The high demand for ornamental plants at a global scale, combined with modern and increasingly efficient modes of trade (i.e., e-commerce), highlights the horticultural trade industry as a subject of major conservation concern.
Volunteers play an important role in invasive alien plant species (IAPS) management and are likely to continue doing so into the future. Better co-ordination and engagement between volunteers and mandated authorities on science, policy and management are required to improve the volunteer groups and keep volunteers motivated to manage IAPS.
A study by Dr Rolanda Julius (former C∙I∙B postgraduate student) and Prof Chris Chimimba (C∙I∙B Core Team member) has detected the presence of Rat-bite Fever agents in invasive species of brown rats, black rats and Asian house rats sampled in urban areas of Gauteng Province, South Africa.
Australian acacias are some of the world’s worst invasive plants and their success has been heavily shaped through their usage by humans for various purposes. C·I·B research members Prof Jaco Le Roux, Prof Dave Richardson and Prof John Wilson, together with colleagues from the University of Lisbon, published a meta-analysis on the genetic diversity of 37 Australian Acacia species.
Ectothermic organisms rely on their surrounding conditions to maintain temperatures within a range that optimizes essential activities such as running, foraging and reproducing. Beyond this range, their performance or fitness decreases with a particularly fast loss of performance at high temperatures.