Publications (click on the title to gain access to that paper)

https://scholar.google.co.za/citations?user=_ZlLqNwAAAAJ&hl=en

In prep (to give you an idea of current research projects)

Honey bush pollination and potential genetic contamination between wild and cultivated Honey bush.

Taxonomy, invasion and impacts assessments of introduced genus Leptospermum in South Africa

Effect of habitat fragmentation and isolation on pollination and pollinator movement in Renosterveld in the Overberg.

How best can we actively restore ecosystems at large scales: Pragmatic solutions and shortcuts?

The susceptibility of different cycad species to the invasive alien Cycas Aulacaspis Scale (CAS), Aulacaspis yasumatsui.

Is it possible to recruit native vegetation from seeds without conducting a fire to stimulate germination and create a seed bed?

2024

57. Mantintsilili, A., Geerts, S., Seymour, C.L. and Coetzee, A., 2024. Impacts of Supplemental Feeding on Sunbird-Pollination Systems in Young Fynbos Varies with Floral Abundance. Environmental Management, pp.1-12.

56. Condy, J., Phillips, H., Engel-Hills, P., Uys, C., Bester, D., Geerts, S. 2025. Development of the Sisonke Supervision Mentoring Programme. Journal of Education (Accepted)

55. Chetty, D., Datta, A., Kumschick, S., Wilson, J.R.U., Nchu, F., Geerts, S. 2025. Regulatory options for cultivars and hybrids of invasive plant species – the South African experience. Invasive Plant Science and Management (Accepted)

54. Nsikani, M.M. and Geerts, S., 2024. Enhancing invasive alien plant eradication outcomes: Lessons learned from South Africa. African Journal of Ecology, 62(3), p.e13312.

53. Swart, RC., Geerts, S., Pryke S.J., Coetzee, A. 2024. Generalist southern African temperate forest canopy tree species have distinct pollinator communities partially predicted by floral traits. Austral Ecology 49:e13523.

52. Kraaij, T., Geerts, S., Malan, N., 2024. Seed banks and post-fire recovery of invasive alien Metrosideros excelsa in South Africa: Implications for control. Austral Ecology 49:e13524

51. Adedoja, O.A., Dormann, C.F., Coetzee, A. and Geerts, S., 2024. Moving with your mutualist: Predicted climate‐induced mismatch between Proteaceae species and their avian pollinators. Journal of Biogeography.

50. Retief, L., Nsikani, M.M. and Geerts, S., 2024. Using fire, planting, and topsoil translocation for restoration in South African Fynbos: assessing the success and cost‐effectiveness of various restoration treatments. Restoration Ecology, p.e14102.

49. Ngwenya, D.K., Holmes, P.M., Geerts, S. and Esler, K.J., 2024. Delaying a prescribed burn to scale up the restoration of alien‐invaded Lowland Sand Fynbos in South Africa. Austral Ecology 49(2), 1-23.

2023

48. Glatthaar, C., Kansky, R., Whitehouse-Tedd, K., Geerts, S. 2023. Barking up which tree? Characterizing farmers, farms, and a behavioral framework regarding livestock guardian dog use in South Africa. Biological Conservation, 288, 110344.

47. Shaw-Bonner, K., Theron, G., Adedoja, O., Bester, C., & Geerts, S. 2023. The importance of wild pollinators for indigenous crop pollination: The case of Cyclopia (honeybush). South African Journal of Botany, 161, 281-292.

46. Swart, RC., Geerts, S., Geldenhuys, C.J., Pauw J., Coetzee A. 2023. Weak latitudinal trends in reproductive traits of Afromontane forest trees. Annals of Botany.

45. Mangachena, JR, Geerts, S., Pickering, CM. 2023. Spatial and temporal patterns in wildlife tourism encounters and how people feel about them based on social media data from South Africa. Journal of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism, 100642.

44. Duncan, P., Podest, E., Esler, K.J., Geerts, S., Lyons, C., 2023. Mapping Invasive Herbaceous Plant Species with Sentinel-2 Satellite Imagery: Echium plantagineum in a Mediterranean Shrubland as a Case Study. Geomatics 3 (2), 328-344.

