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William Lee

Research Associate
Ecosystems & Conservation
William Lee
Location
Dunedin
Contact William

Research interests

I am a conservation ecologist interested in the eco-evolutionary process shaping the New Zealand biota, invasion processes and outcomes, and habitat management for specific outcomes.

Qualifications

Otago
PhD Botany Plant Ecology
1981

Otago
DipSc Botany
1972

Otago
BSc Botany
1971

Publications

Brandt AJ, Lee WG, Tanentzap AJ, Hayman E, Fukami T, Anderson BJ 2017. Evolutionary priority effects persist in anthropogenically created habitats, but not through nonnative plant invasion. New Phytologist 215(2): 865–876. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.14544

Tanentzap AJ, Lee WG 2017. Evolutionary conservatism explains increasing relatedness of plant communities along a flooding gradient. New Phytologist 213(2): 634–644. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.14167

Reichgelt T, Lee WG, Lusk CH, Kennedy EM 2017. Changes in leaf physiognomy of New Zealand woody assemblages in response to Neogene environmental cooling. Journal of Biogeography 44(5): 1160–1171. https://doi.org/10.1111/jbi.12980

Daigneault AJ, Eppink FV, Lee WG 2017. A national riparian restoration programme in New Zealand: Is it value for money? Journal of Environmental Management 187: 166–177. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2016.11.013

Brandt AJ, Tanentzap AJ, Leopold DR, Heenan PB, Fukami T, Lee WG 2016. Precipitation alters the strength of evolutionary priority effects in forest community assembly of pteridophytes and angiosperms. Journal of Ecology 104(6): 1673–1681. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.12640

Lee DE, Lee WG, Jordan GJ, Barreda VD 2016. The Cenozoic history of New Zealand temperate rainforests: comparisons with southern Australia and South America. New Zealand Journal of Botany 54(2): 100–127. https://doi.org/10.1080/0028825X.2016.1144623

Brock JMR, Perry GLW, Lee WG, Burns BR 2016. Tree fern ecology in New Zealand: a model for southern temperate rainforests. Forest Ecology and Management 375: 112–126. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2016.05.030

Tanentzap AJ, Brandt AJ, Smissen RD, Heenan PB, Fukami T, Lee WG 2015. When do plant radiations influence community assembly? The importance of historical contingency in the race for niche space. New Phytologist 207(2): 468–479. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.13362

Lee WG, Lee DE 2015. New Zealand - a land apart. In: Stow A, Maclean N, Holwell GI ed. Austral ark : the state of wildlife in Australia and New Zealand. Cambridge, U.K., Cambridge University Press. Pp. 24–44

Tanentzap AJ, Lee WG, Monks A 2013. Increased nitrogen cycling facilitates native forest regeneration: Potential for restoring extinct ecological processes? Ecological Applications 23(1): 36-45.

Kelly D, Geldenhuis A, James A, Holland EP, Plank MJ, Brockie RE, Cowan PE, Harper GA, Lee WG, Maitland MJ, Mark AF, Mills JA, Wilson PR, Byrom AE 2013. Of mast and mean: differential-temperature cue makes mast seeding insensitive to climate change. Ecology letters 16(1): 90-98. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.12020

Crush JR, Lee WG, Lloyd KM, Ouyang L 2012. Root mass distribution patterns under standardised conditions in species of Chionochloa and Festuca from New Zealand. Acta ecologica Sinica 32(4): 189-194. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chnaes.2012.04.007

Lee WG, Tanentzap AJ, Heenan PB 2012. Plant radiation history affects community assembly: evidence from the New Zealand alpine. Biology letters. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2011.1210

Tanentzap AJ, Walker S, Stephens RTT, Lee WG 2012. A framework for predicting species extinction by linking population dynamics with habitat loss. Conservation letters. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1755-263X.2012.00221.x

Michel P, Lee WG, During HJ, Cornelissen JHC 2012. Species traits and their non-additive interactions control the water economy of bryophyte cushions. Journal of ecology 100(1): 222-231. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2745.2011.01898.x

Kelly D, Geldenhuis A, Byron AE, James A, Holland EP, Lee WG, Plank M 2011. Will global change alter mast seeding in tussock grasslands? Proceedings: 25th International Congress for Conservation Biology (ICCB): "Engaging Society in Conservation", Auckland, 5-9 December 2011. Pp. 155. http://www.conbio.org/Activities/Meetings/2011/program/ICCB2011_Programme_web.pdf

Michel P, Lee WG 2011. Bryophyte contribution to ecosystem services in New Zealand indigenous tussock grasslands. Proceedings: 25th International Congress for Conservation Biology (ICCB): "Engaging Society in Conservation", Auckland, 5-9 December 2011. Pp. 152. http://www.conbio.org/Activities/Meetings/2011/program/ICCB2011_Programme_web.pdf

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Memberships

  • Science Advisor Irahuka Restoration project, YEPT., Irahuka Restoration project
  • Professor, University of Otago
  • Science Advisor, Takahe Recovery Group
  • Chairman, Miss EL Hellaby Indigenous Grassland Research Trust