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Featured Articles
Elephants Threaten Baobab Trees in Gonarezhou National Park
Elephants Threaten Baobab Trees in Gonarezhou National Park
In Gonarezhou National Park (GNP), Zimbabwe, elephants are causing significant changes to the landscape by eating and damaging trees. A recent study led by former SEEC MSc student, Jarryd Foster, aimed to find out if there are any safe zones for baobabs in GNP where elephants can't reach them.
Peer-Reviewed Publications
Peer-Reviewed Publications
2025
Altwegg, R., Salau, S., Abadi, F., Cervantes, F., Clark, A.E., Distiller, G., Gimenez, O., Henry, D.A.W., Johnston, A., Joo, R., Karenyi, N., Kuiper, T., Marques, T.A., Ngwenya, M., Oosthuizen, W.C., Photopoulou, T., Slingsby, J., Sutherland, C. and Visser, V. 2025. Emerging Topics and New Directions in Statistical Ecology. Journal of Statistical Theory and Practice 19, 44. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42519-025-00460-4
Seymour, C.L., Seaton, D., Khatieb, S., Letsatsi, N., Skowno, A., Tokura, W., van Der Merwe, S., Visser, V. and von Maltitz, G., 2025. Satellite‐Derived Productivity Outputs for Land Degradation Assessment Vary With Biome and Rainfall. Land Degradation & Development. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ldr.5541
2024
Lázaro-Lobo, A., Andrade, B.O., Canavan, K., Ervin, G.N., Essl, F., Fernández-Pascual, E., Follak, S., Richardson, D.M., Moles, A., Visser, V. and Wyse, S.V., 2024. Monographs on invasive plants in Europe N° 8: Cortaderia selloana (Schult. & Schult. f.) Asch. & Graebn. Botany Letters, pp.1-25. https://doi.org/10.1080/23818107.2024.2367591
Hui, C., MacFadyen, S., Visser, V., Groom, Q. and Isaac, N.J., 2024. Biodiversity informatics: building a lifeboat for high functionality data to decision pipeline. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 12, p.1386917. https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2024.1386917
Foster, J., O'Connor, T., Visser, V. and Hoffman, T., 2024. Persistence of the African baobab (Adansonia digitata L.) in a system experiencing chronic utilization by elephants. Conservation Science and Practice, p.e13151. https://doi.org/10.1111/csp2.13151
Fischer, K., Johnson, E., Visser, V. and Shackleton, S., 2024. Social drivers and differentiated effects of deagrarianisation: A longitudinal study of smallholder farming in South Africa's Eastern Cape province. Journal of Rural Studies, 106, p.103200. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2024.103200
2023
Bell, W., Hoffman, M.T., Visser, V. and Kirsten, T., 2023. Modelling land condition to augment Land Degradation Neutrality assessments-The succulent Karoo biome of South Africa as a case study. Journal of Arid Environments, 219, 105086. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaridenv.2023.105086
Kirsten, T., Hoffman, M.T., Bell, W.D. and Visser, V., 2023. A regional, remote sensing-based approach to mapping land degradation in the Little Karoo, South Africa. Journal of Arid Environments, 219, 105066.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaridenv.2023.105066
Cervantes, F., Altwegg, R., Strobbe, F., Skowno, A., Visser, V., Brooks, M., Stojanov, Y., Harebottle, D.M. and Job, N. 2023. BIRDIE: A data pipeline to inform wetland and waterbird conservation at multiple scales. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 11:1131120. https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2023.1131120
2022
MacFadyen, S., Allsopp, N., Altwegg, R., Archibald, S., Botha, J., Bradshaw, K., Carruthers, J., De Klerk, H., de Vos, A., Distiller, G., Foord, S., Freitag-Ronaldson, S., Gibbs, R., Hamer, M., Landi, P., MacFadyen, D., Manuel, J., Midgley, G., Moncrieff, G., Munch, Z., Mutanga, O., Sershen, Nenguda, R., Ngwenya, M., Parker, D., Peel, M., Power, J., Pretorius, J., Ramdhani, S., Robertson, M., Rushworth, I., Skowno, A., Slingsby, J., Turner, A., Visser, V., Van Wageningen, G., Hui, C., 2022. Drowning in data, thirsty for information and starved for understanding: A biodiversity information hub for cooperative environmental monitoring in South Africa. Biological Conservation, 274, 109736. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2022.109736
Bell, W.D., Visser, V., Kirsten, T. and Hoffman, M.T., 2022. An evaluation of different approaches which use Google Street View imagery to ground truth land degradation assessments. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 194, 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-022-10438-5
