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Visiting Fellows

Name Details
Dr Alistair Sutherland
  • NRI Department: Livelihoods and Institutions Department
  • Biography:

    Applied anthropologist. Over 20 years in rural development: institutionalizing participatory research and gender mainstreaming in agricultural research and extension; R&D policy and institutional analysis; training in social development concepts and tools. Current focus: evaluation research; capacity building in performance management; research promotional strategies for less-developed rural areas. Experience in UK and in eight countries in Southern and Eastern Africa. Bantu language knowledge includes Swahili, Tswana, Nyanja and Shona.
  • Selected Publications:

    Butterworth, J.A., Batchelor, C., Moriarty, P., Schouten, T., Da Silva, C., Verhagen, J., Bury, P.J., Sutherland, A., Manning, N., Darteh, B., Dziegielewska-Geitz, M. and Eckart, J. (2009) Building more effective partnerships for innovation in urban water management. In: Water and Urban Development Paradigms: Towards an Integration of Engineering, Design and Management Approaches. CRC Press / Taylor & Francis, London. UK, pp. 557-565. ISBN 9780415483346 (print), 9780203884102 (electronic) (doi:10.1201/9780203884102.fmatt) Item not available online.
Phone: +44 (0)1634 88 3199
Visiting Fellow in Livelihoods & Institutional Strengthening
Dr Barnabas Achakpa Ikyo
  • NRI Department: Livelihoods and Institutions Department
  • Qualifications: PhD
  • Biography:

    Barnabas Achakpa Ikyo is the Director of the Centre for Food Technology and Research (CEFTER), Benue State University Makurdi, Nigeria. In 2014, he was appointed Project Manager of the Africa Centre of Excellence project won and hosted at CEFTER. He became an Associate professor in 2018. He holds a PhD from the University of Surrey, UK. He will be supporting the work/mission of the NRI/University of Greenwich to expand research excellence.
  • Selected Publications:
    • Chile, C.A., Ihongo, G.D., Ikyo, B.A. Crop Yeild Prediction Using Solar Activity. IOSR Journal of Applied Physics (2018). Vol. 10, Issue 6.
    • Yissah, S.O., Ikyo B.A., Ige T.A Extension of Fresh okra Shelf life by X-ray irradiation., Nigerian Journal of Pure and applied Science, 2016, 8.
    • Ikyo, B.A., Ochai, A.F., Itodo, A. Determination of Efficiency parameters in Tin Halide Perovskite Solar Cells. Nigerian Annals of Pure and Applied Science (2018). Vol.1 pp. 294-299.
    • Ikyo, B.A, Sunday, D. Lyam, M.S., Itodo, A.  Performance Efficiency of Silicon Based Photovoltaic Cell Operating Under Ambient Conditions in Benue State, Nigeria. Nigerian Annals of Pure and Applied Science (2018). Vol.1 pp. 301-307.
    • Ikyo, A. B., Marko, I. P., Hild, K., Adams, A. R., Arafin, S., Amann, M. C., Sweeney, S. J., Temperature stable mid-infrared GaInAsSb/GaSb Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Lasers (VCSELs) Nature Scientific Reports (2016) Volume 6, p19595
    • Igbawua  Tertsea,  Ikyo  Barnabas,  Agba  Emmanuel.  Average  Solar  UV  Radiation Dosimetry  in  Central  Nigeria.  International  Journal  of  Environmental  Monitoring and Analysis. Vol. 1, No. 6, 2013, pp. 323-327.
  • Research / Scholarly Interests:

    His research focus is in photonics and its applications in characterization of photonics devices used in environmental sensing, medical diagnostics and quantum electronics. His current work is on the efficiency of photovoltaic energy systems and mapping for solar installation in North Central Nigeria. In 2012, he was a research fellow on a £1Million Technology Strategy Board grant working on a food and water safety project at the Advanced Technology Institute University of Surrey and DelAgua Ltd. UK to develop a test kit to detect E.coli in water and food stuff. Previous collaborations include optimization of devices for the Naval Research Lab and the Walter Shoctky Institute, Munich Germany between 2008 and 2011.

    In 2014, he joined the World Bank funded Africa Centre of Excellence (ACE-I) project implementation team at the Centre for Food Technology and Research (CEFTER), Benue State University as Project Manager. In 2016, he was appointed the Deputy Director Operation of CEFTER and Deputy Centre Leader ACE-I. The ACE-I project focus was on developing a critical mass of well-trained Africans at Master and doctorate level to have the capacity to address the developmental challenge of controlling postharvest food losses in West and Central Africa. His personal research area in postharvest control is on use of radiation for disinfection and extension of shelf life fruits and yams and on prediction of crop yield using solar activity.  The project has so far trained over 80 PhDs and over 300 Master degrees from Gambia, Liberia, Ghana, Nigeria and Cameroon. He has been a supporting consultant to the Africa Centres of Excellence-II for East and Southern Africa, engaging over 20 Centres to develop their implementation plans. At the round-up ACE-I project in 2018, the CEFTER team won another World Bank grant; ACE-Impact which would take off in the last quarter of 2019. In July 2019, He was appointed the Centre Director and ACE-Impact Centre Leader at CEFTER, BSU. He is charged with the responsibility to manage a team of over 70 Academics and researchers on the project.
Phone: +44 (0)1634 88 3199
Visiting Fellow in Biophotonics
Dr Don R Reynolds
  • NRI Department: Livelihoods and Institutions Department
  • Qualifications: BSc (Special), ARCS, PhD, FRES, C.Biol.
  • Biography:

