐age beetle fauna is described from a core record from Banks Pen... more ABSTRACT A penultimate glaciation‐age beetle fauna is described from a core record from Banks Peninsula, South Island, New Zealand. A total of 19 beetle species belonging to 5 families was recorded. The fossil beetles indicate a forest environment of montane affinity but in a coastal setting. The assemblage is dominated by phytophagous species, mainly weevils, associated with forest habitats. The beetle fauna includes Rhicnobelus metallicus, which is a forest canopy species; forest floor and swamp forest taxa; and Cecyropa modesta, which is specific to coastal dune systems. Fossil seeds were also identified. They include species from salt marsh and tidal flats, indicating an estuarine setting, which suggests that the beetle remains were washed into an estuary from an adjacent forest. The fossil beetle assemblage indicates cooler than modern conditions but not full glacial. This interpretation is consistent with the regional pollen record for this interval.

Research paper thumbnail of Glacial forest refugium in Howard Valley, South Island, New Zealand

Journal of Quaternary Science, 2010

ABSTRACT Fossils of forest habitat beetles and leaves of Nothofagus menziesii provide evidence of... more ABSTRACT Fossils of forest habitat beetles and leaves of Nothofagus menziesii provide evidence of a forest refugium at times between ca. 34 000 and ca. 18 500 cal. a BP at an upland site in Howard Valley, located adjacent to glaciated valleys in South Island, New Zealand. The stratigraphy of the glacial-aged terrace sequence of organic-rich silts and fluvial sand/gravels indicates that soil development occurred episodically for around 15 000 a. Fifty-four beetle taxa represent seven habitat types: forest, forest or scrub, riparian and aquatic, litter, grass/tussock, marshland and moss habitats. Leaf and beetle fossils indicate that forest dominated by N. menziesii persisted at the site for most of the time period represented, and tree line taxa such as Taenarthrus sp. 1 (Carabidae) and Podocarpus sp. (Podocarpaceae) indicate that the site may represent the upper tree limit for full-glacial time. The finding of forest at this elevated site adds to the growing fossil evidence for multiple forest refugia in New Zealand during the last glaciation and is consistent with the pollen records, which have consistently indicated the presence of forest species during the last glaciations.

Research paper thumbnail of Palaeoenvironment and biogeography of a late MIS 3 fossil beetle fauna from South Taranaki, New Zealand

Journal of Quaternary Science, 2009

ABSTRACT Fossil beetles from a last glacial landslide-generated lake-forest sequence aged 33 480–... more ABSTRACT Fossil beetles from a last glacial landslide-generated lake-forest sequence aged 33 480–34 410 cal. yr BP (late Marine Isotope Stage 3 (MIS 3)) are identified from the Waitotara Valley in South Taranaki, North Island, New Zealand. The stratigraphy indicates that the landslide caused changes to local hydrology, resulting in the formation of a lake-swamp environment and subsequent transition to forest. Fossil leaves suggest a forest dominated by Nothofagus menziesii, and radiocarbon ages indicate the site was forested for around 4000 yr. A fossil beetle-based temperature estimate using the maximum likelihood envelope method indicates the climate was cooler than present day. The distributions of the fossil beetle taxa are examined and compared with the modern ecological patterns. The fossil fauna is very typical of a modern-day Nelson (northern South Island) fauna. None of the beetle species is present in the modern South Taranaki fauna and many taxa such as Platypus caviceps, Alema paradoxa, Rhyzobius consors, Syrphetodes ater, Cyclaxyra impressa and species of Grynoma and Pycnomerus are now absent from part or all of the lower North Island. This is important because the lower North Island is currently an area of low diversity and endemism and these results suggest this biogeographical pattern stems from the last glaciation. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Research paper thumbnail of Leadership malpractice: exposing the reality underpinning unleaderly behaviour

