Ko te pae tawhiti whāia kia tata
ko te pae tata whakamaua kia tina
Seek out distant horizons, and cherish those you attain
Welcome. Nau mai, haere mai.
In a career that has been anything but conventional I, and this research, have been supported by my family and communities across New Zealand for many years. He mihi nui ki a koutou.
I have two main research themes, that I write more about on the following pages. First, ecological knowledge; evolutionary ecology, and especially foraging behaviour, including isotope and nutrient analyses of diet in animals past and present; and secondly, socioecological relationships, including cultural environmental management. They represent some of my passions, and I hope you enjoy reading about this research.
On these pages, I provide resources such as infographics, interviews and stories that are drawn from the research for you to read, listen to, and use. You can also access the academic papers directly from this site.
NEWS
A new paper examining place names and their potential use in translocations has been accepted for publication by Biological Conservation, led by Fin Johnson. Fin worked with Dr Rachael Shaw and Dr Cilla Wehi as an undergraduate student and research assistant over two summers for this research. He is now undertaking a Fulbright Scholarship in the USA, and completing a PhD in psychology.
Dr Erana Walker and the team of Tim Jowett, Hēmi Whaanga and Cilla Wehi were recently recognised at the NZ Ecological Conference, awarded Outstanding Publication on New Zealand Ecology in 2024, for work coming from Erana’s PhD.
Our team has recently published an article in Trends in Ecology and Evolution on embedded ecological knowledge in language. This draws from our previous work on oral tradition and ecological knowledge, and complex systems thinking. Please contact me if you cannot access a copy of the paper.
A fun new paper exploring trophic position in kea, an endangered New Zealand parrot, through time.
Congratulations to Cole Thompson, who won 3rd prize for his poster at the 2021 NZ Entomological Society Conference in Dunedin, with his work on Otago wētā morphs and behaviour.
MSc student Adele Parli had her work on wētā personality and baits featured in NZ Geographic. Read about it here
The booklet Ka kawe nga kī i te Tonga – To carry the knowledge from the South introducing and framing work from the RossRAMP project kaupapa about Māori and Antarctica is now available.
New publications:
- Walker E, Jowett T, Whaanga H, Nelson N, Wehi PM. 2024. Cultural stewardship in urban spaces: Reviving Indigenous knowledge for the restoration of nature. People and Nature 6(4) 1692-1712 https://doi.org/10.1002/pan3.10683
- Johnson FN, Wehi PM, Neha T, Ross M, Thompson V, Tibble S, Tassell-Matamua N, Shedlock K, Fox R, Penman Z, Ritchie T, Winter T, Arahanga-Doyle-H, Jose PE. 2024. Introducing ‘Ngaruroro’, a new model for understanding Māori wellbeing. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/21/4/445
- Wehi PM, Whaanga H, Roa T, Cox M. 2024. Woven languages: understanding Indigenous socioecological systems. Trends in Ecology and Evolution.
