Jordan McCullough (BSc Hons, RU)

Room 115, 1st Floor

Thesis Title: Demographic responses of a key savanna tree to changing climate and fire regimes in the Kalahari

Short description of thesis: 

My thesis investigates the population dynamics and spatial distribution of the encroaching blackthorn acacia (Senegalia mellifera) in the semi-arid Kalahari savanna. Data from permanent plots established at Tswalu Kalahari Reserve will provide data on survival rates, growth patterns, and spatial distributions under varying climatic conditions and fire regimes. I use demographic modelling and spatial point pattern analysis to quantify these growth patterns and simulate potential population growth under predicted climate change.

Supervisors: Prof. Susanne Vetter, Dr. Tiffany Pillay