International Journal of Contemporary Management

Background A mounting body of research literature is highlighting the prevalence of serious malpr... more Background A mounting body of research literature is highlighting the prevalence of serious malpractice by persons in leadership positions. Arguably, too many of those appointed to a leadership position believe that they have the right to act in any way that they choose. They believe that the title of ‘leader’ affords them the licence to act with little regard for others. But just because a person has been appointed to a leadership position, this does not automatically make them a leader. Nor does it imply that everything they do is leadership. Thus, the impetus for this article is the acknowledgement that it's time to clearly distinguish what truly constitutes leadership from that which is its antithesis – leadership malpractice. Not to do so only allows serious leadership malpractice to become normalised as acceptable leadership activity. Research Aim Therefore, the aim of this article is to first use research literature to describe the growing concern about the prevalence of ...

Research paper thumbnail of Reclaiming the Soul of the University in an Agile Corporate World

Leadership and Management Strategies for Creating Agile Universities

In today's agile corporate world, the expectation is that the university will be able to rapi... more In today's agile corporate world, the expectation is that the university will be able to rapidly adapt and evolve in response to its ever-changing global, educational, economic, social, political, and technical environments. But, at what cost? This chapter argues that many of our universities have lost their soul in their race to become agile because their focus has shifted away from fully achieving their core purpose—the creation and the dissemination of knowledge—to production-line teaching and learning and income-based research. There is now universal apprehension arising from the belief that university leaders are more concerned with income and budgets than knowledge and people. In response, this chapter argues for a radically new understanding of what constitutes truly effective university leadership which is readily able to create an agile university culture while simultaneously ensuring it sustains its commitment to its core purpose.

Research paper thumbnail of A New Theory of Organizational Ecology, and Its Implications for Educational Leadership

Research paper thumbnail of Comparing fossil and extant beetles in central North Island forests, New Zealand

Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand

ABSTRACT Restoration efforts around New Zealand provide safe havens for native species that have ... more ABSTRACT Restoration efforts around New Zealand provide safe havens for native species that have been seriously compromised since the arrival of people and introduced mammals approximately 750 yrs ago. Maungatautari in the Waikato is currently the largest area of almost (except for mice) mammal-free estate on the New Zealand mainland. We examined attributes, such as beetle size variation, dispersal ability and trophic structure, of the beetle community at Maungatautari and compared it with the fossil beetle assemblage from two central North Island sites where forest was preserved under up to 2 m of tephra and volcanic ash from the Taupo eruption (232 ± 5 AD (1718 ± 5 cal. yr BP)) prior to the introduction of mammals. A total of 334 fossil, and 206 extant, beetle species were found. No difference was observed between the trophic composition and dispersal ability of taxa within the beetle communities sampled from pre-mammal ecosystem compared with Maungatautari. Greater numbers of large species were found at Maungatautari compared to the two fossil sites. However, this disguised the loss of several large flightless ground-dwelling weevil species that were found as fossils but are now considered extinct. Surprisingly, only 1.2% of the fossil beetle species identified are now thought to be extinct. The fossil beetle assemblages from the central North Island are invaluable datasets that describe the pre-mammal beetle fauna and provide an important benchmark for assessing restoration outcomes in New Zealand forest ecosystems.

Research paper thumbnail of Leadership in Higher Education from a Transrelational Perspective

Leadership in Higher Education from a Transrelational Perspective

Research paper thumbnail of Marra, M.J. 2007. New Zealand Pleistocene Beetles. In: Elias, S.A. (editor-in-chief) Encyclopaedia of Quaternary Science. Elsevier, London, pp 236-246

Research paper thumbnail of Holocene evolution of the Waiotahi Estuary, Bay of Plenty /

Thesis (MSc--Geography)--University of Auckland, 1997.

