Department of Botany & Zoology, University of Stellenbosch, Private Bag X1, Matieland, 7602 South Africa

• Research Interests

• Publications

I am interested in the evolutionary processes that generate biodiversity and the ecological processes that maintain it. These processes span spatial and temporal scales, however, the focus of my interest is the evolutionary-ecology of populations, because key processes seem to operate at this level. I am currently studying plant-pollinator interactions. At the Cape, where many plant species differ only in their floral features, pollinators may hold the key to understanding the genesis of this area's spectacular floral diversity. By studying variation in pollination amongst populations, it is possible to examine the processes which result in floral differentiation and ultimately speciation. From an ecological perspective, pollination is interesting because plant reproduction and population persistence often depends on pollination. Many of the Cape 's famously specialized pollinators, including long-tongued flies, sunbirds and oil-collecting bees are threatened by man's activities. By understanding the role of pollinators in maintaining and generating plant diversity, it might be possible to predict and ameliorate human impacts.

In the Media:

SAEON supports cross-pollination … of research

How bees and fungi made orchids