Priscilla Wehi
Wehi and a wētā in 2012
Education
AwardsRutherford Discovery Fellowship 2014
Scientific career
Fields
  • Ethnobiology
  • Conservation biology
Institutions
ThesisHarakeke (Phormium tenax) ecology and historical management by Maori: The changing landscape in New Zealand (2005)
Doctoral advisor
Websitepriscillawehi.com

Priscilla M. Wehi (nee McCallum) is a New Zealand ethnobiologist and conservation biologist. As at July 2021 she is an associate professor at the University of Otago and on the first of that month officially undertook the role of director of Te Pūnaha Matatini, a centre of research excellence in complex systems and data analytics.[1][2] During the COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand Te Pūnaha Matatini scientists have developed mathematical models of the spread of the virus across the country that influence the New Zealand government's response to the outbreak.[3] In 2021 Wehi was awarded the Hill Tinsley Medal.

Education

Wehi has a master's degree from Lincoln University, where she studied brushtail possums.[4] She undertook her PhD at the University of Waikato's School of Māori and Pacific Development.[5] Her doctoral thesis was entitled Harakeke (Phormium tenax) ecology and historical management by Maori: The changing landscape in New Zealand.[6]

Career

After completing her PhD Wehi obtained positions at several research institutions including at Massey University (working with Mary Morgan-Richards) and the University of Otago. She was then employed at Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research where she undertook research into wētā,[7][8][9] and advocated for the use of indigenous knowledge to inform research into biodiversity.[10] Wehi also led a team of researchers at Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research and Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu investigating Māori exploration of Antarctic waters.[11][12] Their research suggested that Māori were possibly the first people to sight the continent of Antarctica.[13] As at July 2021, Wehi is an associate professor at the University of Otago.[14]

Awards

In 2014 Wehi was granted a Royal Society Te Apārangi Rutherford Discovery Fellowship.[15] In 2019 Wehi was a recipient of the Outstanding Publication on New Zealand Ecology award, conferred by the New Zealand Ecological Society.[16] In 2020 the biological sciences department of the University of Canterbury awarded Wehi their Inspirational Alumna Award.[17] In 2021 Wehi was awarded the Hill Tinsley Medal with the New Zealand Association of Scientists recognising Wehi's "pioneering innovative research at the intersection of science and indigenous knowledge".[18]

Selected publications

References

  1. ↑ "Māori among first to see Antarctica, research suggests". RNZ. 9 June 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  2. ↑ "Complexity is at the heart of Te Pūnaha Matatini". www.tepunahamatatini.ac.nz. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  3. ↑ "COVID-19 research from Te Pūnaha Matatini". www.tepunahamatatini.ac.nz. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  4. ↑ McAllum, Priscilla (1996). Social rank, hormones and reproductive behaviour of male brushtail possums (Trichosurus vulpecula) : implications for biocontrol (Masters thesis). Research@Lincoln, Lincoln University. hdl:10182/2237.
  5. ↑ "Dr Priscilla Wehi : University of Waikato". www.waikato.ac.nz. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  6. ↑ Wehi, Priscilla (2005). Harakeke (Phormium tenax) ecology and historical management by Maori: The changing landscape in New Zealand (Doctoral thesis). Waikato Research Commons, University of Waikato. hdl:10289/12664.
  7. ↑ "Māori nailed it: Kaiwētā is a tree on which wētā feast". Stuff. 25 October 2020. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  8. ↑ Wehi, Priscilla M.; Brownstein, Gretchen; Morgan-Richards, Mary (2020). "Indigenous plant naming and experimentation reveal a plant–insect relationship in New Zealand forests". Conservation Science and Practice. 2 (10): e282. Bibcode:2020ConSP...2E.282W. doi:10.1111/csp2.282. ISSN 2578-4854. S2CID 224865554.
  9. ↑ Wehi, Priscilla M.; Monks, Adrian; Morgan-Richards, Mary (2017). Tregenza, T. (ed.). "Male tree weta are attracted to cuticular scent cues but do not discriminate according to sex or among two closely related species". Ethology. 123 (11): 825–834. Bibcode:2017Ethol.123..825W. doi:10.1111/eth.12652.
  10. ↑ "Mātauranga Māori 'needed' to help fight the world's biodiversity crisis". Stuff. 1 December 2019. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  11. ↑ Bowler, Jacinta (7 June 2021). "New Research Shows Māori Traveled to Antarctica at Least 1,000 Years Before Europeans". ScienceAlert. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  12. ↑ "Māori may have travelled to Antarctica as early as 7th century - report". Newshub. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  13. ↑ "Māori may have been first to discover Antarctica, researchers say". TVNZ. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  14. ↑ Centre for Sustainability (2021). "Associate Professor Priscilla Wehi". www.otago.ac.nz. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  15. ↑ "Rutherford Discovery Fellowships awarded". The Beehive. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  16. ↑ "Outstanding Publication on New Zealand Ecology". NZES. 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  17. ↑ "Inspirational alumni". The University of Canterbury. 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  18. ↑ "New Zealand Association of Scientists - Hill Tinsley Medal". scientists.org.nz. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
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