Research paper thumbnail of Late Quaternary climate change from the Awatere Valley, South Island, New Zealand using the maximum likelihood envelope method

We present a new climatic reconstruction method appropriate for biological proxies where modern d... more We present a new climatic reconstruction method appropriate for biological proxies where modern distributions are poorly defined and data sets are small. The technique uses a sine function in conjunction with maximum likelihood estimates of best high and best low values for the distribution of each species. To demonstrate the model we present temperature reconstructions for the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) and Holocene from beetle fossil assemblages from the Awatere Valley, New Zealand. The temperature estimates are determined by the mutual overlap of the climate range for all the species in the assemblage. The overlap is then compared with modern physio-chemical conditions. For our example, we estimate the LGM summer (February) mean temperature was about 3.5-4degreesC cooler, and July (winter) mean daily minimum temperature was about 4-5degreesC cooler than present day temperatures. The maximum likelihood estimates broaden the reconstructed temperature ranges to 2.5-5degreesC cooler ...

Research paper thumbnail of Last glacial maximum beetle fauna, Lyndon Stream, Rakaia River Valley, South Island, New Zealand

Quaternary Science Reviews

This paper presents fossil beetle data from a Last Glacial Maximum site at the Lyndon Stream, in ... more This paper presents fossil beetle data from a Last Glacial Maximum site at the Lyndon Stream, in the Canterbury foothills, South Island, New Zealand. Paleotemperatures are derived using the maximum likelihood envelope (MLE) model developed for regions where modern distribution data are incomplete [Marra et al., 2004. Late quaternary climate change in the Awatere Valley, South Island, New Zealand using a sine model with a maximum likelihood envelope on fossil beetle data. Quaternary Science Reviews 23, 1637–1650]. The MLE model results indicate that summer temperatures in the Canterbury foothills, in close proximity to the major Rakaia glacier, at ca 22,000 14C yr BP were between 0.5 °C warmer and 1.9 °C cooler than present day in February (summer). Mean minimum winter temperatures ranged between 1 °C warmer and 2.2 °C cooler than the present day. These apparently surprising results confirm and quantify existing climate reconstructions from plant macrofossils from this site [Soons, J...

Research paper thumbnail of Marra MJ. 2013: Late Pleistocene of New Zealand. In Elias, S.A. (editor-in-chief) Encyclopaedia of Quaternary Science, 2nd Edition. Elsevier, London, pp 244-254

Research paper thumbnail of Developing fossil beetle analysis for past environmental and climate reconstruction in New Zealand : a thesis submitted to the Victoria University of Wellington in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Geology /

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Victoria University of Wellington, 2002. Includes bibliographical references.

Research paper thumbnail of Marske K, Marra M, Leschen R, Barker GM, Rodrigo A, Buckley T. 2009: Beetles unravel the Last Glacial Maximum history of South Island forests. Geological Society of New Zealand Miscellaneous Series Publication 126: 31–32

Research paper thumbnail of Paleoenvironmental reconstruction of a well-preserved Stage 7 forest sequence catastrophically buried by basaltic eruptive deposits, northern New Zealand

Quaternary Science Reviews, 2006

Forest remnants, buried by catastrophically emplaced volcanic deposits, are identified on the sho... more Forest remnants, buried by catastrophically emplaced volcanic deposits, are identified on the shores of the Manukau Harbour, in northern New Zealand. Carbonaceous muds associated with the fossil forest were investigated through a combination of stratigraphy, chronology and palaeoecological proxies. The fossil forest was destroyed and buried by phreatomagmatic explosions from the adjacent Maungataketake Volcano. Small trees (o1 m diameter) in position of growth are observed extending 1-2 m upwards into the overlying volcanic deposits. The lowermost part of the phreatomagmatic succession contains well-preserved leaf fossils and small fallen logs and branches, many of which were incorporated into the phreatomagmatic succession during the initial eruptive phase. Optically stimulated luminescence dating of the phreatomagmatic succession together with palaeoecological evidence for interglacial climate suggests deposition in late Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 7. This extends the known age of volcanism in the Auckland Volcanic Field by up to 40 ka. Beetle and pollen assemblages indicate a northern conifer forest growing adjacent to a wetland on or near a coastal plain. The pollen record shows forest compositional changes, in particular a period of Agathis australis-dominance between two phases of Dacrydium cupressinum dominance. Concomitant developments in the wetland flora may have been linked to changes in groundwater conditions as sea level fluctuated across the coastal plain. Despite overall similarity to the modern flora and fauna, both beetle and pollen assemblages include elements that are found today at higher elevations in the region, indicating that slightly cooler climate conditions existed during late MIS 7 compared to present. We estimate this temperature depression at less than 1 1C relative to the present, broadly consistent with the late MIS 7 marine (ODP-1123) record located east of New Zealand. This study clearly demonstrates the complementarity of coleopteran and palynological analyses and the utility of a multi-proxy approach to reconstructing terrestrial environmental change.

