Open Research Exeter - University of Exeter
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Following the More-than-human Geographies of Apiculture in China: Honeybees, Beekeepers and Honey
No full textThis thesis tells and studies the alternative stories of apiculture in China, where beekeeping revolves around honey instead of pollination, to diversify the empirical and theoretical understanding of multi-species entanglements in more-than-human geographies. These stories outline the multiplicities of apicultural worlds, offering a non-Western and non-industrial landscape of agri-food production and consumption. Grounded in a rhizomatic ontology and methodology, this thesis investigates the entangled lives, shared practices and vibrant materialities of animals, humans, food and other actants in the relational and lively worlds of apiculture.
Following three key actants – honeybees, beekeepers and honey – across multiple sites, this thesis unfolds through six main stories. The first is an experimental collaboration with honeybees to story their own and their shared lives with humans, specifically focusing on their births and deaths within apiaries. The second story chronicles a beekeeper’s journey of enskilment, where the sporadic elements of apicultural tools, techniques and histories are assembled. The third illustrates the multiple ontologies of honey in its production sites: on the flowers, in the colonies, and at the apiaries. Shifting to consumption in the fourth story, the lively materialities of honey are shown to profoundly influence human sensory experiences and social-cultural interpretations. The fifth story examines the shared mobilities of nomadic beekeepers and honeybees, who travel around the country to produce honey. Finally, the last story returns its focus to honeybees themselves, detailing their individual and collective lives.
This thesis broadens the material repertoire of human geographies by engaging with mundane and overlooked insects, beekeepers and food. In doing so, it reveals alternative, yet more complex, politics and ethics embedded in these practices and, thus, contributes to ongoing discussions on more-than-human agencies, contextual knowledge and multi-species worldings within more-than-human and broader geographies
Effect of climate on traits of dominant and rare tree species in the world’s forests
No full textSpecies’ traits and environmental conditions determine the abundance of tree species across the globe. The extent to which traits of dominant and rare tree species differ remains untested across a broad environmental range, limiting our understanding of how species traits and the environment shape forest functional composition. We use a global dataset of tree composition of >22,000 forest plots and 11 traits of 1663 tree species to ask how locally dominant and rare species differ in their trait values, and how these differences are driven by climatic gradients in temperature and water availability in forest biomes across the globe. We find three consistent trait differences between locally dominant and rare species across all biomes; dominant species are taller, have softer wood and higher loading on the multivariate stem strategy axis (related to narrow tracheids and thick bark). The difference between traits of dominant and rare species is more strongly driven by temperature compared to water availability, as temperature might affect a larger number of traits. Therefore, climate change driven global temperature rise may have a strong effect on trait differences between dominant and rare tree species and may lead to changes in species abundances and therefore strong community reassembly
Fallen Heroes and First Peoples: Memory Composition Among Two Ex-Military Communities in South Africa
No full textThe apartheid-era South African Defence Force’s most notorious units, 31 Battalion and 32 Battalion, were composed of African troops. With the onset of Namibia’s 1990 independence, these soldiers and their families relocated to South Africa and adapted to a rapidly changing political landscape. Drawing on oral history interviews, I examine key historical narratives within each group to understand how their memory compositions reflect their identities and social positioning in post-apartheid society. To understand and frame themselves historically, 32 Battalion veterans turned to the central institution in their lives: the military. Viewing military service as epitomising national contribution, they identify as fallen heroes who ‘secured’ South Africa’s democratic transition. Conversely, the 31 Battalion community has embraced an indigenous, San identity. They have grafted the racist ‘empty land’ myth onto their modern experiences of displacement and contemporary feelings of minoritisation. This identity has been reinforced by participation in the post-Cold War human and indigenous rights framework. Both group identities remain tethered to militarisation: while one directly claims martial heroism and post-war neglect, the other is ostensibly distanced from the military but connected to an image and identity, underpinning their militarisation, as ‘Bushmen’. Their collective memories and identities bear the imprint of their foundational histories of war, dislocation and disbandment
