Wilma M. Blom

Wilma M. Blom is a marine scientist. Since 2011 she has been Curator, Marine Invertebrates at Auckland War Memorial Museum.

Education

Blom studied at the University of Auckland and later University of Sydney in the 1980s, researching the sedimentology of the Raukūmara Range, and Bass Strait in Australia. In 1989, the amoeboid protist Lagena blomae, a species found in the Bass Strait, was named after Blom.

Career and research

In mid-2011, Blom became the marine invertebrates curator at Auckland War Memorial Museum. Blom's work focuses on identifying marine fauna, such as molluscs. She also works in science communication, through projects such as Auckland Museum's New Zealand Marine Life app. She also organises a 2-yearly BioBlitz programme which places scientists alongside communities to help them document the biodiversity of their surrounding area, and has been involved in research projects involving The Noises. She has contributed to the collections of Auckland Museum and Te Papa.

Blom led a team that dissected a rare Taningia danae octopus, found by a fishing expedition near Whakaari / White Island in 2020.

In 2020, Blom collaborated on a project involving a Pliocene fossil trove, which was uncovered at Māngere when vertical shafts were being excavated for the Central Interceptor at Māngere Wastewater Treatment Plant. 266 fossil species were uncovered at the trove, including at least ten novel species.

Personal life Blom first began living in Auckland in 1971. She is a member of the Auckland Shell Club.

Selected research projects