The invasive plant sour fig (Carpobrotus edulis: also known as Hottentot-fig, ice plant, highway ice plant, or pigface) can have a clear impact reducing the abundance of native invertebrates, with substantial effects on herbivores.
A study by C·I·B core team member Stefan Foord and co-author, Ansie Dippenaar-Schoeman (Agricultural Research Council) in the Cederberg mountains of the Western Cape, points to the remarkable ability of spiders to respond to changes in the environment.
A recent study by C·I·B and University of Liverpool student Tom Bishop and supervisors Mark Robsertson, Berndt Janse van Rensburg and Catherine Parr has asked how the composition of ant groupings changes across environmental gradients.
Mounting challenges from man-made environmental change means measuring and tracking changes in biodiversity—the total living natural assets on earth—is becoming increasingly more important.