Tabitha K. Kabora
Postdoctoral Research Associate

Profile

Biography

I am an environmental modeller with a background in environmental sciences and archaeology. I completed a PhD in Archaeology from the University of York where I developed agent-based models on the development and resilience of historical agricultural systems. I hold an MSc in Biology of Conservation and BSc in Environmental Conservation both from the University of Nairobi. At LCAB I conduct interdisciplinary research into understanding the effects of human activities on biodiversity and how we can enhance the future utility of land use practices for biodiversity and conservation management.

My interdisciplinary research explores human and environment interactions within the Holocene and Anthropocene with a focus on biodiversity, sustainability and large-scale landscape modifications. My research interests include using agent-based models to explore the socio-environmental factors that influenced the development and resilience of historical agricultural systems in East Africa as well as models to understand landscape changes and responses to Holocene sea level rise in the North Sea. I have also successfully generated additional grant funding from the British Institute in East Africa to conduct aerial surveys to map the Engaruka archaeological site, Tanzania. 

My research has involved integrating interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research and working within interdisciplinary teams which have led to the development of multimedia works such as a 3Sixty video presentation as part of the University of York’s ‘Research in Focus’ series and led to collaborations with researchers across the world from the UK, Tanzania, Kenya, the Netherlands and Ethiopia.

Teaching

Undergraduate

Tabitha is also an Associate Lecturer in the Department of Environment and Geography at the University of York. She teaches across topics related to sustainability, human-environment interactions and modelling socio-ecological systems. She is currently the module convenor for the 2nd year Undergraduate Ecosystem Management and Conservation module, and she has also led Masters-level seminars on climate change and climate modelling and on modelling socioecological systems for the postgraduate Sustainability I and Sustainability II modules.

Publications

Selected publications

• Kabora, T.K., Stump, D., Thomas, C.D. & Beale, C.M. 2024. Assessing inconsistencies in historical land-use reconstructions for Africa at 1800. Reg Environ Change 24, 55 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10113-024-02224-5.
• Murgatroyd, P., Ch’ng, E., Kabora, T.K. & Butler, M. 2022. Simulating a drowned landscape: A four-dimensional approach to solving problems of behaviour and scale', in Gaffney, V. & Fitch, S. (ed), Europe's Lost Frontiers: Volume 1 Context and Methodology. Oxford, Archaeopress Publishing Ltd, pp. 190-207, https://www.archaeopress.com/Archaeopress/Products/9781803272689.
• Kabora T.K., Campbell K. 2022. Archival Photography, UAV Surveys and Structure-from-Motion Techniques for Local Heritage Management. In: Ch'ng E., Chapman H., Gaffney V., Wilson A.S. (eds) Visual Heritage: Digital Approaches in Heritage Science. Springer Series on Cultural Computing. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-77028-0_17
• Kabora, T. K., Stump, D., & Wainwright, J. 2021. Digging deep: Exploring the role of social cohesion and farmer decision-making in the resilience of historical socio-ecological systems. Resilience & Archaeology, 36 (1), 133-152. https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.79044.
• Kabora, T. K., Stump, D. & Wainwright, J. 2020. How did that get there? Understanding sediment transport and accumulation rates in agricultural landscapes using the ESTTraP agent-based model. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 29, 102115. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2019.102115.
• Marchant, R., et al. 2018. Drivers and trajectories of land cover change in East Africa: Human and environmental interactions from 6000 years ago to present. Earth- Science Reviews, 178, 322-378. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2017.12.010.