Natural Resources Institute

Staff

Name Details
Professor Keith I Tomlins Phone: +44 (0)1634 88 3460
Emeritus Professor of Food Science
Professor Raymond Coker
  • NRI Department: Livelihoods and Institutions Department
  • Qualifications: MRSC, C.Chem, PhD
  • Biography:

    Ray is Emeritus Professor of Food Safety at the Natural Resources Institute, University of Greenwich, and owner of Raymond Coker Consulting Limited.

    He has been involved with the international management of food & feed safety for over thirty years, specialising in the control of mycotoxins (potent fungal toxins) in food and feed throughout the globe. He has advised a variety of national and international bodies including the Food Standards Agency (UK), EU, Department for International Development, USAID, and UN agencies (including FAO, WHO & IAEA), and has led a variety of international, multidisciplinary projects.

    Ray has worked in Europe, South & S E Asia, China, Africa and North & South America.

    He founded ToxiMet Limited in 2005, in order to develop simple, affordable, accurate and robust technology (the ToxiMet System) for the accurate measurement of mycotoxins in foods & feeds, throughout the global supply chain.

    Ray established a further company, Raymond Coker Consulting Limited, in 2013.
  • Selected Publications:

    Ray has contributed over one hundred articles to learned journals, books and other specialist publications, as well as attending international conferences in Europe, Asia, Africa, North & South America as an invited lecturer. He has eight granted patents or patent pending.

    • Feed Planet (Feed Industry Specialty Magazine), November – December 2018; Mycotoxins – The silent threat to animal health & productivity, and food safety, pp 48 – 54, Parantez Publishing & Congress Ltd. (First of a series of articles.)
    • Nicholas W.Turner, Heli Bramhmbhatt, Monika Szabo-Vezse, Alessandro Poma, Raymond Coker, Sergey A.Piletsky (2015). Analytical methods for determination of mycotoxins: An update (2009–2014). Analytica Chimica Acta 901, 12-33.
    • Coker, Raymond Douglas (Bromley Kent, GB); Nagler, Martin Jesse (Chatham Kent, GB); Andreou, Michael Paul (Horsham West Sussex, GB) (2013). Apparatus and method for detection and measurement of target compounds such as a food toxin. United States Patent 8,344,334
    • Lyne Josse,  Xingmin Li, Raymond D. Coker, Campbell W. Gourlay, Ivor H. Evans (2011). Transcriptomic and phenotypic analysis of the effects of T-2 toxin on Saccharomyces cerevisiae: evidence of mitochondrial involvement. FEMS Yeast Research 11(1):133-50
    • Coker, Raymond Douglas (Bromley Kent, GB); Nagler, Martin Jesse (Chatham Kent, GB); Andreou, Michael Paul (Horsham West Sussex, GB) (2010). Device for detection and measurement of a target compound such as a food toxin. United States Patent 7,843,566
    • Elena Piletska, Kal Karim, Raymond Coker, Sergey Piletsky (2010). Development of custom polymeric materials specific for aflatoxin B1 and ochratoxin A for application with the ToxiQuant T1 sensor tool. Journal of Chromatography A 1217 (16), 2543-2547.
    • Xingmin Li, Stefan Millson, Raymond Douglas Coker, Ivor Howell Evans (2009). A sensitive bioassay for the mycotoxin aflatoxin B1, which also responds to the mycotoxins aflatoxin G1 and T-2 toxin, using engineered baker's yeast. Journal of Microbiological Methods 77, Issue 3, 285-291.
    • Xingmin Li, Stefan Millson, Raymond Douglas Coker, Ivor Howell Evans (2006). Cloning and expression of Penicillium minioluteum dextranase in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and its exploitation as a reporter in the detection of mycotoxins. Biotechnol Lett 28: 1955–1964.
    • Mamtaz Dawlatana, Raymond Douglas Coker, Martin J Nagler, Christopher P. Wild, Mohammad G. Hassan, Gerald Blunden (2002). The occurrence of mycotoxins in key commodities in Bangladesh: surveillance results from 1993 to 1995. J Nat Toxins 11(4): 379-86.
    • Ron L.A.P. Hoogenboom, Th. H. G. Polman, G E Neal, A. J. Verma, C Guyomard, J Tulliez, J P Gautier, Raymond Douglas Coker, M J Nagler,  E Heidenreich, J Delort-Laval (2001). Genotoxicity testing of extracts from aflatoxin-contaminated peanut meal, following chemical decontamination. Food Additives and Contaminants 18(4):329-41.
  • Research / Scholarly Interests:

