[APES Friends] ALUMNI EVENT - 13 MARCH SAVE THE DATE

[Friends and Alumni of the School of AP&ES]

Dear All

Every year The School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences of the University of the Witwatersrand hosts two alumni events which showcase recent developments in biology. The title of the presentation for our next event is "Saving our ecosystems from invasive alien plants: set a thief to catch a thief" by Professor John Hoffmann from the University of Cape Town.

Date:                     13 March 2014
Time:                     17h30 for 18h00
Venue:                 Oppenheimer Life Sciences Building (OLS 4)
Presenter:          Professor John Hoffmann from the Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cape Town
Professor John Hoffmann is a world-renowned scientist in the field of weed biological control. He has championed the use of seed-attacking agents to bring about long-term control of some of our worst alien invasive weeds.   Amongst his extensive work on many different weed species, he has implemented the very successful control of Prickly Pear and Australian acacia species in South Africa. "
Topic:                    Saving our ecosystems from invasive alien plants: set a thief to catch a thief
Cost:                      R50 (finger foods and drinks provided)
RSVP:                    Tammy - Tamelyne.vantonder at wits.ac.za<mailto:Tamelyne.vantonder at wits.ac.za> or 011 7176403 (Please RSVP by 3rd March 2014 to secure your place.)

For the last 100 years, South African biologists have been bringing insects and diseases from other continents to control exotic plants that are invading our natural ecosystems. Using these agents to control exotic invasions is known as biological control. A flood of recent effort has seen South Africa rise to become a world leader in this field of research, with many of the best global examples right on our door step. In this presentation, Prof John Hoffmann discusses how the first steps were taken in South Africa and then presents some examples of the spectacular successes that have made a very real difference for conservation and agriculture in South Africa. In particular, his presentation focuses on the challenges of tackling invasive tree species using biological control agents and what we might expect of the insects and pathogens that we employ for this task.

The School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences is part of the Faculty of Science at the University of the Witwatersrand. Studies in the school focus at the level of living organisms and their interaction with the environment. Areas of specialisation include savannas, grasslands and aquatic biology, with an emphasis on biodiversity, sustainable resources and range limitation. The Alumni event presents a unique opportunity to interact with academic staff of the school.

Should you require any further information, please do not hesitate to contact me



Kind Regards

Tammy Van Tonder
Senior Administrator:  Operations
School of Animal, Plants & Environmental Sciences
University of the Witwatersrand
(011) 717 6403


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