In a study of three South African river catchments (the Berg, Breede and uMngeni) that have received significant investment into ecological infrastructure (e.g. clearing invasive alien trees), the evidence base for the benefits of these investments was found to be empirically weak.
Identifying agricultural crop pests quickly and reliably is critical to track their spread and to apply suitable control measures where needed. However, the identification of insect pests is often hampered by the lack of taxonomic expertise, especially in complex and poorly known tropical groups. DNA barcoding is often used as a supporting tool to identify species in the context of invertebrate pest management but relies on comprehensive and well-curated molecular databases.
A recent study by former C∙I∙B student, Bongolethu Mtengwana, demonstrated the advantage of combining different species distribution models to identify areas that are at risk of future invasions by Invasive Alien Plants (IAPs).
Alien pests of agriculture cause billions of Rands’ worth of damage to South African crops every year. Knowledge on which pests could pose a threat in the future is vital to inform South Africa’s biosecurity.
A new book is the first to give a comprehensive overview of invasive bird species and their management.