    Ray is a natural products chemist who initially studied medicinal plants. Subsequently, he devoted the rest of his career to addressing the occurrence and control of mycotoxins in foods and feeds, throughout global supply chains, including the development of:

    • Sampling and sample preparation methods for the production of accurate analytical samples, of a variety of foods and feeds, from small batches to batches of tens of thousands of tonnes.
    • Methods (e.g. TLC, HPLC, HPTLC, ELISA, biosensor) for the quantitative analysis of mycotoxins in a wide variety of commodities.
    • Surveillance procedures for the accurate evaluation of the mycotoxin contamination of food and feeds in specific regions.
    • A commercial process for the detoxification of aflatoxin-contaminated animal feeds.
    • Biological methods (e.g. using engineered baker’s yeast) to evaluate the toxicity of a variety of mycotoxins.
    • Patented technology (ToxiMet System) for the accurate measurement of mycotoxins, by non-scientists, at factories, warehouses, docksides etc throughout the global supply chain.
    • Distributed ledger technology (e.g. blockchain), as a platform for the enhancement of the efficacy of tools employed in the management of food & feed safety systems.
    • Patented soil testing technology (Safe Soil Tester) to simply & rapidly detect contaminants on brownfield sites, prior to attempted remediation.
  • Awards:

    MIoD; FRSA; Emeritus Professor of Food Safety, University of Greenwich.
Phone: +44 (0)1634 88 3199
Emeritus Professor of Food Safety and Director of Toximet Limited
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: Agriculture, Health and Environment Department
  • Qualifications: BSc (Special), ARCS, PhD, FRES, FRSB
  • Biography:

    Dr Don R Reynolds is an ecological entomologist specializing in insect migration and movement. He has particular experience (over 50 years) in the use of radar and aerial sampling techniques to study the migration of insect pests and beneficials in various regions of the world.  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, Don Reynolds’ main collaboration has been with Dr Jason Chapman (University of Exeter) on the long-term 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 recently he has been involved in quantifying ‘bioflows’ through globally important insect migration ‘Flyways’ in Western Europe, East Asia and the Middle East.

    Previously, Don Reynolds' other main research topic was 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.

    Apart from the University of Exeter, Dr Reynolds has collaborated in recent years with Nanjing Agricultural University, Henan Academy of Agricultural Sciences (Zhengzhou, China), Lund University (Sweden), University of Notre Dame (Indiana, USA), UNSW Canberra, James Cook University (Townsville, Australia), University of Haifa (Israel), and with the Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research at the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

    Don Reynolds has about 110 refereed journal papers (including in Nature (5), Science (3), PNAS (5) and Current Biology (6)), as well other book chapters and articles totalling about 132 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:

    • Zhang, S.Y., Zhang, Y.Y., Yang F, Zhou, C., Shen, H.M., Wang, B.B., Zeng, J., Reynolds, D.R., Chapman, J.W. & Hu, G. (2025) Climate change is leading to an ecological trap in a migratory insect. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, U.S.A. 122(9), e2422595122.

    • Hu, G., Feng, H., Otuka, A., Reynolds, D.R., Drake, V.A. & Chapman, J.W. (2025) The East Asian Insect Flyway: Geographical and climatic factors driving migration among diverse crop pests. Annual Review of Entomology, 70, 1-22.

    • Huang, J., Feng, H, Drake, V.A., Reynolds, D.R., Gao, B., Chen, F., Zhang, G., Zhu, J., Gao, Y., Zhai, B., Li, G., Tian, C., Huang, B., Hu, G. & Chapman, J.W. (2024) Massive seasonal high-altitude migrations of nocturnal insects above the agricultural plains of East China. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA, 121 (18): e2317646121, 9pp. http://gala.gre.ac.uk/id/eprint/46833/

    • Chen, H., Wan, G., Li, J., Ma, Y., Reynolds, D.R., Dreyer, D., Warrant, E.J., Chapman, J.W. & Hu, G. (2023) Adaptive migratory orientation of an invasive pest on a new continent. iScience, 26 (12), 108281, 8pp.

    • Lehmann, T., Bamou, R., Chapman, J.W., Reynolds, D.R., Armbruster, P.A., Dao, A., Yaro, A.S., Burkot, T.R. & Linton, Y.-M. (2023) Urban malaria may be spreading via the wind—here’s why that’s important. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA, 120 (18), e2301666120, 4pp. 

