The fly that tried to save the world: saproxylic geographies and other-than-human ecologies
Authors
Publication Date
2019-06Journal Title
Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers
ISSN
1475-5661
Publisher
Wiley-Blackwell
Type
Article
This Version
VoR
Metadata
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Gandy, M. (2019). The fly that tried to save the world: saproxylic geographies and other-than-human ecologies. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers https://doi.org/10.1111/tran.12281
Abstract
The discovery of a rare fly in a North London cemetery marks my entry point into a wider reflection on the value and significance of urban biodiversity. Using different indices of ecological endangerment, along with a critical reading of new materialist insights, this paper explores the cultural, political, and scientific significance of saproxylic (rotten wood) invertebrate communities in an urban context. The paper brings the fields of urban ecology and post-humanism into closer dialogue to illuminate aspects to urban nature that have not been systematically explored within existing analytical frameworks. We consider a series of intersecting worlds, both human and non-human, as part of a glimpse into saproxylic dimensions to urban nature under a putative transition to a new geo-environmental epoch.
Keywords
ecologies of endangerment, forensic ecology, indicator species, other‐than‐human ecologies, saproxylic geographies
Sponsorship
European Research Council
Funder references
European Research Council (340077)
Embargo Lift Date
2100-01-01
Identifiers
External DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/tran.12281
This record's URL: https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/288128
Rights
Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International
Licence URL: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
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