    Dr Don Reynolds is an ecological entomologist specializing in insect migration and movement. He has particular experience (over 46 years) in the use of radar and aerial sampling techniques to study the migration of insect pests and beneficials in both developing countries and in the UK.  Don Reynolds has worked at the Natural Resources Institute throughout his career.  From 1973 to 1996, he worked with Prof. Joe Riley and Alan Smith, carrying out studies which significantly advanced our understanding of the migration of economically-important agricultural pests in Africa and Asia.  The pest species included:  Sahelian grasshoppers in West Africa, African armyworm in East Africa, Old World bollworm in India; and brown planthopper in the Philippines and China. The various projects involved collaborations with, among others, the UNDP, Kenya Agriculture Research Organisation (KARI), the Desert Locust Control Organisation for Eastern Africa (DLCOEA),  International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), and Nanjing Agricultural University in China.

    Since 1996, Dr Reynolds’ work has had a more UK and European focus. The main collaboration has been with Dr Jason Chapman (formerly at Rothamsted Research, now at the University of Exeter) on the long-term (10-year) automatic monitoring of high-altitude insect migration over the UK by means of a special-purpose vertical-looking radar (VLR) system and by aerial netting.  These studies have elucidated the migration strategies of pests such as the diamondback and silver-Y moths, and natural enemies such as green lacewings, hoverflies, and carabid beetles.  Don Reynolds has participated in some ground-breaking research on the orientation mechanisms that high-flying migrant insects use to maintain their seasonal migration directions, and on the benefits underlying the seasonal migrations to the UK.

    Don Reynolds' other main research topic has been the use of harmonic scanning radar technology for research into bee and lepidoperan low-altitude navigation mechanisms and foraging strategies. 

    Don Reynolds also has an interest in other aspects of aeroecology (e.g. remote sensing of birds and bats), and he was UK representative in the European Network for the Radar surveillance of Animal Movement (ENRAM) – a research network whose activities were funded by the EU COST Programme.

    Since 1996 Dr Reynolds has participated in collaborations with, among others, University of Illinois, Free University of Berlin, the University of Oldenburg (Germany), Institute of Animal Health (Pirbright), the Met Office and, latterly, the Departments of Biology or Zoology at the Universities of Lund (Sweden), York, Oxford, and Exeter.  Recent new collaborations have been with the University of Oklahoma, the University of Notre Dame (Indiana) and with the Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research at the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

    Don Reynolds has about 97 refereed journal papers (including ones in Nature, Science, PNAS and Current Biology), as well other book chapters and articles totalling about 118 scientific publications on insect movement.  He has co-authored the definitive monograph on the discipline of ‘Radar Entomology’ (Drake, V.A. & Reynolds, D.R. (2012) Radar Entomology: Observing Insect Flight and Migration).
  • Selected Publications:

    • Gao, B., Wotton, K.R., Hawkes, W.L.S., Menz, M.H.M., Reynolds, D.R., Zhai, B.-P., Hu, G. & Chapman, J.W. (2020) Adaptive strategies of high-flying migratory hoverflies in response to wind currents. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 287, 20200406, http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2020.0406

    • Wainwright, C.E., Reynolds, D.R. & Reynolds, A.M. (2020) Linking small-scale flight manoeuvers and density profiles to the vertical movement of insects in the nocturnal stable boundary layer. Scientific Reports, 10, article 1019, 11pp.

    • Menz M.H.M., Reynolds, D.R., Gao, B., Hu, G., Chapman J.W., Wotton, K.R. (2019) Mechanisms and consequences of partial migration in insects. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 7, article 403, 9 pp.

    • Huestis, D.L., Dao, A., Diallo, M., Sanogo, Z.L., Samake, D., Yaro, A.S., Ousman, Y., Linton, Y.-M., Krishna, A., Veru, L., Krajacich, B.J., Faiman, R., Florio, J., Chapman, J.W., Reynolds, D.R., Weetman, D., Mitchell, R., Donnelly, M.J., Talamas, E., Chamorro, L., Strobach, E. & Lehmann, T. (2019) Windborne long-distance migration of malaria mosquitoes in the Sahel. Nature, 574, 404–408. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-019-1622-4

    • Wotton, K.R., Gao, B., Menz, M.H.M., Morris, R.K.A., Ball, S.G., Lim, K.S., Reynolds, D.R., Hu, G. & Chapman, J.W. (2019) Mass seasonal migrations of hoverflies provide extensive pollination and crop protection services. Current Biology, 29(13), 2167–2173. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2019.05.036

    • Jones, C.M., Parry, H., Tay, W.T., Reynolds, D.R. & Chapman, J.W. (2019) Movement ecology of pest Helicoverpa: implications for ongoing spread. Annual Review of Entomology, 64, 277-295. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-ento-011118-111959

