Highlighted papers

Read more about the article Novel climate predictors of reptile performance at global scales
Cape dwarf chameleon Bradypodion pumilum
2011 / Highlighted papers

Novel climate predictors of reptile performance at global scales

The determination of best climatic predictors of whole-organismal performance is essential to improve current and forecast impacts of climate change on organisms. Most of the emphasis on global climate change and its effects on organismal performance concerns mean temperature conditions despite known changes in other climatic variables such as precipitation, cloud cover and temperature variability.

Comments Off on Novel climate predictors of reptile performance at global scales
6 May 2011
Read more about the article Towards an optimal strategy for monitoring invasive plants in protected areas
A unique data set on the distribution of invasive alien plants for the Kruger National Park (KNP), captured using the CyberTracker system, provided the opportunity to devise an optimal sampling scheme for monitoring the further spread and the effectiveness of management interventions. Invasive plants shown are (clockwise from top left: Lantana camara, Chromolaena odorata, Parthenium hysterophorus, and Opuntia stricta). Maps show the distribution of data points for the entire KNP and for a small section to illustrate the thorough coverage.
2011 / Highlighted papers

Towards an optimal strategy for monitoring invasive plants in protected areas

Protected areas are a crucial part of global biodiversity conservation strategies. However, the ecological integrity of most protected areas is currently under threat from biological invasions which are a major direct driver of biodiversity loss, changes in ecosystem services and biotic homogenization.

Comments Off on Towards an optimal strategy for monitoring invasive plants in protected areas
4 May 2011
Read more about the article Global distribution of the Argentine ant under the spotlight
Argentine ants tending scale insects on an orange tree in suburban California (Photo by Alex Wild).
2011 / Highlighted papers

Global distribution of the Argentine ant under the spotlight

Because of the numerous threats posed by invasive species to natural ecosystems, a major goal of invasion biology is to understand the factors explaining the distribution of species worldwide. Despite the many efforts at local and regional scales to predict areas vulnerable to invasion, the relative roles of biotic and abiotic conditions on the global distribution of species are still rather poorly understood.

Comments Off on Global distribution of the Argentine ant under the spotlight
25 January 2011
Read more about the article Human impacts on biodiversity in southern Africa: how much do we know?
A remnant patch of Renosterveld in the Piketberg area, reflecting substantial landscape modification. Components of the soil fauna in these patches are dominated by invasive alien species. Image: S.L. Chown.
2010 / Highlighted papers

Human impacts on biodiversity in southern Africa: how much do we know?

The influence of human activities on biodiversity is extensive and worldwide. In fact, there may not be any untouched region as the impacts of anthropogenic climate change and occurrences of biological invasions are ubiquitous across biomes.

Comments Off on Human impacts on biodiversity in southern Africa: how much do we know?
11 November 2010
Read more about the article Facilitation of invasions by widespread pollinators
Specialised plants need not necessarily find the exact same pollinator species in the novel range as pollinators are often functionally equivalent from the plant’s point of view. Nicotiana glauca is specialised for hummingbird pollination in Argentina but has recruited sunbirds to pollinate it in South Africa (photo E). Hummingbirds and sunbirds both belong to a functional group of specialist nectar feeding bird pollinators. Similar examples exist for other pollinator functional groups. Stapelia gigantea, native to South Africa where it is pollinated by carrion flies (photo A), is invasive in Venezuela by virtue of pollination by indigenous carrion flies (photo B, taken in Cerro Seroche National Park, Venezuela); Gomphocarpus physocarpus is pollinated by paper wasps (Vespidae) in its native range in South Africa (photo C) and in Australia where it is invasive (Photo D) and the buzz-pollinated Senna didymobotrya from West Africa is pollinated by carpenter bees (Xylocopa, Apidae) in South Africa (photo F). Photo credits: A, C, & F by SD Johnson, B by I. Herrera, D by M. Ward and E by S. Geerts.
2010 / Highlighted papers

Facilitation of invasions by widespread pollinators

It’s an old idea that plants that are specialised for particular pollinators should become invasive less often than those which can be pollinated by a broad range of animal species. Most plant species will not encounter their original pollinators when introduced elsewhere so to reproduce in their novel range they will have to recruit novel pollinators.

Comments Off on Facilitation of invasions by widespread pollinators
4 October 2010