Rose Trappes

I’m a postdoc at the University of Exeter in the UK. I look at topics in philosophy of biology, including individuality, ecological niches, measurement and experimentation practices, technology, open science, citizen science and interdisciplinarity. I also work in feminist philosophy, especially on questions to do with the biology of sex and feminist ontology of biology.

I’m a member of the project A Philosophy of Open Science for Diverse Research Environments (PHIL_OS), where I’m studying how new open science practices are shaping ecology. One strand of the project involves looking at how data sharing and reuse is affecting the use of tracking technology to generate knowledge about animal behaviour and ecology. Another study concerns the way digital tools are used and adapted in local communities for producing and using citizen science data.

My PhD thesis was on individuality in behavioural ecology. Using qualitative, participatory, and conceptual methods I studied how researchers in an interdisciplinary research group understand and study individuality. Topics that came up included uniqueness, persistence, biological necessity, complexity, individualised research, population thinking, operationalisation, and approximation.

I was born on Bundjalung lands, and I grew up and was educated on lands and waters of the Turrbal, Jagera and Quandamooka peoples. These peoples were subject to forced displacement and genocide. I pay my respects to their Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.

My preferred pronouns are she/her. My last name is pronounced with a silent “e”.