    • Lv, H., Zhai, M.-Y., Zeng, J., Zhang, Y.-Y., Zhu, F., Shen, H.-M., Qiu, K., Gao, B.-Y., Reynolds, D.R., Chapman, J.W. & Hu, G.(2023) Changing patterns of the East Asian monsoon drive shifts in migration and abundance of a globally important rice pest. Global Change Biology, 29, 2655–2668.

    • Zhu, J., Chen, X., Liu, J., Jiang, Y., Chen, F., Lu, J., Chen, H., Zhai, B., Reynolds, D.R., Chapman, J.W. &  Hu, G. (2022) A cold high-pressure system over North China hinders the southward migration of Mythimna separata in autumn. Movement Ecology, 10, article 54, 12pp. 

    • Hawkes, W.L.S., Walliker, E., Gao, B., Forster, O., Lacey, K., Doyle, T., Massy, R., Roberts, N.W., Reynolds, D.R., Ozden, O., Chapman, J.W. & Wotton, K.R. (2022) Huge spring migrations of insects from the Middle East to Europe: quantifying the migratory assemblage and ecosystem services. Ecography, 2022(10), e06288, 15pp.

    • Menz, M.H.M., Scacco, M., Bürki-Spycher, H.-M., Williams, H.J., Reynolds, D.R., Chapman, J.W. & Wikelski, M. (2022) Individual tracking reveals long-distance flight-path control in a nocturnally migrating moth. Science, 377, pp. 764-768.

    • Hu, G., Stefanescu, C., Oliver, T.H., Roy, D.B., Brereton, T., Van Swaay, C., Reynolds, D.R. & Chapman, J.W. (2021) Environmental drivers of annual population fluctuations in a trans-Saharan insect migrant. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA, 118 (26), e2102762118, 11pp

    • Gao, B., Hedlund, J., Reynolds, D.R., Zhai, B., Hu, G. & Chapman, J.W. (2020) The ‘migratory connectivity’ concept, and its applicability to insect migrants. Movement Ecology, 8, article 48, 13 pp. 

    • Florio, J., Verú, L.M., Dao, A., Yaro A.S., Diallo, M., Sanogo, Z.L., Samaké, D., Huestis, D.L., Yossi, O., Talamas, E., Chamorro, L., Frank, J.H., Biondi, M., Morkel, C., Bartlett, C., Linton, Y.-M., Strobach, E., Chapman, J.W., Reynolds, D.R., Faiman, R., Krajacich, B.J., Smith, C.S. & Lehmann, T. (2020) Diversity, dynamics, direction, and magnitude of high-altitude migrating insects in the Sahel. Scientific Reports, 10, article 20523, 14 pp. 

    • 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

    • 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 
  • Research / Scholarly Interests:

    Many insect species engage in long-range migrations which impact ecosystem functioning but also have important economic impacts, negatively when the migrants are agricultural pests or disease vectors, but positively when they provide valuable ecosystem services. 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 Don Reynolds has been fortunate enough to devote virtually much of his scientific career to this area of research.  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. For example, they have revealed surprisingly sophisticated flight behaviours in some of these migrants – findings which have led to fundamental changes in our understanding of insect migration.

    Don 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 Don Reynolds’ recent interests are collaborative research efforts to quantify the annual pattern of insect migration (extent, intensity, taxonomic composition, and seasonal directions) of the East-Southeast Asian insect flyway, and to investigate a hitherto unexplored insect migration flyway through the Levant linking Europe, Western Asia and Northeast Africa.
  • Greenwich Academic Literature Archive (GALA) link: https://gala.gre.ac.uk/view/authors/4150.html
  • Responsibilities:

    Don Reynolds’ main tasks are research and other forms of scholarly activity, particularly ones likely to  contribute to the next Research Excellence Framework (REF 2029)
  • Awards:

    • Life-time Achievement Award for contributions to ‘Radar Entomology’ (presented at 2nd International Radar Aeroecology Conference, Zhenzhou, China, September 2019

    • Emeritus Scientist position at Rothamsted Research

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

    ORCID

    https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8749-7491

    Research Gate

    https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Don-Reynolds-2/research

    Google Scholar

    https://scholar.google.co.uk/citations?hl=en&user=wqNmyU4AAAAJ
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

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