    • Hüppop, O., Ciach, M., Diehl, R., Reynolds, D.R., Stepanian, P.M. & Menz, M.H.M. (2019) Perspectives and challenges for the use of radar in biological conservation. Ecography, 42 (5), 912-930. https://doi.org/10.1111/ecog.04063 

    • Bauer, S., Shamoun‐Baranes, J., Nilsson, C., Farnsworth, A., Kelly, J., Reynolds, D.R., Dokter, A.M., Krauel, J., Petterson, L.B., Horton, K.G. & Chapman, J.W. (2019) The grand challenges of migration ecology that radar aeroecology can help answer. Ecography, 42(5), 861-875. https://doi.org/10.1111/ecog.04083

    • Mirkovic, D., Stepanian, P.M., Wainwright, C.E., Reynolds, D.R. & Menz, M.H.M. (2019) Characterizing animal anatomy and internal composition for electromagnetic modelling in radar entomology. Remote Sensing in Ecology and Conservation, 5(2), 169-179.  https://doi.org/10.1002/rse2.94

    • Hu, G., Lu, M.-H., Reynolds, D.R., Wang, H.-K., Chen, X., Liu, W.-C., Zhu, F., Wu, X.-W., Xia, F., Xie, M.-C., Cheng, X.-N., Lim, K.-S., Zhai, B.-P. & Chapman, J.W. (2018) Long-term seasonal forecasting of a major migrant insect pest: the brown planthopper in the Lower Yangtze River Valley. Journal of Pest Science, 92, 417-428. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10340-018-1022-9

    • Reynolds, D.R. & Chapman, J.W. (2018) Long-range migration and orientation behaviour. Insect Behavior: From Mechanisms to Ecological and Evolutionary Consequences (ed. by A. Córdoba-Aguilar, D. González-Tokman & I. González-Santoyo), pp. 98-115. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. ISBN: 9780198797500 https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198797500.003.0007 

    • Reynolds, D.R., Chapman, J.W. & Drake, V.A. (2017) Riders on the wind: the aeroecology of insect migrants. Aeroecology (ed. by P.B. Chilson, W.F. Frick, J.F. Kelly & F. Liechti), pp. 145-177. Springer International Publishing AG, Cham, Switzerland.   ISBN: 978-3-319-68574-8.  https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-68576-2_7 

    • Reynolds, D.R., Chapman, J.W. & Stewart, A.J.A. (2017) Windborne migration of Auchenorrhyncha (Hemiptera) over Britain. European Journal of Entomology, 114, 554-564. https://doi.org/10.14411/eje.2017.070

    • Wainwright, C.E., Stepanian, P.M., Reynolds, D.R. & Reynolds, A.M. (2017) The movement of small insects in the convective boundary layer: linking patterns to processes. Scientific Reports, 7, article 5438. https://doi.org/10.1038/s***************-0  

    • Bauer, S., Chapman, J.W., Reynolds, D.R., Alves, J.A., Dokter, A.M., Menz, M.M.H., Sapir, N., Ciach, M., Pettersson, L.B., Kelly, J.F., Lejijnse, H. & Shamoun-Baranes, J. (2017) From agricultural benefits to aviation safety: Realizing the potential of continent-wide radar networks. BioScience, 67 (10), 912-918.  https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/bix074

    • Drake, V.A., Chapman, J.W., Lim, K.S., Reynolds, D.R., Riley, J.R. & Smith, A.D. (2017) Ventral-aspect radar cross sections and polarization patterns of insects at X band and their relation to size and form. International Journal of Remote Sensing, 38 (18), 5022-5044. https://doi.org/10.1080/01431161.2017.1320453

    • Hu, G., Lim, K.S., Horvitz, N., Clark, S.J., Reynolds, D.R., Sapir, N. & Chapman, J.W. (2016) Mass seasonal bioflows of high-flying insect migrants. Science, 354 (6319) 1584-1587. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aah4379 

    • Reynolds, A.M., Reynolds, D.R., Sane, S.P., Hu, G. & Chapman, J.W. (2016) Orientation in high-flying migrant insects in relation to flows: mechanisms and strategies. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, 371, 20150392. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2015.0392 

    • Hu, G., Lim, K.S., Reynolds, D.R., Reynolds A.M. & Chapman, J.W. (2016) Wind-related orientation patterns in diurnal, crepuscular and nocturnal high-altitude insect migrants. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, 10, article 32 (8 pp). https://doi.org/10.3389/fnbeh.2016.00032

    • Chapman, J.W., Nilsson, C., Lim, K.S., Bäckman, J., Reynolds, D.R. & Alerstam, T. (2016) Adaptive strategies in nocturnally migrating insects and songbirds:  contrasting responses to wind. Journal of Animal Ecology, 85, 115-124. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2656.12420

    • Chapman, J.W., Nilsson, C., Lim, K.S., Bäckman, J., Reynolds, D.R., Alerstam, T. & Reynolds, A.M.  (2015) Detection of flow direction in high-flying insect and songbird migrants. Current Biology, 25 (17), R733–R752. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2015.07.074

