Dr Thomas Timberlake

Postdoctoral Research Associate, Leverhulme Centre for Anthropocene Biodiversity

thomas.timberlake@york.ac.uk 

Biography

I am an ecologist with an interdisciplinary research focus and a strong interest in agricultural ecosystems and the people that depend on them. Using a range of methods from the natural and social sciences, I investigate the many ways in which people’s health and welfare is shaped by their environment. Prior to York, I worked at the University of Bristol on a large interdisciplinary project studying the impact of pollinator decline on the nutritional health and livelihoods of smallholder farmers in Nepal. My academic qualifications include a PhD in pollination ecology (University of Bristol) and a BSc in biology (University of Oxford).

Research

My research at the University of York focuses on socio-ecological systems and aims to understand how people’s ecological, social, economic and political context shapes their vulnerability and adaptation to environmental change. My main role is on the TERRASAFE project (EU Horizon program) which aims to empower local communities in southern Europe and northern Africa to confront the growing threats of desertification. Land degradation varies greatly depending on the specific context, so solutions to prevent and reverse it must consider local social, economic, environmental and political conditions. Using a multi-actor stakeholder approach, we will engage local communities to co-design and co-implement agroecological solutions to prevent desertification and restore the degraded landscapes on which they depend.

Publication highlights 

Timberlake, T.P, Cirtwill, A., Sapkota, S., Bhusal, D., Devkota, K., Karki, R., Joshi, D., Saville, N., Kortsch, S., Baral, S., Roslin, T., & Memmott, J. (2024) Agricultural specialisation increases the vulnerability of pollination services for smallholder farmers. Journal of Applied Ecology.

Timberlake, T.P., Tew, N. & Memmott, J. (2024). Gardens fill seasonal hunger gaps for farmland pollinators. Proceedings of the Royal Society B. 

Devkota, K., dos Santos, C.F., Borges, A. & Timberlake, T.P. (2024). Assessing the economic and nutritional value of pollination services in Nepal. Scientific Reports. 

Timberlake, T.P., Cirtwill, A.R., Baral, S.C., Bhusal, D.R., Devkota, K., Harris‐Fry, H.A., Kortsch, S., Myers, S.S., Roslin, T., Saville, N.M., Smith, M.R. & Memmott, J. (2022). A network approach for managing ecosystem services and improving food and nutrition security on smallholder farms. People and Nature, 4(2), pp.563-575. 

Garibaldi, L.A., Gomez Carella, D.S., Nabaes, D.N., Smith, M.R., Timberlake, T.P. & Myers, S.S. (2022). Exploring connections between pollinator health and human health. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, 377(1853), p.20210158. 

Funder 

EU Horizon Europe programme