43. Ngwenya, D.K., Holmes, P.M., Geerts, S., Esler, K.J. 2023. Scaling up restoration efforts by simulating the effects of fire to circumvent prescribed burns when preparing restoration sites in South African fynbos ecosystems. Austral Ecology 48 (1), 158-181.

Book chapter

Botella, C., Marchante, H., Celesti-Grapow, L., Brundu, G., Geerts, S., Ramirez-Albores, J.E., Gonzalez-Moreno, P., Ritter, M. & Richardson, D.M. 2023. The global distribution of Australian Acacia species. In: Richardson, D.M., Marchante, E. & Le Roux, J.J. (eds). Wattles. Australian acacias around the world. CABI, Wallingford, pp. 131-147.

2022

42. Wansell, S. N. L., Geerts, S., Coetzee, J.A. 2022. Where are the seeds? Lack of floral morphs prevent seed production by the tristylous Pontederia cordata in South Africa. Ecology and Evolution 12 (10): e9366

41. Qongqo, A., Nchu, F., Geerts, S. 2022. Relationship of alien species continues in a foreign land: The case of Phytophthora and Australian Banksia (Proteaceae) in South African Fynbos. Ecology and Evolution 12:e9100

40. Nsikani, M. M., Anderson, P., Bouragaoui, Z., Geerts, S., Gornish, E. S., Kairo, J. G., Khan, N., Madikizela, B., Mganga, K. Z., Ntshotsho, P., Okafor-Yarwood, I., Webster, K. M. E., & Peer, N. 2023. UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration: key considerations for Africa. Restoration Ecology, e13699. https://doi.org/10.1111/rec.13699

39. Afonso, L., Esler, K.J., Gaertner, M., Geerts, S. 2022. The invasive alien Hypericum canariense in South Africa: Management, cost, and eradication feasibility. South
African Journal of Botany. South African Journal of Botany 146: 685-694.

38. Matthys, C., Jubase, N., Visser, V., Geerts, S. Distribution of Melaleuca rugulosa in South Africa: assessment of invasiveness and feasibility of eradication. South African Journal of Botany 148: 228-237.

37. Geerts, S., Mangachena, J., Nsikani, M. 2022. Secondary invaders in riparian habitats can remain up to 10 years after invasive alien Eucalyptus tree clearing. South
African Journal of Botany. South African Journal of Botany, 146: 491-496.

36. Erckie, L., Adedoja, O., Geerts, S., van Wyk, E., Boatwright, J. S. 2022. Impacts of an invasive alien Proteaceae on native plant species richness and vegetation structure. South African Journal of Botany 144: 332-338..

35. Hauber, S.J., Maier S. L., Adedoja, O., Gaertner, M., Geerts, S. 2022. Mixed effect of habitat fragmentation on pollinator visitation rates but not on seed production in Renosterveld of South Africa. South African Journal of Botany 146: 48-57.

Book chapters

Nitin, K.S., Masehela, T.S., Chakravarthy, A.K., Geerts, S. (2022). Management of Pests Using Genetic Tools in Africa. In: Chakravarthy, A.K. (eds) Genetic Methods and Tools for Managing Crop Pests. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-0264-2_10

2021

34. Geerts, S. 2021. Protea maturation rates and fire return intervals in a mediterranean ecosystem: testing the rules of thumb at a local scale. International Journal of Wildland Fire 30(12) 971-977 .

33. Adedoja, O., Erckie, L., Boatwright, J. S. van Wyk, E., Geerts, S., 2021. An invasive alien Proteaceae lures some, but not all nectar-feeding bird pollinators away from native Proteaceae in South African fynbos. Plant Biology 23(6):915-922.

32. Visser, J., Geerts, S. 2021. 2021. Sexual dimorphism and static allometry in the South African scorpion Opistophthalmus karrooensis. Arachnology 18 (9), 1057–1063

31. Mnisi, B.E., Geerts, S., Smith, C., Pauw, A. 2021. Nectar gardens on school grounds reconnect plants, birds and people. Biological Conservation 257, 109087.

30. Geerts, S., Adedoja, O. 2021. Pollination and reproduction enhance the invasive potential of an early invader: the case of Lythrum salicaria (purple loosetrife) in South Africa. Biological Invasions. 23, 2961–2971.