    • Reynolds, A.M., Jones, H.B.C., Hill, J.K., Pearson, A.J., Wilson, K., Wolf, S., Lim, K.S., Reynolds, D.R. & Chapman, J.W. (2015) Evidence for a pervasive ‘idling-mode’ activity template in flying and pedestrian insects. Royal Society Open Science, 2, 150085. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.150085 

    • Chapman, J.W., Reynolds, D.R. & Wilson, K. (2015) Long-range seasonal migration in insects: mechanisms, evolutionary drivers and ecological consequences. Ecology Letters, 18, 287-302. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.12407

    • Reynolds, D.R., Reynolds, A.M. & Chapman, J.W. (2014) Non-volant modes of migration in terrestrial arthropods. Animal Migration, 2, 8-28. https://doi.org/10.2478/ami-2014-0002

    • Stefanescu, C., Páramo, F., Åkesson, S., Alarcón, M., Ávila, A., Brereton, T., Carnicer, J., Cassar, L.F., Fox, R., Heliölä, J., Hill, J.K., Hirneisen, N., Kjellén, N., Kühn, E., Kuussaari, M., Leskinen, M., Liechti, F., Musche, M., Regan, E.C., Reynolds, D.R., Roy, D.B., Ryrholm, N., Schmaljohann, H., Settele, J., Thomas, C.D., van Swaay, C. & Chapman, J.W. (2013) Multi-generational long-distance migration of insects: studying the painted lady butterfly in the Western Palaearctic. Ecography, 36, 474-486.  https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0587.2012.07738.x

    • Drake, V.A. & Reynolds, D.R. (2012) Radar entomology: observing insect flight and migration. CABI, Wallingford, UK, 496 pp. ISBN: 9781845935566

    • Chapman, J.W., Bell, J.R., Burgin, L.E., Reynolds, D.R., Pettersson, L.B., Hill, J.K., Bonsall, M.B. & Thomas, J.A. (2012) Seasonal migration to high latitudes results in major reproductive benefits in an insect. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA, 109 (37), 14924-14929. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1207255109

    • Chapman, J.W., Klaassen, R.H.G., Drake, V.A., Fossette, S., Hays, G.C., Metcalfe, J.D., Reynolds, A.M., Reynolds, D.R. and Alerstam, T. (2011) Animal orientation strategies for movement in flows. Current Biology, 21, R861-R870. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2011.08.014

    • Alerstam, T., Chapman, J.W., Bäckman, J., Smith, A.D., Karlsson, H., Nilsson, C., Reynolds, D.R., Klaassen, R.H.G. & Hill, J.K. (2011) Convergent patterns of long-distance nocturnal migration in noctuid moths and passerine birds. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 278, 3074–3080. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2011.0058

    • Chapman, J.W, Drake, V.A. & Reynolds, D.R. (2011) Recent insights from radar studies of insect flight. Annual Review of Entomology, 56, 337-356. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-ento-120709-144820

    • Chapman, J.W., Nesbit, R.L., Burgin, L.E., Reynolds, D.R., Smith, A.D., Middleton, D. R. & Hill, J.K. (2010) Flight orientation behaviors promote optimal migration trajectories in high-flying insects. Science, 327, 682-685. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1182990

    • Reynolds, A.M., Reynolds, D.R., Smith, A.D. & Chapman, J.W. (2010) A single wind-mediated mechanism explains high-altitude ‘non-goal oriented’ headings and layering of nocturnally migrating insects.  Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 277, 765-772. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2009.1221

    • Niitepõld, K., Smith, A.D., Osborne, J.L., Reynolds, D.R., Carreck, N.L., Martin, A.P., Marden, J.H., Ovaskainen, O. & Hanski, I. (2009) Flight metabolic rate and Pgi genotype influence butterfly dispersal rate in the field. Ecology, 90 (8), 2223–2232. https://doi.org/10.1890/08-1498.1

    • Reynolds, A.M., Sword, G.A., Simpson, S. J. & Reynolds, D.R. (2009) Predator percolation, insect outbreaks and phase polyphenism. Current Biology, 19, 20-24. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2008.10.070

    • Reynolds, A.M. & Reynolds, D.R. (2009) Aphid aerial density profiles are consistent with turbulent advection amplifying flight behaviours: abandoning the epithet ‘passive’. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 276, 137-143. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2008.0880

    • Reynolds, A.M., Reynolds, D.R. & Riley, J.R. (2009) Does a ‘turbophoretic’ effect account for layer concentrations of insects migrating in the stable night-time atmosphere? Journal of the Royal Society - Interface, 6, 87-95. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsif.2008.0173

    • Ovaskainen, O., Smith, A.D., Osborne, J.L., Reynolds, D.R., Carreck, N.L., Martin, A.P., Niitepõld, K. & Hanski, I. (2008) Tracking butterfly movements with harmonic radar reveals an effect of population age on movement frequency. Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences, USA, 105 (49), 19090-19095. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0802066105

    • Chapman, J.W., Reynolds, D.R., Hill, J.K, Sivell, D., Smith, A.D. & Woiwod, I.P. (2008) A seasonal switch in compass orientation in a high-flying migrant moth. Current Biology, 18, R908–R909. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2008.08.014