Biodiversity conservation requires integration of species-centric and process-based strategies
No full textConservation science and policy are geared primarily toward the preservation of species and habitats, with priority often given to the rarest, most vulnerable or most charismatic forms. This pattern-based approach has broad appeal and offers a pragmatic short-cut for targeting conservation action. However, the long-term efficacy of species and landscape conservation programs remains highly uncertain, amid growing evidence that sustainable conservation action requires an increased emphasis on preserving ecological and evolutionary processes. This reframing of conservation goals was first proposed 50 years ago, but the concept has struggled to gain traction, particularly in terms of translation into policy. Nonetheless, recent events have shifted the narrative, with multiple interlinked global challenges – including biological invasions, food security, disease and climate change – putting ecological processes firmly back on the agenda. Concurrently, conservation finance is changing rapidly, driven in part by the 2022 Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, which prioritized actions to enhance and restore ecosystem stability, connectivity and resilience. These ecosystem properties are fundamentally process-driven and appear to create an operational gulf between current conservation practice and the targets of international agreements. We describe how new approaches can be used to close this gap by redirecting conservation attention towards processes at the heart of ecosystem function, including adaptation, gene flow, dispersal, and trophic interactions. Wider adoption of these approaches is urgently needed to forge a deeper connection between conservation practice and policy targets, thereby ensuring that ongoing investment in biodiversity conservation goes beyond damage limitation and instead leaves a lasting legacy of resilient ecosystems
Decoding uncertainty for clinical decision-making
No full textIn this opinion piece, we examine the pivotal role that uncertainty quantification (UQ) plays in informing clinical decision-making processes. We explore challenges associated with healthcare data and the potential barriers to the widespread adoption of UQ methodologies. In doing so, we highlight how these techniques can improve the precision and reliability of medical evaluations. We delve into the crucial role of understanding and managing the uncertainties present in clinical data (such as measurement error), diagnostic tools and treatment outcomes. We discuss how such uncertainties can impact decision-making in healthcare and emphasize the importance of systematically analysing them. Our goal is to demonstrate how effectively addressing and decoding uncertainties can significantly enhance the accuracy and robustness of clinical decisions, ultimately leading to better patient outcomes and more informed healthcare practices
Redefining fatigue predictions: A multi-sea state HPC framework for FOWTs
No full textOffshore wind is essential in the global transition to Net Zero carbon emission goals. As the industry pushes into deeper waters, fixed offshore wind solutions are no longer viable, increasing the reliance on floating alternatives. During their operational lifespan of at least 25 years, floating wind turbines are exposed to stochastic winds, waves, currents and the non-linear coupled loads, making fatigue assessment critical in their design and maintenance planning. The industry standard approach is to group similar conditions together into bins, each with a corresponding probability of occurrence based on historical data. However, by assuming all bin members are equivalent, this binning approach results in a loss of information, leading to inaccuracies. Here we propose a more detailed approach, called Numerical Prototype approach, where every individual sea state is considered, produces in turn fatigue estimates expected to be closer to reality since less information is lost due to binning. This paper studies the UMaine VolturnUS-S semi-submersible platform with the IEA 15 MW turbine for with a modified tower for an Atlantic site on the west of France. For the turbine tower, the Numerical Prototype results indicate lower cumulative fatigue estimations by 24 % for the principal direction of fatigue than those calculated using the classical binning method, while for the mooring line fairleads fatigue estimations are up to 14 % lower. These findings suggest that a more discretised calculation and more detailed representation of met-ocean loads lead to lower fatigue predictions, revealing the conservative nature of existing industrial methods. The binning methods currently used in industry result in conservative designs with increased material use and increased costs of floating wind turbines. The present results indicate for the first time a detailed methodology for fatigue estimation that allows optimised designs to reduce structural weight with consequent savings in both installation and material costs. Although the proposed methodology is computationally expensive, the potential savings offer significant benefits for project developers
Sequestering carbon without reducing food production: The role of recirculating aquaculture systems