29. Visser, J., Geerts, S. 2021. Static allometry, sexual dimorphism and a heterogeneous fine-scale spatial distribution in the lapidicolous Striped Lesser-thicktail Scorpion, Uroplectes lineatus. Arachnology 18 (7), 700-707.

28. Visser J.H., Geerts S. & Jansen van Vuuren, B. 2021. Phylogeographic patterns in a semi-lithophilous burrowing scorpion from South Africa, Opistophthalmus pallipes. Zoological Science 38(1):36-44.

2020

27. Kanle Satishchandra Nitin and Sjirk Geerts. 2020 Modeling the distribution of the invasive alien Cycad Aulacaspis Scale, Aulacaspis yasumatsui (Hemiptera: Diaspididae) in Africa under current and future climate scenarios. Journal of Economic Entomology 113(5), 2276–2284.

26. Datta, A., Kumschick, S., Geerts, S., Wilson J.R.U. 2020. Questions that need to be answered to identify safe cultivars of invasive plants. Neobiota 62: 81–97.

25. Visser, J., Geerts, S. 2020. Describing sexual dimorphism and fine scale spatial distributions in the Drab Thick-tail Scorpion, Parabuthus planicauda. African Zoology. 18:1–7.

24. Nisikani, M., Geerts, S., Ruwanza, S., Richardson, D. 2020. Secondary invasion and weedy native species dominance after clearing invasive alien plants in South Africa: status quo and prognosis. South African Journal of Botany 132: 338-345.

23. Geerts, S., Coetzee, A., Rebelo, T., Pauw, A. 2020. Pollination structures plant and nectar-feeding bird communities in Cape fynbos, South Africa: implications for the conservation of plant-bird mutualisms. Ecological Research 2020: 838-856.

22. Hirsch, H., Allsopp, M., Canavan, S., Cheek, M., Geerts, S., Geldenhuys, C.J., Harding, G., Hurley, B.P., Jones, W., Keet, J.-H., Klein, H., Ruwanza, S., van Wilgen, B.W., Wingfield, M.J. & Richardson, D.M. 2020. Eucalyptus camaldulensis in South Africa – past, present, future. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Africa, 75:1, 1-22.

Book chapters

Afonso, L. Karen Esler, Mirijam Gaertner Sjirk Geerts. 2020. Comparing invasive alien plant community composition between urban, peri-urban and rural areas; the city of Cape Town as a case study. In: Pramit et al. (eds) Urban Ecology: Emerging Patterns and Social-Ecological Systems. Chp 13, pp 221-236. Elsevier.

Le Roux J.J, Susanna Clusella-Trullas, Thabiso M. Mokotjomela, Mario Mairal, David M. Richardson, Lisa Skein, John R.U. Wilson, Olaf Weyl, Sjirk Geerts. 2020. Biotic Interactions as Mediators of Biological Invasions: Insights from South Africa. In: van Wilgen B., Measey J., Richardson D., Wilson J., Zengeya T. (eds) Biological Invasions in South Africa. Invading Nature - Springer Series in Invasion Ecology, vol 14 pp 387-427. Springer, Cham

Holmes, P.M., Karen J. Esler, Mirijam Gaertner, Sjirk Geerts. David M. Richardson, Sheunesu Ruwanza, Stuart A. Mlungele M. Nsikani. 2020. Biological invasions and ecological restoration. In: van Wilgen et al (eds) Biological Invasions in South Africa. Invading Nature - Springer Series in Invasion Ecology, vol 14 pp 665-700. Springer, Cham

John R. Wilson, Llewellyn C. Foxcroft, Sjirk Geerts; M. Timm Hoffman, Sandra MacFadyen, G. John Measey, Anthony Mills, David M. Richardson, Mark P. Robertson, Brian W. van Wilgen. 2020. The role of environmental factors in promoting and limiting biological invasions in South Africa. In: van Wilgen et al (eds) Biological Invasions in South Africa. Invading Nature - Springer Series in Invasion Ecology, vol 14 pp 355-385. Springer, Cham

2019

21. Mangachena, J.R. Geerts, S. 2019. The absence of keystone indigenous trees inhibits bird recovery up to a decade after invasive tree removal from riparian habitats. Acta Oecologica 101, 103483.