Matthys, C., Jubase, N., Visser, V. and Geerts, S., 2022. Distribution of Melaleuca rugulosa (Schlechtendal ex Link) Craven (Myrtaceae) in South Africa: Assessment of invasiveness and feasibility of eradication. South African Journal of Botany, 148, 228-237. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sajb.2022.04.025
2021
Sutton, G., Bownes, A., Visser, V., Mapaura, A. and Canavan, K., 2021. Progress and prospects for the biological control of invasive alien grasses (Poaceae) in South Africa. African Entomology, 29, 837-858. https://doi.org/10.4001/003.029.0837
Mashau, A.C., Hempson, G.P., Lehmann, C.E.R., Vorontsova, M.S., Visser, V., and Archibald, S. 2021. Plant height and lifespan predict range size in southern African grasses. Journal of Biogeography, 48, 3047-3059. https://doi.org/10.1111/jbi.14261
Bell, W.D., Hoffman, M.T., and Visser, V. 2021. Regional land degradation assessment for dryland environments: the Namaqualand Hardeveld bioregion of the Succulent Karoo biome as a case study. Land Degradation & Development, 32, 2287-2302. https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.3900
2020
Measey, J., Visser, V., Dgebuadze, Y., Inderjit, Li, B., Dechoum, M.S., Ziller, S.R., and Richardson, D.M. 2020. The world needs BRICS countries to build capacity in invasion science. PLOS Biology. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3000404
Novoa, A., Richardson, D.M., Pyšek, P., Bacher, S., Canavan, S., Catford, J.A., Čuda, J., Essl, F., Foxcroft, L.C., Genovesi, P., Hirsch, H., hui, C., Jackson, M.C., Kueffer, C., Le Roux, J.J., Measey, J., Meyerson, L.A., Mohanty, N.P., Moodley, D., Müller-Schärer, H., Packer, J.G., Pergl, J., Robinson, T.B., Saul, W-C, Shackleton, R.T., Visser, V., Weyl, O.L.F., Yannelli, F.A., and Wilson, J.R.U. 2020. Invasion syndromes: a systematic approach for predicting biological invasions and facilitating effective management. Biological Invasions, 22, 1801–1820. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-020-02220-w
2019
Canavan, S., Meyerson, L.A., Packer, J.G., Pyšek, P., Maurel, N., Lozano, V., Richardson, D.M., Brundu, G., Canavan, K., Cicatelli, A., Čuda, J., Dawson, W., Essl, F., Guarino, F., Guo, W.-Y., van Kleunen, M., Kreft, H., Lambertini, C., Pergl, J., Skálová, H., Soreng, R.J., Visser, V., Vorontsova, M.S., Weigelt, P., Winter, M., Wilson, J.R.U., 2019. Tall-statured grasses: a useful functional group for invasion science. Biological Invasions, 21, 37–58. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-018-1815-z
De Rock, P., Elwen, S.H., Roux, J-P., Leeney, R.H., James, B.S., Visser, V., Martin, M.J. and Gridley, T. 2019. Predicting habitat suitability for cetaceans in Namibia using MinxEnt. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 619, 149-167. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps12934
2018
de Klerk, H.M., Burgess, N.D., Visser, V., 2018. Probabilistic description of vegetation ecotones using remote sensing. Ecological Informatics 46, 125–132. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoinf.2018.06.001
Nkuna, K., Visser, V., Wilson, J.R. and Kumschick, S., 2018. Global environmental and socio-economic impacts of selected alien grasses as a basis for ranking threats to South Africa. Neobiota, 41, 19-65. https://doi.org/10.3897/neobiota.41.26599
Swart, C., Visser, V., Robinson, T.B., 2018. Patterns and traits associated with invasions by predatory marine crabs. NeoBiota 39, 79–102. https://doi.org/10.3897/neobiota.39.22002
2017
Altwegg, R., Visser, V., Bailey, L.D., Erni, B., 2017. Learning from single extreme events. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 372, 20160141. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2016.0141
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, 322–331. https://doi.org/10.1017/inp.2017.35
Hui, C., Richardson, D.M., Visser, V., 2017. Ranking of invasive spread through urban green areas in the world’s 100 most populous cities. Biological Invasions 19, 3527–3539. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-017-1584-0
Renteria, J.L., Rouget, M., Visser, V., 2017. Rapid prioritization of alien plants for eradication based on climatic suitability and eradication feasibility. Austral Ecology 42, 995–1005. https://doi.org/10.1111/aec.12528
