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Read more about the article Agriculture landscape change crucial for bio-control programme development
An adult ladybird Hippodamia variegata and its larva feeding on aphids [Image by M. Quresh at http://pk-photography.blogspot.com]
2014 / News

Agriculture landscape change crucial for bio-control programme development

The expansion of agricultural activities and the habitat changes that occur in agro-ecosystems cause rapid compositional changes in agricultural landscapes as crops are planted, harvested and rotated from year to year. This shifting mosaic pattern of crop fields can affect the dynamics of important insect pests, such as cereal aphids, and their natural enemies.

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17 February 2014
Read more about the article Scale-area curves: a viable tool for managing invasive species
Acacia elata and Acacia longifolia were the focus species for this study. (a) Acacia elata was introduced throughout South Africa as an ornamental garden plant and has become invasive in areas close to suburban hotspots. (b) Acacia longifolia was introduced for dune stabilization along coastal mobile dune systems and has since spread from those original plantings.
2014 / News

Scale-area curves: a viable tool for managing invasive species

Scale-area curves have been used in conservation science as an affordable means of identifying shrinking populations that need protection. Invasions are the result of populations of invasive species that are spreading and becoming dominant in areas to which they have been introduced.

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11 February 2014
Read more about the article Water canals as invasion highways for alien fish species
The Sundays Valley water-transfer canal, which distributes water and fishes from the Orange-Fish-Sundays Inter-Basin Water Transfer Scheme to hundreds of irrigation ponds used for citrus farming.
2014 / News

Water canals as invasion highways for alien fish species

Freshwater fish invasions are a major source of environmental homogenisation around the world; unique species assemblages are increasingly being overwhelmed by large numbers of introduced species. While active human-mediated introductions contribute to this process, there are also many passive pathways of fish introductions.

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29 January 2014
Read more about the article The challenges of alleviating poverty through ecological restoration
A Working for Water (WfW) chainsaw operator cuts a Black Wattle (Acacia mearnsii) stem.
2014 / News

The challenges of alleviating poverty through ecological restoration

Public works programs are government job-creation initiatives that use labour to create or restore public infrastructure, for example, roads, hospitals, and in some cases, ecological restoration of degraded land.

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22 January 2014
Read more about the article Stopping the next wave of biological invasions
A Working for Water team prepares to survey the slopes of Table Mountain as part of the effort to eradicate Acacia paradoxa (Kangaroo Thorn). This is one of the species targeted by SANBI ISP for pro-active management of biological invasions. Photo credit: John Wilson
2013 / News

Stopping the next wave of biological invasions

South Africa is world renowned as a leader in the science and management of biological invasions, but has been lagging behind in one key area—eradication. As of 2010 South Africa had ~8750 introduced plant taxa, 660 recorded as naturalised, 198 included in invasive species legislation, but only 64 subjected to regular control.

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22 July 2013