2018

20. Novoa, A., Shackleton, R., Canavan, S., Cybèle, C., Davies, S., Dehnen-Schmutz, K., Fried, F., Gaertner, M., Geerts, S., Griffiths, C., Kaplan, H., Kumschick, S., Le Maitre, D., Measey, J., Nunes, A.L., Richardson, D.M., Robinson, T.B., Touza, J., Wilson, J.R.U. 2018. A framework for engaging stakeholders on the management of alien species. Journal of Environmental Management 205(1) 286-297.

2017

19. Geerts, S., Rossenrode, T. Irlich, U.M., Visser, V. 2017. Emerging ornamental plant invaders in urban areas; Centranthus ruber in Cape Town, South Africa as a case study. Invasive Plant Science and Management 10 (4): 322-331

18. Mangachena, J.R. Geerts, S. 2017. Invasive alien trees reduce bird species richness and abundance of mutualistic frugivores and nectarivores; a bird’s eye view on a conflict of interest species in riparian habitats. Ecological Research 32(5), 667-676.

2016

17. Geerts, S., Mashele, B.V., Visser, V. and Wilson, J.R.U. 2016. Lack of human assisted dispersal means Pueraria montana var. lobata (kudzu vine) could still be eradicated from South Africa. Biological Invasions 18(11): 3119-3126.

16. Geerts, S., 2016. Can short-billed nectar thieving sunbirds replace long-billed sunbird pollinators in transformed landscapes? Plant Biology 18 (6): 1048–1052.

15. Geerts, S., van der Linden, J., van der Linden, E. 2016. The ecology and foraging behaviour of the harvester termite, Baucaliotermes hainesi in semi-arid grasslands in the northwestern interior of South Africa. Insectes Sociaux, 63(3): 457-465.

14. Moodley, D., Geerts, S., Richardson, D. M. and Wilson, J.R.U. 2016. The importance of pollinators and autonomous self-fertilization in the early stages of plant invasions: Banksia and Hakea (Proteaceae) as case studies. Plant Biology 18(1): 124–131.

2014

13. Heystek A., Geerts, S., Barnard, P., Pauw, A. 2014. Pink flower preference in sunbirds does not translate into plant fitness differences in a polymorphic Erica species. Evolutionary Ecology 28: 457-470.

12. Moodley, D., Geerts, S., Rebelo, T., Richardson, D. M. and Wilson, J.R.U. 2014. Site-specific conditions influence plant naturalization: The case of alien Proteaceae in South Africa. Acta Oecologia 59: 62-71.

2013

11. Moodley, D., Geerts, S., Richardson, D. M. and Wilson, J.R.U. 2013. Different traits determine introduction, naturalization and invasion success in woody plants: Proteaceae as a test case. PLoS ONE 8(9): e75078. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0075078

10. Geerts, S., Botha, P.W., Visser, V., Richardson, D. M. and Wilson, J.R.U. 2013. Montpellier broom (Genista monspessulana) and Spanish broom (Spartium junceum) in South Africa: an assessment of invasiveness and options for management. South African Journal of Botany, 87: 134-145.

9. Geerts, S., Moodley, D., Gaertner, M., Le Roux, J. J., McGeoch, M., Muofhe, C., Richardson, D. M. and Wilson, J.R.U. 2013. The absence of fire can cause a lag phase—the invasion dynamics of Banksia ericifolia (Proteaceae). Austral Ecology 38, 931–941.

2012

8. Ollerton, J., Watts, S., Connerty, S., Lock, J., Morgan, L., Wilson, I., Schueller, S., Nattero, J., Cocucci, A.A., Izhaki, I., Geerts, S., Pauw, A. and Stout, J.C. 2012 Pollination ecology of the invasive tree tobacco Nicotiana glauca: comparisons across native and non-native ranges. Journal of Pollination Ecology, 9(12): 85-95.

7. Geerts, S., and A. Pauw. 2012. The cost of being specialised: pollinator limitation in the endangered geophyte Brunsvigia litoralis (Amaryllidaceae) in the Cape Floristic Region of South Africa. South African Journal of Botany 78: 159–164.

6. Geerts, S., Malherbe. T, A. Pauw. 2012. Reduced flower visitation by nectar-feeding birds in response to fire in Cape fynbos vegetation, South Africa. Journal of Ornithology 153 (2): 297-301.

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