Visser, V., Wilson, J.R.U., Canavan, K., Canavan, S., Fish, L., Le Maitre, D., Nänni, I., Mashau, C., O’Connor, T., Ivey, P., Kumschick, S., Richardson, D.M., 2017. Grasses as invasive plants in South Africa revisited: Patterns, pathways and management. Bothalia 47. https://doi.org/10.4102/abc.v47i2.2169
2016
Canavan, S., Richardson, D.M., Visser, V., Roux, J.J.L., Vorontsova, M.S., Wilson, J.R.U., 2016. The global distribution of bamboos: assessing correlates of introduction and invasion. AoB Plants plw078. https://doi.org/10.1093/aobpla/plw078
Geerts, S., Mashele, B.V., Visser, V., 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, 3119–3126. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-016-1226-y
Robertson, M.P., Visser, V., Hui, C., 2016. Biogeo: an R package for assessing and improving data quality of occurrence record datasets. Ecography 39, 394–401. https://doi.org/10.1111/ecog.02118
Visser, V., Wilson, J.R.U., Fish, L., Brown, C., Cook, G.D., Richardson, D.M., 2016. Much more give than take: South Africa as a major donor but infrequent recipient of invasive non-native grasses: South Africa, major donor, but minor recipient of invasive grasses. Global Ecology and Biogeography 25, 679–692. https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.12445
White, J.D.M., Jack, S.L., Hoffman, M.T., Puttick, J., Bonora, D., Visser, V., February, E.C., 2016. Collapse of an iconic conifer: long-term changes in the demography of Widdringtonia cedarbergensis using repeat photography. BMC Ecology 16. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12898-016-0108-6
2015
Driscoll, D.A., Catford, J.A., Barney, J.N., Hulme, P.E., Inderjit, Martin, T.G., Pauchard, A., Pyšek, P., Richardson, D.M., Riley, S., Visser, V., 2015. Reply to Proença et al.: Sown biodiverse pastures are not a universal solution to invasion risk. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 112, E1696–E1696. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1500548112
Ripley, B., Visser, V., Christin, P.-A., Archibald, S., Martin, T., Osborne, C., 2015. Fire ecology of C 3 and C 4 grasses depends on evolutionary history and frequency of burning but not photosynthetic type. Ecology 96, 2679–2691. https://doi.org/10.1890/14-1495.1
Visser, V., Molofsky, J., 2015. Ecological niche differentiation of polyploidization is not supported by environmental differences among species in a cosmopolitan grass genus. American Journal of Botany 102, 36–49. https://doi.org/10.3732/ajb.1400432
2014
Driscoll, D.A., Catford, J.A., Barney, J.N., Hulme, P.E., Inderjit, Martin, T.G., Pauchard, A., Pyšek, P., Richardson, D.M., Riley, S., Visser, V., 2014. New pasture plants intensify invasive species risk. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 111, 16622–16627. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1409347111
Hui, C., Richardson, D.M., Visser, V., Wilson, J.R.U., 2014. Macroecology meets invasion ecology: performance of Australian acacias and eucalypts around the world revealed by features of their native ranges. Biological Invasions 16, 565–576. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-013-0599-4
Osborne, C.P., Salomaa, A., Kluyver, T.A., Visser, V., Kellogg, E.A., Morrone, O., Vorontsova, M.S., Clayton, W.D., Simpson, D.A., 2014. A global database of C 4 photosynthesis in grasses. New Phytologist 204, 441–446. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.12942
Visser, V., Clayton, W.D., Simpson, D.A., Freckleton, R.P., Osborne, C.P., 2014a. Mechanisms driving an unusual latitudinal diversity gradient for grasses: Insights from an unusual latitudinal diversity gradient. Global Ecology and Biogeography 23, 61–75. https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.12107
Visser, V., Langdon, B., Pauchard, A., Richardson, D.M., 2014b. Unlocking the potential of Google Earth as a tool in invasion science. Biological Invasions 16, 513–534. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-013-0604-y
2013
Geerts, S., Botha, P.W., Visser, V., Richardson, D.M., 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. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sajb.2013.03.019
2012
Visser, V., Woodward, F.I., Freckleton, R.P., Osborne, C.P., 2012. Visser et al. 2012. Environmental factors determining the phylogenetic structure of C₄ grass communities.pdf. Journal of Biogeography 39, 232–246. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2699.2011.02602.x
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