Biodiversity

Read more about the article Biodiversity of natural forests key to buffer severity of non-native tree invasions
Photos from left to right: Black Locust; Osage orange; Tree of Heaven; pictures from iNaturalist under CC-BY-NC (credits: Dave Richardson, Rosario, and Gehardt).
2023 / News

Biodiversity of natural forests key to buffer severity of non-native tree invasions

A study, co-authored by CIB Core Team member Prof Cang Hui, has found that the native biodiversity of natural forests largely buffers the severity of non-native tree invasions.

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30 August 2023
Read more about the article Impacts of invasive alien species in South Africa reviewed
The number of (A) invasive alien species across broad taxonomic and life-form groupings for which ecological impacts have been quantified in South Africa; and (B) the number of published studies on each group.
2021 / News

Impacts of invasive alien species in South Africa reviewed

A review of the peer-reviewed literature was undertaken at the Centre for Invasion Biology (C·I·B) to determine the level of understanding of the impacts of invasions of all taxonomic groups in all natural and semi-natural ecosystems in South Africa.

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3 September 2021
Read more about the article Barcoding as a tool to track emerging pests: the case of the sugarcane long-horned beetle
Sugarcane long-horned beetle (Cacosceles newmannii) larva in a sugarcane stalk. Picture taken by Marion Javal.
2021 / News

Barcoding as a tool to track emerging pests: the case of the sugarcane long-horned beetle

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.

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24 May 2021
2021 / News

The Table Mountain fire: what we can learn from the main drivers of wildfires

The fires that started on 18 April 2021 on the slopes of Table Mountain in South Africa destroyed several buildings on the campus of the University of Cape Town. These included the Jagger Library, as well as the restaurant at Rhodes Memorial, the historic Mostert’s Mill, and several residential houses. This was a tragic event that will affect many people for a long time.

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25 April 2021