Martin Hill

PhD Rhodes University (1995)

Professor of Entomology and Head of Entomology

'phone +27 [0]46 603 8712
Fax +27 [0]46 622-8959
e-mail m.p.hill@ru.ac.za

Research interests

Biological control of weeds
Plant / insect interactions

Teaching interests

Biological control of weeds
Agricultural entomology
Insect functional anatomy
Insect predators and parasitoids

Professional memberships

The Entomological Society of Southern Africa - Vice-President
President of the International Organisation for Biological Control of Noxious Animals and Plants, Global Working Group on the Biological and Integrated Control of Water Hyacinth
Honorary Lecturer in the Department of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences at the University of the Witwatersrand

Personal interests

Sport
Travel

Post-graduate supervision

Current students

Felix Akpabey (PhD, Rhodes University) – Socio-economic impact and control of water hyacinth in Ghana.

Silvia Langa (PhD, Rhodes University) – Impact of water hyacinth on biodiversity of aquatic ecosystems in Mozambique and recovery after control.

John Opoku-Debrah (PhD, Rhodes University) – Geographic variation in the susceptibility of FCM populations to a granulovirus (Cryptex and Cryptogran).

Philip Weyl (MSc - Rhodes University) - Interactions between water hyacinth biological control agents: which combination wins?

Ayanda Nongogo (MSc - Rhodes University) - The role of water quality on the mortality of Neochetina weevil pupae on water hyacinth.

Craig Chambers (PhD - Rhodes University) - The biological control of codling moth using microbes.

Tarryn Goble (PhD) - Rhodes University) - The role of entomopathogenic fungi in the control of sugarcane pests.

Roy Jones (PhD) – Rhodes University - aquatic invasions of the Nseleni River system: causes, consequences and control.

Yogie Kistensami (MSc) – Rhodes University. The post-release evaluation of Coelocephalapion camarae, a biocontrol agent released against Lantana camara in South Africa.

Past students

Iain Paterson (PhD, Rhodes University) – Biological control of Pereskia aculeata in South Africa.

Dani Marlin (PhD, Rhodes University) – The role of the mite, Orthogalumna terebrantis in the biological control of water hyacinth in South Africa.

Ashwini Jadhav (PhD - Wits) - Integrated control of water hyacinth: literature review and research plan for integrated management of water hyacinth using insects and herbicides.

Anthony King (MSc - Wits) - Integrated control of water hyacinth: literature review and research plan for integrated management of water hyacinth incorporating the effects of temperature.

Shirley King (MSc - Rhodes University) – Isolation of a virus for the control of Potato Tuber Moth in South Africa.

(PhD - Rhodes University) Unathi Heshula - The effect of Lantana camara L. (Verbenaceae) defensive phytochemicals on the establishment and performance of Falconia intermedia Distant (Hemiptera: Miridae) in South Africa.

(MSc - Rhodes University) Tarryn Goble – The potential use of entomopathogenic fungi in the control of three pests of citrus.

(MSc - Rhodes University) Robyn Ann Tourle - The effects of ants on biological control of Lantana camara.

(MSc - University of Fort Hare) N. Dube - The economic evaluation of possible loss of Prosopis pods as a result o increased biological control in the Northern Cape Province, South Africa.

(PhD - Rhodes University) Angela Bownes - Predicting potential efficacy of the water hyacinth grasshopper, Cornops aquaticum Brüner (Orthoptera: Acrididae), a new biocontrol agent for water hyacinth in South Africa.

(MSc - Rhodes University) Roy Jones – Integrated control of water hyacinth in a protected area in KwaZulu-Natal.

(MSc - Wits) Obina Ajuonu  - Biological control of water hyacinth in Benin.

(MSc, Rhodes) Colleen Hepburn - Phenology of insect composition and density in Capsicum (Solanaceae), cultivated in the Albany District, East Cape Province, South Africa.

(PhD, Rhodes) Ousseynou Diop - Biological control of water letuce and salvinia in Senegal.

Some recent publications

Bownes, A., Hill, M.P. and Byrne, M.J. 2010. Evaluating the impact of herbivory by a grasshopper, Cornops aquaticum (Orthoptera: Acrididae), on the competitive performance and biomass accumulation of water hyacinth, Eichhornia crassipes (Pontederiaceae). Biological Control 56: 297-303.

Goble, T.A., Dames, J.F., Hill, M.P, and Moore, S.D. 2010. The effects of farming system, habitat type and bait type on the isolation of entomopathogenic fungi from citrus soils in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa.  BioControl 55: 399-412.

Diop, O., Coetzee, J.A. and Hill, M.P. In Press. Impact of different densities of Neohydronomus affinis (Coleoptera: Cuculionidae) on Pistia stratiotes (Araceae) under laboratory conditions.  African Journal of Aquatic Science 32 (3):   267-271.

R.G. Van Driesche, R.I. Carruthers, T. Center, M.S. Hoddle, J. Hough- Goldstein, L. Morin, L. Smith, D.L. Wagner, B. Blossey, V. Brancatini, R. Casagrande, C.E. Causton, J.A. Coetzee, J. Cuda, J. Ding, S.V. Fowler, J.H. Frank, R. Fuester, J. Goolsby, M. Grodowitz, T.A. Heard, M.P. Hill, J.H. Hoffmann, J. Huber, M. Julien, M.T.K. Kairo, M. Kenis, P. Mason, J. Medal, R. Messing, R. Miller, A. Moore, P. Neuenschwander, R. Newman, H. Norambuena, W.A. Palmer, R. Pemberton, A. Perez Panduro, P.D. Pratt, M. Rayamajhi, S. Salom, D. Sands, S. Schooler, A. Sheppard, R. Shaw, M. Schwarzländer, P.W. Tipping, R.D. van Klinken. 2010. Classical biological control for the protection of natural ecosystems. Biological Control 54: S2-S33.

Weyl, P.R.S., de Moor,F.C., Hill, M.P. and Weyl, O.L.F. 2010. The effects of largemouth bass, Micropterus salmoides, on the aquatic macroinvertebrate fauna of the Wit River, Eastern Cape, South Africa.  African Journal of Aquatic Science 32 (3): 273-281.

Baars, J-R., Coetzee, J.A, Martin, G., Hill M.P. and Caffrey, J.M. 2010.  Natural enemies from South Africa for biological control of Lagarosiphon major Ridl.) Moss ex Wager (Hydrocharitaceae) in Europe. Hydobiologia 656: 149-158.

Bownes, A., Hill, M.P. and Byrne, M.J. 2010. Assessing density–damage relationships between water hyacinth and its grasshopper herbivore.  Entomologia experimentalis et applicata. 137 (3): 246-254

Hill, M.P., Coetzee, J.A., Julien, M.H. and Center, T.D. 2011.  Water hyacinth.  In: Simberloff, D. and Rejmánek, M. Encycolopedia of Biological Invasions, Berkley and Los Angeles: University of California Press.  pp. 689-692.

Paterson, I.D., Coetzee, J.A., Hill, M.P. and Downie, D.A. 2011.  A pre-release assessment of the relationship between the invasive alien plant Pereskia aculeata Miller (Cactaceae), and native plant biodiversity in South Africa.   Biological Control 57: 59-65.

Heshula, U.L.P. and Hill, M.P. 2011.  The effect of Lantana camara leaf quality on the performance of Falconia intermedia.  BioControl In Press