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Doctor Catriona Macdonald
Dr Catriona Macdonald joined the Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment in November 2010 as a postdoctoral fellow. Her research interests are focused on understanding soil microbial ecology and function under environmental change and their interaction with plant communities. Working closely with those involved in the Hawkesbury Forest Experiment she aims to improve our understanding of how climate change factors will affect nutrient cycling and plant-soil interactions. She aims to determine the interactive effects of climate change factors on plant-soil interactions and ecosystem feedback. To achieve this Catriona is using controlled environment studies to determine rates of nutrient (N and P) transformations, quantify nutrient resource allocation in above- and below-ground pools, as well as investigating the function and diversity of key microbial drivers in N and P cycles. Her research experience includes determining the effects of atmospheric N deposition on structure and functioning of soil microbial communities in relation to C and N cycling, as well as assessing the long-term impacts of heavy metal contaminated sludge addition to agricultural land in terms of maintaining microbial diversity and function. Catriona also maintains an interest in the application of microbial profiling techniques for forensic use in both environmental and human biomes.
Areas of Research / Teaching Expertise
Plant-soil interactions; nutrient cycling; climate change; heavy metals; forensic microbial ecology
Awards and Recognition
- Best oral presentation at the New Zealand Soil Science Society meeting (Rotorua 2006).
- NZ Police $20,000 Research Award (2006-2007). Beyond human DNA analysis - Genetic comparison of bacteria from human bite marks and saliva.
- NZ Police $10,000 Research Award (2006-2007). Bacterial fingerprints for identification of vaginal fluid for forensic purposes.
- Profit Share Travel Grant awarded (NZ$2000, Institute of Environmental Science and Research) to attend the 18th International Symposium on the Forensic Sciences: Classroom to Courtroom and the 1st International Workshop on Criminal and Environmental Soil Forensics. April 2006 Fremantle, Australia.
- Study Award (NZ$8000, Institute of Environmental Science and Research) awarded to travel overseas to learn new techniques, foster links and knowledge transfer (February 2006).
Selected Publications
Journal Articles
Macdonald CA, Anderson IC, Bardgett RD, Singh BK, (2011) 'Role of nitrogen in carbon mitigation in forest ecosystems', Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, vol.3, no.5, pp 303-310
Macdonald CA, Clark IM, Hirsch PR, Zhao FJ, McGrath SP, (2011) 'Development of a Real-Time PCR Assay for Detection and Quantification of Rhizobium leguminosarum Bacteria and Discrimination between Different Biovars in Zinc-Contaminated Soil', Applied and Environmental Microbiology, vol.77, no.13, pp 4626-4633
Macdonald CA, Clark IM, Zhao F-J, Hirsch PR, Singh BK, McGrath SP, (2011) ‘Long-term impacts of zinc and copper enriched sludge additions on bacterial, archaeal and fungal communities across arable and grassland soils’, Soil Biology and Biochemistry, vol.43, no.5, pp 932-941
Macdonald CA, Ang R, Cordiner SJ, Horswell J, (2011) ‘Discrimination of soils at regional and local levels using bacterial and fungal T-RFLP profiling’, Journal of Forensic Sciences, vol.56, no.1, pp 61-69
Singh BK, Macdonald CA, (2010) ‘Drug discovery from uncultivable microorganisms’, Drug Discovery Today, vol.15, pp 792-799
Macdonald CA, Yang X, Clark IM, Zhao FJ, Hirsch PR, McGrath SP, (2010) ‘Relative impact of soil, metal source and metal concentration on bacterial community structure and community tolerance’, Soil Biology and Biochemistry, vol.42, no.9, pp 1408-1417