No full textThe annual creation of 30,000 ha of woodland, a key component of UK's net-zero GHG emissions strategy, may drive countries exporting food to Great Britain (GB) to increase their emissions, an example of international carbon leakage. This can be mitigated by intensifying British domestic food production and our objective is to assess the viability of an intensification based on recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS), a land-saving technology recycling its own water. We built a computational partial equilibrium model whose supply side extended positive mathematical programming to aquaculture at grid-cell level. Agricultural censuses were combined with RAS financial data from a British research and business impact project. Results revealed that RAS was viable in 1.6 % of GB's farmland, substituting 28 % of current annual warmwater prawn imports. The implementation of GB's annual woodland creation goal also proved viable for farmers, but it induced, by shifting 0.2 % of agricultural area into woodland, a 0.007 % drop in food production, what would lead to international carbon leakage. RAS mitigated leakage completely and its contribution to food production was even larger when powered by anaerobic digesters. A lower interest rate charged on loans for RAS also boosted food production, which demonstrates financial sector's role in leakage mitigation
Speciation and leaching behaviour of inorganic contaminants in actively eroding historical coastal municipal solid waste landfills
No full textThe erosion of legacy coastal municipal solid waste landfill sites will result in the dispersion of particulate material into nearby ecosystems with potential for effects on marine populations. Information on the speciation and solid phase associations of metal(loid) contaminants will help to predict contaminant behaviour and better understand ecosystem risks. Here, we investigate the solid phase composition of, and metal(loid) leaching from, fine fraction materials recovered from three actively eroding coastal landfill sites. High concentrations of a range of potentially toxic elements (As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb, Ni and Zn) were present in multiple samples, but metal(loid) leaching rates were very low (≪1 wt%) in both deionised water and seawater solutions. Therefore, particulate dispersion is the most likely mode of contaminant transport occurring at these sites. The fine fraction materials were dominated by fine sand sized (63–180 μm) quartz grains and silt sized (<63 μm) matrix components, which were likely to be poorly retained on beaches and easily transported offshore. Four priority contaminants (As, Cu, Pb and Zn) were found to occur primarily in adsorbed or precipitate forms, as either coatings on other particles or as discrete <10 μm particles. Dilution of these fine-grained contaminated particles within natural pelitic sediments will likely reduce the overall ecosystems impacts; but the risks to filter and bottom feeding organisms, and the potential for biomagnification across trophic levels are poorly understood
How can the stork bring the baby? An evaluation of captive saddle-billed stork reproductive activity and influences of husbandry practices
No full textHusbandry surveys can be useful evidence gathering exercises that enable the formulation, and implementation, of better practice care for species in zoos. Where ecological or behavioural needs of a species can be hard to replicate, or when they experience limited successful reproduction, husbandry surveys can illuminate key elements of good practice from across facilities to meet these challenges and support the development and management of sustainable populations. The saddle-billed stork (Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis) is one example of a challenging species to maintain under human care, with limited successful reported breeding (egg laying, chick rearing and fledging of young). Therefore, research aimed to survey holders of this stork to identify factors influencing reproductive success across AZA and EAZA regions. We found that wild-caught pairs produced significantly more clutches than captive-bred pairs, while flight restriction appeared to negatively impact fertility rates. All successfully breeding pairs exhibited courtship behaviours, though these behaviours alone did not guarantee reproductive success. Whilst a single nesting platform appeared more effective than multiple or no platforms in encouraging nesting, no single demographic, environmental, or husbandry factor significantly predicted egg-laying success. This suggests that successful reproduction depends on complex interactions between multiple variables. Our findings highlight the importance of providing appropriate environmental conditions that support natural behaviours and emphasise the need for a holistic approach to exhibit design for successful breeding of this species in zoological collections. We recommend further research into the ecology of the species itself, especially mate choice and pair bonding mechanisms, to further evaluate variability in zoo-housed stork reproductive efforts
A comparative analysis of exercise testing for cystic fibrosis in the UK: who and which tests?
No full textPoster presented at the 48th European Cystic Fibrosis Conference, 4–7 June 2025, Milan, Ital