    • Chapman, J.W., Reynolds, D.R., Mouritsen, H., Hill, J.K, Riley, J.R., Sivell, D., Smith, A.D. & Woiwod, I.P. (2008) Wind selection and drift compensation optimize migratory pathways in a high-flying moth. Current Biology, 18, 514–518. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2008.02.080

    • Reynolds, A.M., Smith, A.D., Menzel, R, Greggers, U., Reynolds, D.R. & Riley, J.R. (2007) Displaced honey bees perform optimal scale-free search flights. Ecology 88, 1955–1961. https://doi.org/10.1890/06-1916.1

    • Riley, J.R., Greggers, U., Smith, A.D., Reynolds, D.R. & Menzel, R. (2005) The flight paths of honeybees recruited by the waggle dance. Nature, 435, 205-207.  https://doi.org/10.1038/nature03526

    • Riley, J.R., Greggers, U., Smith, A.D., Stach, S., Reynolds, D.R., Stollhoff, N., Brandt, R., Schaupp, F. & Menzel, R. (2003) The automatic pilot of honeybees. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, B, 270, 2421-2424. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2003.2542

    • Capaldi, E.A., Smith, A.D., Osborne, J.L., Fahrbach, S.E., Farris, S.M., Reynolds, D.R., Edwards, A.S., Martin, A., Robinson, G.E., Poppy, G.M. & Riley, J.R. (2000). Ontogeny of orientation flight in the honeybee revealed by harmonic radar. Nature, 403, 537-540. https://doi.org/10.1038/35000564 

    • Riley, J.R., Reynolds, D.R., Smith, A.D., Edwards, A.S., Osborne, J.L., Williams, I.H. & McCartney, H.A. (1999) Compensation for wind drift by bumble-bees. Nature, 400, 126. https://doi.org/10.1038/22029

    • Riley, J.R., Smith, A.D., Reynolds, D.R., Edwards, A.S., Osborne, J.L., Williams, I.H., Carreck, N.L. & Poppy, G.M. (1996) Tracking bees with harmonic radar. Nature, 379, 29-30. https://doi.org/10.1038/379029b0 

    • Riley, J.R. & Reynolds, D.R. (1990) Nocturnal grasshopper migration in West Africa:  transport and concentration by the wind, and the implications for air-to-air control.  Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, B, 328, 655-672. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.1990.0134
  • Research / Scholarly Interests:

    Many insect species engage in long-range migrations, and the movements of vast numbers of individuals has implications for pest management, conservation, and environmental change. However, most of these migrations take place high in air, and often at night, and so observation and data collection are intrinsically problematic.  This apparently intractable problem can be addressed by a combination of remote-sensing systems, particularly entomological radar, and aerial sampling, and Dr Reynolds has been fortunate enough to devote virtually the much of his scientific career to this area of research.  As with any new sensing system, the application of radar to insect migration and movement revealed a series of hitherto-unseen (and rather marvellous phenomena), leading to numerous behavioural, ecological or biometeorological insights, and improvements in our understanding of the migration ecology of a range of agricultural pests.  More recent academic studies of the silver-Y moth  and hoverflies in the UK, using vertical-looking radar, have revealed surprisingly sophisticated flight behaviours in these migrants;  the findings have led to fundamental changes in our understanding of insect migration.

    Dr Reynolds has also participated in research using scanning harmonic radar, which allows tagged insects to be tracked over distances of several hundred metres. This technology was originally developed by the Natural Resources Institute, and its use has led to significant advances in bee neuroethology (the interface between behaviour under natural conditions and neurological mechanisms), the ecology of pollinators,  odour-mediated anemotactic  flights in moths, and optimal searching strategies.

    Among other remote sensing methods, Dr Reynolds has recently collaborated use of a collocated Ka-band ‘cloud’ radar and Doppler Lidar in Oklahoma make detailed studies of the vertical motion of small insects (relative to the vertical motion of the air in which they are flying) in the convective and nocturnal boundary layers.
  • Awards:

    • Emeritus Scientist position at Rothamsted Research

    • Formerly Member of the Management Committee of the “European Network for the Radar surveillance of Animal Movement (ENRAM)”.

    • Life-time Achievement Award for contributions to ‘Radar Entomology’ (presented at 2nd International Radar Aeroecology Conference, Zhenzhou, China, September 2019
Phone: +44 (0)1634 88 3223
Visiting Fellow in Ecological Entomology
Dr Helena Posthumus
  • NRI Department: Livelihoods and Institutions Department
Phone: +44 (0)1634 88 3199
Visiting Fellow in Environment & Development
Dr John E Orchard
  • NRI Department: Livelihoods and Institutions Department
  • Qualifications: BSc (Hons), PhD
  • Biography:

