“Invasive biota”, ran from 1982 to 1985 under the auspices on the NPER, resulting in
five papers published in the peer-reviewed literature, and five reports, arising from
10 funded projects (Huntley 1987). Essentially, the NPER sub-programme on invasive
biota was set up to co-ordinate South Africa’s contributions to the SCOPE project on
the ecology of biological invasions, an undertaking that would require collaborative
and multi-disciplinary approaches. The sub-programme was administered by Tony
Ferrar of the CSIR, with substantial inputs from Ian Macdonald and others.
2.7 Research Conducted by the Scientific Services Division
of South African National Parks (1987–Present)
The Scientific Services Division of South African National Parks (SANParks)
conducts research relevant to the ecology and management of national parks in
South Africa. Initially, very little if any of this work addressed invasive alien species,
although the Kruger National Park (KNP) botanist Dr Willem Gertenbach collaborated in the 1980s with Ian Macdonald to develop a list of invasive alien species in
KNP (Carruthers 2017). At the instigation of Helmuth Zimmermann, Ken Maggs of
the KNP released the first biological agent there, in 1987, against Opuntia stricta
(Australian Pest Pear) the major invasive alien plant in the KNP at the time. For a
short period in the early 1990s, this project, and alien plant control generally, became
the responsibility of David Zeller of the KNP, and his outside collaborators, and the
latter have maintained the O. stricta programme for 25 years since then (Hoffmann
et al. 1998; J.H. Hoffmann, pers. comm. 2019). In the mid-1990s, Wayne Lotter took
over from Dave Zeller and was responsible for the research on invasive plants in the
KNP (Lotter and Hoffmann 1998). Lotter (Fig. 2.9) left the KNP to work on elephant
conservation projects in Tanzania, successfully raising funds that ultimately led to
the exposure and conviction of wildlife poachers and traffickers. As a result, he
received several death threats, and was murdered in Dar Es Salaam on 16 August
2017.
Lotter’s position at Scientific Services in the KNP was filled by Dr Llewellyn
Foxcroft, at the time a PhD student of Richardson at the University of Cape Town.
Foxcroft’s work has covered numerous aspects of invasion science (mainly focused
on the KNP), including documenting the history of management as well as the
history of alien species introductions (e.g. Foxcroft and Freitag-Ronaldson 2007),
developing systems for monitoring and control, and documenting the occurrence of
alien species in protected areas globally (Foxcroft et al. 2013).
In 2008, SANParks opened the Cape Research Centre at Tokai in the
Table Mountain National Park. Prof. Melodie McGeoch (Fig. 2.10) headed the
centre until she emigrated to Australia in 2012. McGeoch initiated an ambitious
project that examined the extent and consequences of several elements of global
change on national parks in South Africa, including biological invasions. Following
McGeoch’s departure, Dr Nicola van Wilgen (another of David Richardson’s former
PhD students, Fig. 2.10) continued the project and led the completion of the final
46
B. W. van Wilgen
five papers published in the peer-reviewed literature, and five reports, arising from
10 funded projects (Huntley 1987). Essentially, the NPER sub-programme on invasive
biota was set up to co-ordinate South Africa’s contributions to the SCOPE project on
the ecology of biological invasions, an undertaking that would require collaborative
and multi-disciplinary approaches. The sub-programme was administered by Tony
Ferrar of the CSIR, with substantial inputs from Ian Macdonald and others.
2.7 Research Conducted by the Scientific Services Division
of South African National Parks (1987–Present)
The Scientific Services Division of South African National Parks (SANParks)
conducts research relevant to the ecology and management of national parks in
South Africa. Initially, very little if any of this work addressed invasive alien species,
although the Kruger National Park (KNP) botanist Dr Willem Gertenbach collaborated in the 1980s with Ian Macdonald to develop a list of invasive alien species in
KNP (Carruthers 2017). At the instigation of Helmuth Zimmermann, Ken Maggs of
the KNP released the first biological agent there, in 1987, against Opuntia stricta
(Australian Pest Pear) the major invasive alien plant in the KNP at the time. For a
short period in the early 1990s, this project, and alien plant control generally, became
the responsibility of David Zeller of the KNP, and his outside collaborators, and the
latter have maintained the O. stricta programme for 25 years since then (Hoffmann
et al. 1998; J.H. Hoffmann, pers. comm. 2019). In the mid-1990s, Wayne Lotter took
over from Dave Zeller and was responsible for the research on invasive plants in the
KNP (Lotter and Hoffmann 1998). Lotter (Fig. 2.9) left the KNP to work on elephant
conservation projects in Tanzania, successfully raising funds that ultimately led to
the exposure and conviction of wildlife poachers and traffickers. As a result, he
received several death threats, and was murdered in Dar Es Salaam on 16 August
2017.
Lotter’s position at Scientific Services in the KNP was filled by Dr Llewellyn
Foxcroft, at the time a PhD student of Richardson at the University of Cape Town.
Foxcroft’s work has covered numerous aspects of invasion science (mainly focused
on the KNP), including documenting the history of management as well as the
history of alien species introductions (e.g. Foxcroft and Freitag-Ronaldson 2007),
developing systems for monitoring and control, and documenting the occurrence of
alien species in protected areas globally (Foxcroft et al. 2013).
In 2008, SANParks opened the Cape Research Centre at Tokai in the
Table Mountain National Park. Prof. Melodie McGeoch (Fig. 2.10) headed the
centre until she emigrated to Australia in 2012. McGeoch initiated an ambitious
project that examined the extent and consequences of several elements of global
change on national parks in South Africa, including biological invasions. Following
McGeoch’s departure, Dr Nicola van Wilgen (another of David Richardson’s former
PhD students, Fig. 2.10) continued the project and led the completion of the final
46
B. W. van Wilgen