Presentations by Geography Post-Doc researchers

This is an opportunity to hear about the research being conducted by current Post-Doc researchers in Geography at Exeter.

From human geography we have Dr Sarah Crowley (ESI / Penryn) giving a talk entitled: Killing squirrels: exploring motivations and practices of lethal wildlife management

Abstract: Wildlife management, pest control and conservation projects often involve killing nonhuman animals. In the United Kingdom, introduced grey squirrels Sciurus carolinensis are killed in large numbers to protect remnant populations of European red squirrels Sciurus vulgaris. Grey squirrels are also killed outside of red squirrel areas to protect broadleaved trees from squirrel damage, and as part of routine pest control, opportunistically, and sometimes recreationally. In order to investigate the ways in which this killing is conceived and practised in the UK, we conducted semi-structured interviews with practitioners and undertook participant observation of lethal wildlife management. Analysing these field data, we identified important variations in practitioners’ approaches to killing squirrels, and here we outline three ‘modes of killing’ – reparative/sacrificial, stewardship, and categorical – which comprise different primary motivations, moral principles, ultimate aims, and practical methods. We explore both productive alliances and possible tensions between these modes, and propose that clear, explicit consideration of how and why animals are both killed and ‘made killable’ should be a key component of any wildlife management initiative that involves lethal control.

From physical geography we have Dr Freya Garry giving a talk entitled: Reconstructing last millennium North Atlantic climate change

Abstract:Freya Garry joined the University of Exeter earlier this year after completing her doctorate at the National Oceanography Centre Southampton. She will talk about the importance of the ocean in climate change, and introduce the NERC project ‘Climate of the Last Millennium’, on which she is currently employed as PDRA working with Paul Halloran. In particular she will discuss Atlantic Multidecadal Variability and its influence on surface climate, what role the oceans might play in it, and how we can reconstruct and determine mechanisms for marine change in the pre-industrial ocean by combining palaeo-data and high-resolution modelling.

The Geography Seminar Series Coordinators are: Prof. S. Hinchliffe and Dr. A Graham.