POST-DOCTORAL: publications
Recent Submissions
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Using network theory to understand and predict biological invasions
(2019)Understanding and predicting biological invasions is challenging because of the complexity of many interacting players. A holistic approach is needed with the potential to simultaneously consider all relevant effects and ... -
Secondary invasion after clearing invasive Acacia saligna in the South African fynbos
(Eslervier, 2019)It is often assumed that clearing invasive alien species will lead to the dissipation of their negative impacts and recovery of native plant diversity. However, this is often not the case because clearing of primary invasive ... -
No survival of native larval frogs in the presence of invasive Indian bullfrog Hoplobatrachus tigerinus tadpoles
(Springer, 2019)Invasive amphibians have considerable negative impacts on recipient ecosystems, however, impact has been assessed for only a few species, limiting risk assessments. In particular, the impact of invasive anurans with ... -
Phenotypic plasticity in locomotor performance of a monophyletic group of weevils accords with the ‘warmer is better’ hypothesis
(The Company of Biologists Ltd, 2019)Ectotherms may respond to variable environmental conditions by altering their phenotypes. Phenotypic plasticity was initially thought to be beneficial to an organism’s physiological fitness but several alternative hypotheses ... -
Ghosts from the past: even comprehensive sampling of the native range may not be enough to unravel the introduction history of invasive species – the case of Acacia dealbata invasions in South Africa
(Botanical Society of America, 2019)PREMISE OF THE STUDY: Knowledge about the introduction history (source(s), number and size of introduction events) of an invasive species is a crucial prerequisite to understand invasion success and to facilitate effective ... -
Prioritising pathways of unintentional introduction and spread of invasive alien species in Germany
(2018)To implement Regulation (EU) No 1143/2014, the most important pathways of unintentional introduction and spread of invasive alien species of Union concern in Germany need to be identified. Based on the standardised pathway ... -
Standards for distribution models in biodiversity assessments
(Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial License 4.0, 2019)Demand for models in biodiversity assessments is rising, but which models are adequate for the task? We propose a set of best-practice standards and detailed guidelines enabling scoring of studies based on species distribution ... -
Using public surveys to reliably and rapidly estimate the distributions of multiple invasive species on the Andaman archipelago
(The Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation, 2018)To effectively manage multiple biological invasions, information on their distributions must be generated rapidly and over large spatial scales. Using public surveys in a false-positive occupancy framework, we reliably ... -
The terrestrial life of sea kraits: insights from a long-term study on two Laticauda species (Reptilia: Squamata: Elapidae) in the Andaman Islands, India
(Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0, 2018)Sea kraits forage in water and return to land to digest their prey, mate, slough, and lay their eggs. The temporal terrestrial patterns in encounter rate and behaviour of two species of sea kraits Laticauda colubrina and ... -
Long-distance migratory birds threatened by multiple independent risks from global change
(Springer Nature Publishing, 2018)Many species migrate long distances annually between their breeding and wintering areas1. Although global change affects both ranges, impact assessments have generally focused on breeding ranges and ignored how environmental ... -
Tall-statured grasses: a useful functional group for invasion science
(Springer, 2019)Species in the grass family (Poaceae) have caused some of the most damaging invasions in natural ecosystems, but plants in this family are also among the most widely used by humans. Therefore, it is important to be able ... -
Climate change vulnerability assessment of species
(Wiley Periodicals Inc., 2019)Assessing species' vulnerability to climate change is a prerequisite for developing effective strategies to conserve them. The last three decades have seen exponential growth in the number of studies evaluating how, how ... -
The role of invasive alien species in shaping local livelihoods and human well-being: A review
(Elsevier Ltd, 2019)Invasive alien species are a well-recognised driver of social-ecological change globally. Much research has focused on ecological impacts, but the role of invasive species for livelihoods and human well-being is less well ... -
Human health risks of metalloids and metals in muscle tissue of silver carp Hypophthalmichthys molitrix (Valenciennes, 1844) from Lake Flag Boshielo, South Africa
(NISC (Pty) Ltd, 2018)The Olifants River, a major tributary of the Limpopo River, is one of the most polluted rivers in South Africa. Consequently, concerns regarding the human health impact of long-term consumption of fish from the Olifants ... -
Is spinelessness a stable character in cactus pear cultivars? Implications for invasiveness
(Elsevier Ltd, 2019)Selection against invasiveness allows breeders to continue trading with plant cultivars when the wild species is otherwise invasive. However, to ensure the benefits of a species over the medium-to longer-term, it is necessary ... -
Monographs of invasive plants in Europe: Carpobrotus
(Taylor & Francis, 2018)This report synthesizes all aspects of the taxonomy, distribution, history of introduction and spread, ecological constrains (including preferred climate, substratum and habitats), responses to biotic and abiotic factors, ... -
Is thermal limitation the primary driver of elevational distributions? Not for montane rainforest ants in the Australian Wet Tropics
(Springer, 2018)Terrestrial ectotherms are likely to be especially sensitive to rising temperatures over coming decades. Thermal limits are used to measure climatic tolerances that potentially affect ectotherm distribution. While there ... -
Dominance–diversity relationships in ant communities differ with invasion
(John Wiley & Sons Ltd, 2018)The relationship between levels of dominance and species richness is highly contentious, especially in ant communities. The dominance-impoverishment rule states that high levels of dominance only occur in species-poor ... -
Evidence for diet partitioning among three coexisting native freshwater fishes in South Africa's Cape Fold Ecoregion
(NISC (Pty) Ltd, 2018)The partitioning of limited resources commonly explains how different species can coexist within the same ecological community. In this 2010 study, the diets of three coexisting freshwater fishes (Cape galaxias Galaxias ...