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Read more about the article Australian acacias are genetically highly diverse across the globe
Invasive Sydney Golden Wattle (Acacia longifolia) invading areas in Pinheiro da Cruz, Setúbal district, Portugal (photo provided by Sara Vicente).
2021 / News

Australian acacias are genetically highly diverse across the globe

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.

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19 July 2021
Read more about the article Legacies, hard boundaries and adaptation to temperature extremes explain the variation of temperature tolerance across the tree of life
2021 / News

Legacies, hard boundaries and adaptation to temperature extremes explain the variation of temperature tolerance across the tree of life

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.

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12 July 2021
Read more about the article Neither tristylous flowers nor pollinators limit reproduction in a new invader: purple loosestrife
Pollinators including an African Monarch butterfly, a Cabbage White butterfly and a Cape honeybee visiting purple loosestrife flowers. Photo credit: Prof Sjirk Geerts
2021 / News

Neither tristylous flowers nor pollinators limit reproduction in a new invader: purple loosestrife

A recent study, published in Biological Invasions, had a closer look at the role of flower structure and pollinators in the reproduction of a new invader in South Africa, called purple loosestrife.

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5 July 2021
Read more about the article Ecological restoration needs sharing of knowledge to be successful
Workshop on secondary invasion with researchers and practitioners working on biological invasions in South Africa organised by the CIB in 2019. Image: Mlungele Nsikani
2021 / News

Ecological restoration needs sharing of knowledge to be successful

Restoration efforts need to ensure that project components are informed by relevant stakeholders, and this would require (1) identifying and working with stakeholders during a restoration effort; (2) recognising the unique needs and contributions of stakeholder groups; and (3) providing information back to stakeholders through outreach.

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28 June 2021
Read more about the article Botanical gardens and biosecurity
Eight biosecurity hazards presented by botanical gardens and the opportunities they provide to improve management and communication. Materials going into the gardens such as seeds, tubers, cuttings, mulch, compost and soil could potentially transport and introduce pests to the gardens (a, d). On the other hand, materials leaving the gardens such as sold plants, prunings and dead plants can potentially transport pests established in the gardens to the external environment (b, h). Other activities of the gardens, including visits by local and international visitors (f), the use of machinery and equipment (e), and plant exchange between botanical gardens (c) may also serve as pathways of movement of pests to- and from the gardens. Additionally, pests may naturally disperse between managed estates of the gardens and the adjacent natural vegetation (g). (Graphic from Wondafrash et al. 2021)
2021 / News

Botanical gardens and biosecurity

A recent paper, led by Dr Mesfin Gossa and published in Biodiversity and Conservation, reviews the value as well as the hazards associated with botanical gardens for biosecurity at a global scale.

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21 June 2021