Research paper thumbnail of Reconstructing temperature during the Last Glacial Maximum from Lyndon Stream, South Island, New Zealand using beetle fossils and maximum likelihood envelopes

Quaternary Science Reviews, 2006

This paper presents fossil beetle data from a Last Glacial Maximum site at the Lyndon Stream, in ... more This paper presents fossil beetle data from a Last Glacial Maximum site at the Lyndon Stream, in the Canterbury foothills, South Island, New Zealand. Paleotemperatures are derived using the maximum likelihood envelope (MLE) model developed for regions where modern distribution data are incomplete [Marra et al., 2004. Late quaternary climate change in the Awatere Valley, South Island, New Zealand using a sine model with a maximum likelihood envelope on fossil beetle data. Quaternary Science Reviews 23, 1637-1650]. The MLE model results indicate that summer temperatures in the Canterbury foothills, in close proximity to the major Rakaia glacier, at ca 22,000 14 C yr BP were between 0.5 1C warmer and 1.9 1C cooler than present day in February (summer). Mean minimum winter temperatures ranged between 1 1C warmer and 2.2 1C cooler than the present day. These apparently surprising results confirm and quantify existing climate reconstructions from plant macrofossils from this site [

Research paper thumbnail of Late Quaternary climate change in the Awatere Valley, South Island, New Zealand using a sine model with a maximum likelihood envelope on fossil beetle data

Quaternary Science Reviews, 2004

... An example of this limitation is a taxon that is intolerant of freezing conditions and whichw... more ... An example of this limitation is a taxon that is intolerant of freezing conditions and whichwill display a finite distribution on its minimum temperature requirement range. ... Age=20,600±300 yr b, Full-size table. a NZA 13214 (Marra and Leschen 2004). ...

Research paper thumbnail of Last interglacial beetle fauna from New Zealand

Quaternary Research, 2003

Fossil beetles from two last interglacial lake deposits from southern Wairarapa, central New Zeal... more Fossil beetles from two last interglacial lake deposits from southern Wairarapa, central New Zealand are provisionally ascribed to marine oxygen isotope stages (MIS) 5a–e. Both assemblages represent ecological successions from lake margins to forest. The lower sample (MIS 5e) is characterized by species found today in northern New Zealand. These species, including Lorelus crassicornis, ‘Dasytes’ laticeps, Cryptobius nitidius, ‘Stenomalium’ sulcithorax, Psilocnaeia nana, and Microbrontes lineatus, represent a southward displacement from modern distributions by up to 700 km. Climate reconstruction indicates that temperatures at the time of deposition were 1.6–2.5°C warmer in the summer (January) and 2.3–3.2°C warmer in the winter (July) than at present. These results match local and regional pollen and phytolith findings of warmer, wetter conditions at the thermal maximum of the last interglaciation. In contrast, the upper sample is characterized by species that have widespread modern...

Research paper thumbnail of Persistence of New Zealand Quaternary beetles

New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics, 2011

... [CrossRef] View all references; Abellán et al. 20101. Abellán, P, Benetti, CJ, Angus, RB and ... more ... [CrossRef] View all references; Abellán et al. 20101. Abellán, P, Benetti, CJ, Angus, RB and Ribera, I. 2010. A review of Quaternary range shifts in European aquatic Coleoptera. ... 2009; Abellán et al. 20101. Abellán, P, Benetti, CJ, Angus, RB and Ribera, I. 2010. ...

