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Priscilla Wehi

Summary

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.

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

Education edit

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 edit

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 edit

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 edit

  • Priscilla M Wehi; William L Wehi (24 November 2009). "Traditional plant harvesting in contemporary fragmented and urban landscapes". Conservation Biology. 24 (2): 594–604. doi:10.1111/J.1523-1739.2009.01376.X. ISSN 0888-8892. PMID 19961510. Wikidata Q30954240.
  • Priscilla M. Wehi; David Raubenheimer; Mary Morgan-Richards (17 December 2013). "Tolerance for nutrient imbalance in an intermittently feeding herbivorous cricket, the Wellington tree weta". PLOS One. 8 (12): e84641. Bibcode:2013PLoSO...884641W. doi:10.1371/JOURNAL.PONE.0084641. ISSN 1932-6203. PMC 3866171. PMID 24358369. Wikidata Q35073358.
  • Staffan Jacob; Priscilla Wehi; Jean Clobert; Delphine Legrand; Nicolas Schtickzelle; Michele Huet; Alexis Chaine (2 August 2016). "Cooperation-mediated plasticity in dispersal and colonization". Evolution. 70 (10): 2336–2345. doi:10.1111/EVO.13028. ISSN 0014-3820. PMID 27480245. Wikidata Q36091951.
  • Priscilla M Wehi; Hemi Whaanga; Steve A Trewick (1 July 2012). "Artefacts, biology and bias in museum collection research". Molecular Ecology. 21 (13): 3103–3109. doi:10.1111/J.1365-294X.2012.05589.X. ISSN 0962-1083. PMID 22916347. Wikidata Q34391852.
  • Priscilla M. Wehi; Nigel J. Scott; Jacinta Beckwith; Rata Pryor Rodgers; Tasman Gillies; Vincent Van Uitregt; Krushil Watene (6 June 2021). "A short scan of Māori journeys to Antarctica". Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand: 1–12. doi:10.1080/03036758.2021.1917633. ISSN 0303-6758. Wikidata Q107185697.
  • Priscilla M. Wehi; Murray P Cox; Tom Roa; Hēmi Whaanga (4 June 2018). "Human Perceptions of Megafaunal Extinction Events Revealed by Linguistic Analysis of Indigenous Oral Traditions". Human Ecology. 46 (4): 461–470. doi:10.1007/S10745-018-0004-0. ISSN 0300-7839. PMC 6133014. PMID 30237652. Wikidata Q91600025.

References edit

  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.

External links edit

 
Scholia has a profile for Priscilla M. Wehi (Q59151449).
  • Video featuring Dr Wehi and her research into flax
  • Dr Wehi interviewed on RNZ Morning Report 9 June 2021

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