    2015 – present: Director of Postgraduate Research Studies
    2010 – 2015: Director of Research and Enterprise
    2001 – 2010: Group Leader of Enterprise, Trade and Food Management Group, Natural Resources Institute (NRI), University of Greenwich, United Kingdom.
    1996 – 2001: Deputy Head of Food Systems Department and Head of Horticulture Group, NRI.
    1996: Acting Head of Crop Utilisation Department, NRI.
    1994 to April 1996: Head of Post-harvest Horticulture Group, NRI.
    1991 to 1993: Head of Food and Processing Section, NRI.
    1988-91: Overseas Development Administration, UK Government. Technical Co-operation Officer (Biochemist/Plant Physiologist), Kenya Tea Research Foundation. Investigating more efficient methods of tea manufacture in Estate and Smallholder factories, and yield and physiology of the tea bush under different environment.
    1986-88: Senior Research Officer, Liverpool University. Contract research on physiological plant pathological problems of cacao for chocolate industry.
    1980-85: Overseas Development Administration, UK Government.
    Technical Co-operation Officer (Plant Physiologist) at the Agricultural Research Institute of Ecuador undertaking research in the yield reductions of cocoa due to drought and influence of irrigation.
    1978-80: National Cacao Research Centre, Brazil, Experimental Officer, studying fruit growth and development.
  • Selected Publications:
  • Research / Scholarly Interests:

    I have an interest in the post-harvest management of beverage, cereal and horticulture crops, with a focus on research, advisory and training projects covering the supply chain with support to farmers, traders and support services. Considerable experience in research project formulation, administration, management and appraisal. NRI Currently supervising PhD students in the following research areas:

    • Structuring Client Voice in Microfinance Institutions in Kenya.
    • Evaluating the Impact of Climate Change on Post-Harvest Quality of Perishables.
    • Optimising the production of biofuels from algae.
    • Reasons for multiple loans in microfinance and their effect on the repayment performance.
    • Consumers' perception of food safety in the supply chain.
  • Awards:
    • Member of Tropical Association of Agriculture
Phone: +44 (0)1634 88 3199
Visiting Fellow
Dr Joshua Wesana Phone: +44 (0)1634 88 3199
Visiting Fellow
Dr Moritz Bömer
  • NRI Department: Livelihoods and Institutions Department
  • Qualifications: MSc, PhD
  • Biography:

    Dr Moritz Bömer completed his Diplomingenieur (equivalent to MSc) in Biotechnology at the University of Münster, Germany in 2007, gaining extensive knowledge and experience in molecular biology techniques. Moving to UK in 2007, Dr Bömer has initiated his career in scientific research in January 2008 at the Royal Holloway University of London (RHUL), working as a Research Technician on a BBSRC funded project with the aim to establish the link between jasmonate signalling and the cell cycle. In September 2009, he was awarded the PhD SouthWest London Academic Network Studentship at RHUL. The project based within the department of Plant Molecular Sciences under the supervision of Dr Alessandra Devoto. The title of the PhD project was "Investigation on the Mechanism of Action of Jasmonates on Growth and Metabolite Production in Arabidopsis and their Potential Application to Cancer Therapy". During 3 years, Dr Bömer employed transcriptomic, metabolomic and proteomic approaches to gain new insights into how jasmonates (JAs) can stunt plant growth under stress conditions, and more specifically how JA-signalling regulates the plant cell cycle (Noir and Bömer et al., 2013). Additionally, Dr Bömer developed a novel bioassay for the identification of JA-regulated secondary metabolites with potential anticancer activity. During his PhD, Dr Bömer established effective relationships and highly productive collaborations with Prof Nick Smirnoff at the University of Exeter and Dr Amanda Harvey at Brunel University. Moreover, in 2010 Dr Bömer presented his work at the 21st International Conference on Arabidopsis Research (ICAR) in Yokohama (Japan, June 2010) and also took part at the BBSRC/Tokyo Embassy International Workshop "Inference and Modelling of Regulatory Networks in Multicellular systems" at the RIKEN institute (Japan, June 2010). Following his PhD, Dr Bömer worked as Postdoctoral Research Assistant in Molecular Plant Pathology with Dr Laurence Bindschedler at RHUL on the EPSRC funded project 'Silencing Targeted Effector in Planta (STEP)' with the aim to silence effector proteins from the obligate fungal pathogen barley powdery mildew based on the host induced gene silencing (HIGS) approach. In October 2013, Dr Bömer joined the Natural Resources Institute, University of Greenwich, as a Research Fellow on a project that aims to identify activatable endogenous pararetrovirus (EPRV) sequences in yam breeding lines.

    Keywords: Plant Molecular Biology, Plant Virology, Endogenous Pararetrovirus, Yam Viruses
  • Selected Publications:
  • Research / Scholarly Interests:

    Moritz Bömer is currently committed on the identification of activatable endogenous pararetrovirus (EPRV) sequences in yam breeding lines. Yams are an important food crop in many tropical and sub-tropical countries, particularly in West Africa. Yams are propagated vegetatively through their tubers, which lead to an accumulation of tuber-borne diseases in farmers planting material and subsequent serious crop yield losses. The economically-important tuber-borne diseases are caused by viruses, and the only effective method of controlling these virus diseases is to use virus-free planting material (clean 'seed' yams). In addition to the normal virus infection process, some badnavirus species appear to be integrated into the host genome of some yam species. Integrated badnavirus sequences are termed 'endogenous pararetroviruses' (EPRVs). Of particular concern is that many EPRVs have been shown to be 'activatable', i.e. able to replicate and initiate virus infections de novo. Activation is considered to be triggered by the epigenetic modifications that occur during hybridization of parental genomes as well as environmental stresses. Therefore it is essential to improve existing diagnostic tools for broad-specific detection of viruses and EPRVs. The yam lines containing 'activatable' EPRVs will need to be removed from the multiplication process as they cannot be 'cleaned' of badnaviruses and will pose a serious long term threat to the genuinely virus-free yam lines.
Phone: +44 (0)1634 88 3237
Visiting Fellow
Dr Nanam Dziedzoave
  • NRI Department: Livelihoods and Institutions Department
Phone: +44 (0)1634 88 3199
Visiting Fellow at NRI
Dr Sarah Arnold
  • NRI Department: Livelihoods and Institutions Department
  • Qualifications: MA (Cantab), PhD (Lond)
  • Biography:

