Ngāti Hokopū, Ngāti Awa, Ngāti Pukeko, Te Whakatōhea
PhD candidate
Tel +64 3 479 8535
Email manaia.pearmain-fenton@otago.ac.nz
Manaia holds a BSc in Environmental Biology with Hons and a BA in Sociology from Curtin University (Australia).
She recently completed a Master of Science in Zoology here at the University of Otago and has since been working as a Teaching Fellow in the Ecology Programme and the Wildlife Management PGDip.
She is passionate about uplifting pūtaiao (science through a Te Ao Māori tirohanga/perspective) and re-indigenising environmental science and relationships to place through practice.
In her spare time she enjoys bird watching, weaving and pampering her retired greyhound Tama.
Research
Manaia is completing a PhD part time through Kā Rakahau o te Ao Tūroa Centre for Sustainability Research.
Her research focuses on a community-driven project based in her own rohe (Eastern Bay of Plenty), exploring how mātauranga Māori and Kaupapa Māori research methods can support more holistic conservation practice.
Working alongside her iwi and hāpori, she hopes to co-design research that brings together ecological science, local aspirations, and whakapapa/relationships with her whenua – in particular, a predator-free island with a very long and complicated conservation history.
Supervisors
- Professor Cilla Wehi (Centre for Sustainability Research)
- Professor Karyn Paringatai (Te Tumu School of Māori, Pacific and Indigenous Studies)
- Dr Jo Monks (Department of Zoology)
Publications
Pearmain-Fenton, M., Schlesselmann, A.-K. V., & Monks, J. M. (2024). Capturing the imminent extinction of a kakaruai/South Island robin population. New Zealand Journal of Ecology, 48(1), 3571. doi: 10.20417/nzjecol.48.3571 Journal - Research Article
Pearmain-Fenton, M., Schlesselmann, A., & Walker, S. (2023). Kākā (Nestor meridionalis) investigate and depredate kakaruai (South Island robin Petroica australis australis) eggs [Short note]. Notornis, 70, 42-44. Journal - Research Other