Horswell J, Hewitt J, Van Schaik A, Croucher D, Speir T, Macdonald C, Susarla P, Bickers P, Burford P, Prosser J, (2010) ‘Mobility and survival of Salmonella typhimurium and human adenovirus from spiked sewage sludge applied to soil columns’, Journal of Applied Microbiology, vol.108, no.1, pp 104-114
Macdonald, CA, Thomas N, Robinson L, Tate KR, Ross DJ, Dando J, Singh BK, (2009) ‘Physiological, biochemical and molecular responses of soil microbial community after afforestation of pastures with Pinus radiata’, Soil Biology and Biochemistry, vol.41, pp 1642-1651
Singh BK, Dawson L, Macdonald C, Grime S, (2009) ‘Impact of biotic and abiotic interaction on soil microbial communities and functions: A field study’, Applied Soil Ecology, vol.41, pp 239-248
Macdonald C, Campbell C, Bacon J, Singh BK, (2008) ‘Multiple profiling of soil microbial communities identifies potential genetic markers of metal-enriched sewage sludge’, FEMS Microbiology Ecology, vol.65, pp 555-564
Macdonald C, Singh BK, Campbell C, Horsewell J, Spier T, (2007) ‘Long-term exposure to Zn-spiked sewage sludge alters soil community structure’, Soil Biology and Biochemistry, vol.39, no.10, pp 2576-2586
Singh BK, Tate KR, Kapadia G, Hedley CB, Macdonald CA, Millard P, Murrell JC, (2007) ‘Effect of afforestation and reforestation of pastures on the activity and population dynamics of methanotrophic bacteria’, Applied and Environmental Microbiology, vol.73, pp 5153-5161
Conference proceedings and presentations
Macdonald CA, Clark IM, McGrath SP, Hirsch P, (2009) 'Unravelling the soil microbial metagenome: assessing the effects of change on biodiversity and ecosystem function', Analysis and Experimentation on Ecosystems Final Open Meeting 24-25th November 2009. Exeter. Poster presentation.
Macdonald C, Yang X, Clark I, Hirsch PR, McGrath SP, (2008) 'Long-term impacts of metal-rich sludge additions on soil microbial communities - effects of metal source and soil type', 12th International Symposium on Microbial Ecology (ISME12): Microbial Diversity - Sustaining the Blue Planet, Cairns, 17-22nd August 2008 http://www.kenes.com /isme12/Posters/1256.htm.
Macdonald C. Yang X, Clark I, Hirsch PR McGrath SP, (2008) 'Long-term impacts of metal-rich sludge application on soil microbial communities', 14th Meeting of the Molecular Microbial Ecology Group, University of Warwick, UK, 3rd-4th July 2008. Oral Presentation.
Macdonald CA, Macdonald LM, Dawson L, Horswell J, (2007) 'Utilising the soil organic component for forensic application', 2nd Soil Forensic International Workshop. 30th Oct. to 2nd Nov 2007, Edinburgh, UK. Oral presentation.
Macdonald CA, Lorenz N, Peck JA, Van Schaik AP, Horswell J, McLaren R, Clucas L, Speir TW, (2007) 'Long-term exposure to metal-spiked biosolids affects microbial community structure in forest and pasture soils', Proceeding of the New Zealand Land Treatment Collective Annual Conference, Session 28: 14-16th March 2007, Rotorua, New Zealand. Oral presentation.
Macdonald CA, Singh BK, Peck JA, Van Schaik AP, Hunter LC, Speir TW, (2006) 'The long-term effect of metal-enriched biosolid application on microbial activity and community structure in pasture soils', Soils and Society, New Zealand Soil Science Society Annual Conference. 27 – 30th November, 2006, Rotorua, New Zealand. Oral presentation.
Macdonald CA, Speir TW, Horswell J, (2006) 'Soil micro-organisms as indicators of soil quality', Proceedings of the New Zealand Land Treatment Collective Annual Conference 2006. Session 27: 14-17th March 2006. Nelson, New Zealand. Oral presentation.
Macdonald CA, Parkinson RA. Horswell J, Vintiner J, Cordiner S, (2006) 'Application and Validation of Microbial Fingerprinting in Forensic Science', The 18th International Symposium of the Australia and New Zealand Forensic Science Society. April 2006, Perth. Oral presentation.
Macdonald CA, Prosser JI, Leake JR, Read DJ (2003) 'The long-term effect of atmospheric N-deposition on the structure of ammonia oxidising bacteria is semi-natural grasslands', British Ecological Society, Soil Biodiversity and Function, University of Lancaster, 25-27th March 2003. Poster Presentation.
