The Centre for Invasion Biology (C\u2219I\u2219B) is an academic and research entity of Stellenbosch University (SU) with a national, regional, and international scope and mandate to conduct research and training in biodiversity science especially as it applies to understanding the impacts of, and managing and preventing biological invasions.<\/p>\n
The C\u2219I\u2219B resides within the School for Climate Studies<\/a> at Stellenbosch University and has affiliated researchers at a range of academic and non-academic institutes throughout South Africa. The C\u2219I\u2219B\u2019s activities are significantly interdisciplinary in nature, and it aims to enhance its activities and contribution within Africa, especially through scientific risk assessment in national and multi-lateral forums and global scientific and policy bodies, advancing technical guidance, and implementation of response actions.<\/p>\n The raison d\u2019\u00eatre of the C\u2219I\u2219B is to provide the scientific understanding required to manage the rate and impacts of biological invasions in a manner that will improve the quality of life of all Africans.<\/p>\n The Centre for Invasion Biology (C\u2219I\u2219B) is a transdisciplinary, African\u2013rooted hub that generates and applies knowledge on biological invasions to support biodiversity conservation, policy, and ecosystem management across Africa and the world.<\/p>\n The mission of the C\u2219I\u2219B is to:<\/p>\n The C\u2219I\u2219B\u2019s management team and administrative hub are based in Stellenbosch, while the core research team of twenty\u2010four senior researchers and their associated postdoctoral researchers and graduate students is distributed between ten higher education and R&D institutions in South Africa. Biographic profiles and research specialities of core research personnel can be found at www.sun.ac.za\/cib<\/a>.<\/p>\n The expertise of the core team covers a wide range of fields including bio\u2010indication, community ecology, conservation biology, environmental management and planning, evolutionary physiology, insect behavioural ecology, invasion ecology, landscape ecology, macroecology, marine ecology, freshwater ecology, molecular ecology, phylogeography, pollination biology, population biology, risk analysis, spatial ecology, thermal ecology, restoration, and resource economics.<\/p>\n Specific research and training topics covered by the C\u2219I\u2219B include long\u2010term impacts of invasions, determinants of invasion success, impact and risk assessment, interactions between biological invasions and climate change, modelling of invasion success and spread and the efficacy of bio\u2010control agents, the determinants of species abundance and distribution, the consequences for ecosystem functioning of invasions and the removal of invasive species, and the social consequences of invasions. C\u2219I\u2219B researchers have experience in environments ranging from sub\u2010tropical to temperate and arid Africa, tropical to sub\u2010Antarctic islands, central America, Australia, and the Antarctic, and from terrestrial to freshwater and marine biomes.<\/p>\n Stellenbosch University is the host institution for the C\u2219I\u2219B hub and provides the following facilities:<\/p>\n Human resources<\/strong> Besides the key academic and management personnel, the C\u2219I\u2219B is supported by several technical staff, a database manager, several personnel concerned with outreach, and three administrative staff. The C\u2219I\u2219B also draws in various ways on the human resources that are contained within a large, modern University. It is also supported by a Research Assistant based at the C\u2219I\u2219B\u2019s Northern Hub at the University of Pretoria.<\/p>\n Physical resources:<\/strong> Offices, a display area, seminar room, storage facility and large laboratory in the C\u2219I\u2219B hub complex; access to lecture rooms, ecophysiology and molecular laboratory facilities and post\u2010graduate offices in the Department of Botany and Zoology to which the C\u2219I\u2219B is affiliated; central University information technology infrastructure.<\/p>\n Academic and administrative resources:<\/strong> Library resources in the form of books, journals and electronic media; central analytical facilities including DNA sequencing and mass spectrometry; a language centre providing tuition in scientific writing; academic marketing resources provided routinely by student recruitment services; research and contract support via the Research Development division; student administration; international student liaison; financial and human resources administration.<\/p>\n Partner institutions: <\/strong>The Universities of Pretoria (Northern Hub), Cape Town, Witwatersrand, KwaZulu\u2010Natal, and Venda, as well as South African National Parks (SANParks), the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) and the South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity (SAIAB) are hosts to one or more core team members of the C\u2219I\u2219B. The C\u2219I\u2219B also supports students at several other tertiary institutions across South Africa. The structure of these institutions and the support they provide to core team members is set out on the institutional home pages which can be accessed via www.sun.ac.za\/cib<\/a>.