Advanced Research and Innovation in the Environmental Sciences
The University of Kent is proud to be part of the Advanced Research and Innovation in the Environmental Sciences (ARIES) Doctoral Training Partnership which is funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC). ARIES will equip the next generation of environmental scientists with the knowledge and tools to better understand and manage our planet by:
ARIES is built upon scientific excellence within five overlapping research themes, click on a theme below for more information:
The UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration calls for ecosystems worldwide to be revived by 2030 for the benefit of people and nature, including through species reintroductions. For reintroduced ‘ecosystem engineer’ species, the potential impacts of their reintroduction to ecosystems and people are not well understood. Following extinction in Britain in the 16th century, European beavers (Castor fiber) were released into enclosures and have subsequently spread into the wild. Whilst beavers can improve wetland biodiversity, beaver damming activities could lead to human-wildlife conflict. Kent has the largest population of beavers in England (‘hundreds’), yet there has been little assessment of the expansion and impacts of beaver activities, or of the conditions required for beavers to colonise an area, needed to guide management.
African Swine Fever (ASF) is a fatal disease affecting domestic and wild pigs, and is impacting the pork industry, forest livelihoods and ecosystem balance across Eurasia and Africa. The disease is now established in Indonesia, which is home to six of Asia’s 11 wild pig species, including five endemics. From limited information available, we know the disease spread rapidly across Borneo and resulted in a near 100% fatality rate. The virus has now reached other islands where surveillance, monitoring and control remains weak.
ASF spreads between wild and domestic pigs. The World Organisation for Animal Health called for rapid improvements to wild pig monitoring across Asia so that epidemiologically-relevant population numbers can be estimated, and more robust ASF surveillance and control measures put in place. Pigs are seldom monitored specifically, but are frequently sampled as ‘bycatch’ in camera-trap surveys. This project will improve pig monitoring and disease surveillance using this ‘bycatch’ data, which can be easily scaled-up through ongoing monitoring to help Indonesia and other Asian countries track and control ASF.
ARIES is awaiting confirmation of funding under the BBSRC-NERC DLA award scheme, which is expected shortly. Funding for this studentship is subject to this confirmation and UKRI terms and conditions.
