Current members
Jongo Gcina
Post-fire ecology in the dune thicket-fynbos mosaic of the Eastern Cape
MSc
Supervised by Alastair Potts* and Adriaan Grobler
Riyadh Casoojee
A look into the XYZ's of EIAs: Assessing the effectiveness of rehabilitation plans in the Eastern Cape
MSc (part-time)
Supervised by Alastair Potts* and Paul-Pierre Steyn
Dr Robbert Duker
Thicket ecology and restoration
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Abdul-Lateef Ismail
Seeing the Thicket for the Forest: Understanding the boundaries in closed-canopy vegetation
MSc
Supervised by Alastair Potts* & Coert Geldenhuys
Past members
Nicholas Galuszynski
Applied phylogeography: mapping the genetic resource of Honeybush across the Cape Floristic Region
PhD (2020)
Supervised by: Alastair Potts*
Dr Susan Botha
A gatherer’s paradise? Early humans and plant foraging on the Cape south coast, South Africa
PhD (2019)
Supervised by: Alastair Potts*, Richard Cowling and Karen Esler
Dr Robbert Duker
The effects of frost on Albany Subtropical Thicket and Nama-Karoo shrubland in South Africa
PhD (2018)
Supervised by: Alastair Potts*, Richard Cowling and Derek du Preez
Timothy Macqueen
Finding Frankenflora: Investigating hybridisation between local and introduced Protea species at the Van Stadens Wildflower Reserve.
MSc (2019)
Supervised by: Alastair Potts*
Wynand Calitz
Elucidating the heterogeneity of flammability in the Eastern Cape of South Africa.
MSc (2018)
Supervised by: Alastair Potts* and Richard Cowling
Dr Dimitri Veldkornet
Estuarine species and habitats: distribution and connectivity.
PhD (2018)
Supervised by: Janine Adams* and Alastair Potts
Sam Msweli
Flammability of indigenous and invasive alien woody plants in coastal fynbos and thicket
MSc (2020)
Supervised by: Tineke Kraaij* & Alastair Potts
Daniel Buttner
Exploring the ecological dynamics of Albany Subtropical Thicket: Portulacaria afra and community- and landscape-scale facilitation
MSc
Supervised by Alastair Potts*, Robbert Duker & Robert Skelton
MSc
Andrea Beyers (2016) Ecological principles for Honeybush (Cyclopia spp.) conservation and cultivation.
Primary supervisor: Dr Alastair Potts; co-supervisor: Prof. Richard Cowling
Debbie du Preez (2017) Phylogeny and phylogeography of dominant surf zone diatoms.
Primary supervisor: Prof. Eileen Campbell; co-supervisors: Dr Derek du Preez and Dr Alastair Potts
Honours
Daniel Buttner (2019) From pest to profit: An ethnopharmacological management solution for the invasive Acacia cyclops in southern Cape, South Africa.
Lara Wattam (2019) Elephants as potential primary dispersers of Spekboom (Portulacaria afra): the role of elephant foraging and movement in dispersal and regeneration.
Odwa Ntsikwe (2019) Self-thinning of the resprouter Olea exasperata
Lauren Bailey (2016) Do Fynbos plants with “wand” traits differ in flexibility? Implications for climbing rodent herbivores.
Megan Smith (2016) Biome transitions: Investigating a shifting life history strategy in Cyclopia spp (Vent.).
Nicholas Galuszynski (2015) A short history of biome boundaries in a biodiversity hotspot.