<\/p>\n The C\u2219I\u2219B is a highly respected research organization, and its staff regularly publish their work in a wide variety of sources including internationally\u2010acclaimed journals such as Nature<\/em>, Science<\/em>, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA<\/em>, Proceedings of the Royal Society B<\/em>, Trends in Ecology & Evolution<\/em>, American Naturalist<\/em>, BioScience<\/em>, Biological Reviews<\/em> and Ecology Letters<\/em>. The research standing of the C\u2219I\u2219B researchers is further reflected in their editorial positions with several leading international journals, and participation in international science organizations at an executive level. The C\u2219I\u2219B has played a major role in providing scientific expertise to policy\u2010makers, including identifying the way forward for the development of alien and invasive species indicators for the Global 2010 biodiversity targets and contributing extensively to the development of regulations for Chapter 5 of the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act.<\/p>\n The C\u2219I\u2219B team draws on many years of collective experience in training at the post\u2010doctoral, graduate and undergraduate levels. They are all members of or affiliated with accredited South African training institutions. In addition, several team members have been involved or are currently involved in regional training programmes. C\u2219I\u2219B staff members have also been involved with a variety of community\u2010based outreach programmes spanning several levels of work from extension regarding particular problems in biodiversity conservation, to teacher in\u2010service training and learner education at the secondary level (see \u2018Outreach\u2019 below).<\/p>\n The C\u00b7I\u00b7B\u2019s research targets all aspects of the phenomenon of biological invasions and species range changes, across all taxonomic groups, and all ecosystems. Better understanding of invasion patterns and processes is required, and options for management and remediation of the impacts and processes relating to endemic and introduced alien species need to be explored. Each stage of the invasion process (pre-introduction; initial incursion; expansion; and dominance) demands its own tools, insights, and types of study.<\/p>\n The C\u00b7I\u00b7B undertakes work in several overarching themes:<\/p>\n This suite of themes provides the scope for cutting-edge, innovative work in invasion science, while providing opportunities to draw in students and collaborators from diverse biological fields (from fundamental to applied) and many other disciplines.<\/p>\n The C\u2219I\u2219B’s research spans all biomes in South Africa, including Sub-Antarctic Marion Island, and is geared to understanding invasions across southern Africa and more broadly across Africa, elucidating rules that apply to biological invasions globally.<\/p>\n The C\u2219I\u2219B runs a highly\u2010acclaimed science education outreach project that focuses on building capacity in biodiversity science and providing quality schooling for learners and educators in communities where school capacity is limited. The Iimbovane Outreach Project (\u2018Iimbovane\u2019 means \u2018ants\u2019 in iSiXhosa) increases the understanding of biodiversity among educators and learners through training and by actively involving them in the monitoring of ants. The project is implemented directly in 18 secondary schools with an additional ten subscription schools using our materials, and has reached approximately 11 475 learners between 2006 and 2016. It exposes learners to hands\u2010on science projects in order to inform, excite and motivate them to follow careers in biodiversity science.<\/p>\n The C\u2219I\u2219B has a wide range of international collaborations and formal partnerships with R&D and training institutions. These span many countries and a range of organizations from government agencies to University Departments. Memoranda of Understanding have been signed with the Department of Environmental Affairs\u2019 Natural Resources Management Programme (formerly Working for Water), the Western Cape Education Department (through 18 participating Iimbovane schools) Western Cape Nature Conservation Board (CapeNature), the City of Cape Town\u2019s Environmental Resource Management Department, BirdLife South Africa, Statistics in Ecology, Environment and Conservation (SEEC at UCT), the Institute of Botany at the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic and the Institute for Ecology and Biodiversity (IEB) of the University of Concepci\u00f3n (Chile). The C\u2219I\u2219B is also the founder and co\u2010host of the Soil Ecosystem Research Group in South Africa. A number of C\u2219I\u2219B research associates located in South Africa and abroad work on collaborative projects that contribute to all key performance areas.<\/p>\nVision<\/h3>\n
Mission<\/h3>\n
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Core Features<\/h3>\n
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Strategic Goals<\/h3>\n
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Research\u00a0Partners,\u00a0Management\u00a0and\u00a0Location<\/h3>\n
C\u2219I\u2219B\u00a0Hub\u00a0and\u00a0Partner\u00a0Facilities<\/h3>\n
Research\u00a0and\u00a0Training\u00a0Experience<\/h3>\n
Cutting-edge Research<\/h3>\n
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Outreach<\/h3>\n
C\u2219I\u2219B Partnerships<\/h3>\n