    Dr Sarah Arnold joined the University of Greenwich in 2010, after completing her PhD in sensory ecology in the Chittka Lab at Queen Mary, University of London. Her background at Queen Mary and prior to that at the University of Cambridge, was in pollinator behaviour (Dyer et al. 2006, Nature) and the evolution of flower colours (Arnold et al. 2010, PLoS ONE). Dr Arnold investigated trends in the colour composition of flowering plant communities, and the responses of bees to flower colours under variable light conditions, finding that bees show preferences for familiar illuminant types when foraging (Arnold et al. 2012, J Exp Biol).

    Since joining the Natural Resources Institute (NRI), Dr Arnold has continued to develop her interest in pollinators, studying the effects of the composition of pollen and nectar (Arnold et al. 2014, J Chem Ecol) on pollinators, their use of odour cues (Arnold et al. in prep) and how environment influences pollinator populations (Arnold et al. 2018, Agr Ecosys Environ). Additionally, she works on the ecology and behaviour of stored product pests, investigating the factors determining how they orient towards food material (Arnold et al. 2012, PLoS ONE; 2015, Bull Ent Res; 2016, Peer J) and the potential of pesticidal plants and other control methods in pre- and post-harvest pest management. Dr Arnold is particularly interested in how the behaviour of storage pests can be affected by their own life history (e.g. age, morph) and interactions between different cue types (colour, odour).

