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.

Priscilla Wehi 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, historical ecology and socioecological relationships, including cultural environmental management and secondly, sexual dimorphism and foraging behaviour. These interests include the use of tools such as stable isotope and nutrient analyses to track diet in animals past and present, and examine movement data for individuals. 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 as you wish. You can also access the academic papers directly from this site. Any issues, please contact me.

RECENT HIGHLIGHTS
  • My inaugural professorial lecture from September 2025 at the University of Otago is now online. In this bilingual lecture in Engish and Māori, I reflect on a well known children’s story, show brief snippets of my research, and talk about biodiversity loss and why concepts such as hope matter.
  • Finley Ngarangi Johnson has been awarded his PhD in psychology! Ka mau te wehi e Fin. It is such a joy supporting researchers to emerge and succeed.
  • Dr Luna Grey is doing fantastic work testing wētā for thermal preferences!
  • Dr Erana Walker and the team of Tim Jowett, Hēmi Whaanga and Cilla Wehi were 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.
  • 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.

Some recent 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.