Research paper thumbnail of Description and interpretation of a fossil beetle assemblage from marine isotope stage 6 from Banks Peninsula, New Zealand

New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics, 2003

ABSTRACT A penultimate glaciation‐age beetle fauna is described from a core record from Banks Pen... more ABSTRACT A penultimate glaciation‐age beetle fauna is described from a core record from Banks Peninsula, South Island, New Zealand. A total of 19 beetle species belonging to 5 families was recorded. The fossil beetles indicate a forest environment of montane affinity but in a coastal setting. The assemblage is dominated by phytophagous species, mainly weevils, associated with forest habitats. The beetle fauna includes Rhicnobelus metallicus, which is a forest canopy species; forest floor and swamp forest taxa; and Cecyropa modesta, which is specific to coastal dune systems. Fossil seeds were also identified. They include species from salt marsh and tidal flats, indicating an estuarine setting, which suggests that the beetle remains were washed into an estuary from an adjacent forest. The fossil beetle assemblage indicates cooler than modern conditions but not full glacial. This interpretation is consistent with the regional pollen record for this interval.

Research paper thumbnail of Glacial forest refugium in Howard Valley, South Island, New Zealand

Journal of Quaternary Science, 2010

ABSTRACT Fossils of forest habitat beetles and leaves of Nothofagus menziesii provide evidence of... more ABSTRACT Fossils of forest habitat beetles and leaves of Nothofagus menziesii provide evidence of a forest refugium at times between ca. 34 000 and ca. 18 500 cal. a BP at an upland site in Howard Valley, located adjacent to glaciated valleys in South Island, New Zealand. The stratigraphy of the glacial-aged terrace sequence of organic-rich silts and fluvial sand/gravels indicates that soil development occurred episodically for around 15 000 a. Fifty-four beetle taxa represent seven habitat types: forest, forest or scrub, riparian and aquatic, litter, grass/tussock, marshland and moss habitats. Leaf and beetle fossils indicate that forest dominated by N. menziesii persisted at the site for most of the time period represented, and tree line taxa such as Taenarthrus sp. 1 (Carabidae) and Podocarpus sp. (Podocarpaceae) indicate that the site may represent the upper tree limit for full-glacial time. The finding of forest at this elevated site adds to the growing fossil evidence for multiple forest refugia in New Zealand during the last glaciation and is consistent with the pollen records, which have consistently indicated the presence of forest species during the last glaciations.

Research paper thumbnail of Palaeoenvironment and biogeography of a late MIS 3 fossil beetle fauna from South Taranaki, New Zealand

Journal of Quaternary Science, 2009

ABSTRACT Fossil beetles from a last glacial landslide-generated lake-forest sequence aged 33 480–... more ABSTRACT Fossil beetles from a last glacial landslide-generated lake-forest sequence aged 33 480–34 410 cal. yr BP (late Marine Isotope Stage 3 (MIS 3)) are identified from the Waitotara Valley in South Taranaki, North Island, New Zealand. The stratigraphy indicates that the landslide caused changes to local hydrology, resulting in the formation of a lake-swamp environment and subsequent transition to forest. Fossil leaves suggest a forest dominated by Nothofagus menziesii, and radiocarbon ages indicate the site was forested for around 4000 yr. A fossil beetle-based temperature estimate using the maximum likelihood envelope method indicates the climate was cooler than present day. The distributions of the fossil beetle taxa are examined and compared with the modern ecological patterns. The fossil fauna is very typical of a modern-day Nelson (northern South Island) fauna. None of the beetle species is present in the modern South Taranaki fauna and many taxa such as Platypus caviceps, Alema paradoxa, Rhyzobius consors, Syrphetodes ater, Cyclaxyra impressa and species of Grynoma and Pycnomerus are now absent from part or all of the lower North Island. This is important because the lower North Island is currently an area of low diversity and endemism and these results suggest this biogeographical pattern stems from the last glaciation. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.