    Dr Arnold is a member of NRI's Agriculture, Health & Environment Department, working primarily with the pest behaviour, chemical ecology and ecosystems services research groups. She been lead or co-author on publications about flower colour evolution, insect ecology, and pollinator and storage pest behaviour in international peer-reviewed journals, and is one of the developers and managers of the Floral Reflectance Database.
  • Selected Publications:
    • Ojija F., Arnold S.E.J. & Treydte A.C. (2021) Plant competition as a biocontrol method? Possible management tools for suppressing Parthenium hysterophorus. Rangelands. doi: 10.1016/j.rala.2020.12.004
    • Elisante F., Ndakidemi P.A., Arnold S.E.J., Belmain S.R., Gurr G.M., Darbyshire I., Xie G., Tumbo J. & Stevenson P.C. (2020) Insect pollination is important but not limiting in a smallholder bean-farming system. PeerJ. 8:e10102. doi: 10.7717/peerj.10102
    • Ings T.C. & Arnold S.E.J. (2020) Editorial overview: Pollinator ecology in the Anthropocene. Current Opinion in Insect Science. 38:iii-iv
    • Mkenda P.A., Ndakidemi P.A., Stevenson P.C., Arnold S.E.J., Darbyshire I., Belmain S.R., Priebe J., Johnson A.C., Tumbo J & Gurr G.M. (2020) Knowledge gaps among smallholder farmers hinder adoption of conservation biological control. Biocontrol Science and Technology. 30(3):256-277. doi: 10.1080/09583157.2019.1707169
    • Stathers T.E., Arnold S.E.J., Rumney C.J. & Hopson C. (2020) Measuring the nutritional cost of insect infestation of stored maize and cowpea. Food Security. 12:285–308. doi: 10.1007/s12571-019-00997-w
    • Arnold S.E.J., Forbes S.J., Hall D.R., Farman D.I., Bridgemohan P., Spinelli G.R., Bray D.P., Perry G.B., Grey L., Belmain S.R. & Stevenson P.C. (2019) Floral odors and the interaction between pollinating ceratopogonid midges and cacao Journal of Chemical Ecology. 45(10):869-878. doi: 10.1007/s10886-019-01118-9
    • Arnold S.E.J. & Chittka L. (2019) Commentary: Flower colour diversity seen through the eyes of pollinators. Annals of Botany. 124(2):viii-ix. doi: 10.1093/aob/mcz107
    • Elisante F., Ndakidemi P.A., Arnold S.E.J., Belmain S.R., Gurr G.M., Darbyshire I., Xi, G., Tumbo J. & Stevenson P.C. (2019) Enhancing knowledge among smallholders on pollinators and supporting field margins for sustainable food security. Journal of Rural Studies. 70:75-86. doi: 10.1016/j.jrurstud.2019.07.004
    • Mahot H.C., Mahob R.J., Hall D.R., Arnold S.E.J., Fotso K.A., Membang G., Ewane N., Kemga A., Fiaboe K.K.M., Bilong B.C.F. & Hanna R. (2019) Trap colour affects catches of brown cocoa mirid, Sahlbergella singularis Haglund, in sex pheromone traps in Cameroon cocoa plantations. Crop Protection. 104959. doi: 10.1016/j.cropro.2019.104959
    • Mkenda P.A., Ndakidemi P.A., Stevenson P.C., Arnold S.E.J., Belmain S. R., Chidege M., Gurr G.M. & Woolley V.C. (2019) Characterization of hymenopteran parasitoids of Aphis fabae in an African smallholder bean farming system through sequencing of COI ‘mini-barcodes’. Insects. 10(10):331. doi: 10.3390/insects10100331
    • Mkenda, P.A., Ndakidemi, P.A., Stevenson, P.C., Arnold, S.E.J., Belmain, S.R., Chidege, M. & Gurr, G.M. (2019) Field margin vegetation in tropical African bean systems harbours diverse natural enemies for biological pest control in adjacent crops. Sustainability. 11(22):6399. doi: 10.3390/su11226399
    • Mkenda P.A., Ndakidemi P.A., Mbega E., Stevenson P.C., Arnold S.E.J., Gurr G.M., & Belmain S.R. (2019) Multiple ecosystem services from field margin vegetation for ecological sustainability in agriculture: scientific evidence and knowledge gaps. PeerJ. 7:e8091. doi: 10.7717/peerj.8091
    • Ojija F., Arnold S.E.J. & Treydte A.C. (2019) Impacts of alien invasive Parthenium hysterophorus on flower visitation by insects to co-flowering plants. Arthropod-Plant Interactions. 13(5):719-734. doi: 10.1007/s11829-019-09701-3
    • Ojija F., Arnold S.E.J. & Treydte A.C. (2019) Bio-herbicide potential of Desmodium uncinatum crude leaf extract against the invasive plant species Parthenium hysterophorus. Biological Invasions.  21(12):3641-3653. doi: 10.1007/s10530-019-02075-w
    • Scott-Brown A.S., Arnold S.E.J., Kite G., Farrell I.W., Farman D.I., Collins D.W. & Stevenson P.C. (2019) Mechanisms in mutualisms: A chemically mediated thrips pollination strategy in common elder. Planta. 250(1): 367-379. doi: 10.1007/s00425-019-03176-5
    • Bergamo P.J., Telles F.J., Arnold S.E.J. & Brito V.L.G. (2018) Flower colour within communities shifts from overdispersed to clustered along an alpine altitudinal gradient. Oecologia. 188(1):223-235. doi: 10.1007/s00442-018-4204-5
    • Arnold S.E.J., Bridgemohan P., Perry G.B., Spinelli G.R., Pierre B., Haughton C., Dockery O., Murray F., Grey L., Murphy S.T., Belmain S.R. & Stevenson P.C. (2018) The significance of climate in the pollinator dynamics of a tropical agroforestry system Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment. 254:1-9. doi: 10.1016/j.agee.2017.11.013
    • Arnold S.E.J., Stevenson P.C. & Belmain S.R. (2016) Shades of yellow: interactive effects of visual and odour cues in a pest beetle. PeerJ. 4:e2219. doi: 10.7717/peerj.2219
    • McCarthy E.W., Arnold S.E.J., Chittka, L., Le Comber S.C., Verity R., Dodsworth, S., Knapp S., Kelly L.J., Chase M.W., Baldwin I.T., Kovařík A., Mhiri C., Taylor, L. & Leitch A.R. (2015) The effect of polyploidy and hybridisation on the evolution of floral colour in Nicotiana (Solanaceae). Annals of Botany. 115(7):1117-31. doi: 10.1093/aob/mcv048
    • Arnold S.E.J., Stevenson P.C. & Belmain S.R. (2015) Responses to colour and host odour cues in three cereal pest species, in the context of ecology and control. Bulletin of Entomological Research. 105(4):417-25. doi: 10.1017/S0007485315000346
  • Research / Scholarly Interests:

    Dr Arnold is interested in insect behaviour and ecology, in particular the interactions between economically important insects (pests, pollinators, etc.) and their environment and food. Key research questions that interest her include:

    • How do habitats and ecosystems influence abundance and species richness of insects of agricultural importance?
    • How do pests of stored products orient towards host material?
    • How do they respond behaviourally to attractive and repellent cues, including pesticidal plants and other possible control strategies?
    • How do botanical insecticides and pesticidal plants interact with pre- and post-harvest pests and non-target invertebrates such as bees?
    • How do pollinating insects identify food using visual information and other cues, such as the effects of plant appearance or variable illumination on foraging technique?
    • What happens when they find that food: how does the composition of different plants' nectar and pollen affect pollinator preferences and fitness?
    • Ecology of pollinators in the UK and abroad. In particular, how can pollinator populations be supported and safeguarded in different environments?
  • Awards:
    • Member of the Royal Entomological Society and South-East Regional Secretary
    • Member of the British Ecological Society
    • Early Career Researcher Excellence Award 2014/15
Phone: +44 (0)1634 88 3199
Visiting Fellow
Dr Sharon Van Brunschot
  • NRI Department: Livelihoods and Institutions Department
Phone: +44 (0)1634 88 3199
Visiting Fellow in Agricultural Entomology and Plant Pathology

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