Email: i.paterson@ru.ac.za
Office: 1037B, First Floor, Life Science Building
Phone: +27 46 603 8098
PhD, Entomology, Rhodes University (2011)
Iain is an Associate Professor in the Department of Zoology and Entomology who specialises in various aspects of biological control of weeds. He has worked as an exploratory entomologist surveying for new potential biological control agents on a number of invasive alien plant species, including cactus weeds, tropical trees that have invaded island ecosystems, and invasive grasses that are problematic in the USA and Australia. Iain is interested in the origin of invasive populations of plants and how this impacts the success of biological control. He also has an interest in cryptic diversity of herbivorous insects, species delineations, and the evolution of host specificity. Other aspects of Iain’s work include host specificity testing and improving how we test the safety of potential agents and assess the risks of releasing new agents.
Research interests
Links
Recent publications
Paterson ID, Motitsoe S, Coetzee JA, Hill MP (2023) Recent post-release evaluations of weed biocontrol programmes in South Africa: a summary of what has been achieved and what can be improved. BioControl. In Press.
Van Steenderen CJM, Sutton GF, Yell LM, Canavan K, McConnachie AJ, Day MD, Paterson ID (2023) Phylogenetic analyses reveal multiple new stem-boring Tetramesa taxa (Hymenoptera: Eurytomidae): implications for the biological control of invasive African grasses. Biocontrol. 68: 697-708
Cowie BW, Heystek F, Paterson ID (2023) Will climate affect the establishment and efficacy of Agnippe sp. #1 (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae), a promising biological control agent of Mesquite in South Africa? Biocontrol. 68: 681-695.
Sutton GF, Day MD, Canavan K, Paterson ID (2023) Anthropogenic disturbance affects specialist, but not generalist, endophagous insects associated with two African grasses: implications for biological control. Biocontrol Science and Technology.33: 1051-1064.
Canavan K, Paterson ID (2023) Prioritization of alien plant targets for biological control in South Africa's offshore sub-Antarctic islands. Antarctic Science. 35: 235-242.
Sutton GF, van Steenderen C, Yell LD, Canavan K, McConnachie A, Paterson ID (2023) First record of an African grass-feeding wasp (Tetramesa; Eurytomidae) on the
invasive grass Eragrostis curvula (African lovegrass; Poaceae) in Australia. Bioinvasions Records. 12: 673-680
Reid MK, Paterson ID, Coetzee JA, Gettys LA, Hill MP (2023) Know thy enemy: Investigating genetic contributions from putative parents of invasive Nymphaea mexicana hybrids in South Africa as part of efforts to develop biological control. Biological Control. 184: 105291.
Dixon E, Paterson ID, Muskett P, McConnachie A (2023) Host specificity testing of the leaf-feeding flea beetle, Phenrica guerini, a biological control agent for the invasive alien cactus, Pereskia aculeata. Biocontrol Science and Technology. 33(7): 654-666.
Sutton GF, Canavan K, Day MD, Paterson ID (2021) Field based ecological studies to assess prospective biological control agents for invasive alien plants: an example from giant rat’s tail grass. Journal of Applied Ecology. 58: 1043-1054. (IF: 5.84)
Canavan K, Paterson ID, Ivey P, Sutton GF, Hill MP (2021) Prioritisation of targets for weed biological control III: A tool to identify the next targets for biological control in South Africa and set priorities for resource allocation. Biocontrol Science and Technology. In press.
Paterson ID, Hill MP, Canavan K, Downey PO (2021) Prioritisation of targets for weed biological control II: The South African Biological Control Target Selection system. Biocontrol Science and Technology. In press.
Downey PO, Paterson ID, Canavan K, Hill MP (2021) Prioritisation of targets for weed biological control I: A review of existing prioritisation schemes and development of a system for South Africa. Biocontrol Science and Technology. In press.
Reid MK, Naidu P, Paterson ID, Managan R, Coetzee JA (2021) Populations genetics of invasive and native Nymphaea mexicana Zuccarini: Taking the first steps to initiate a biological control programme in South Africa. 171: 103372.
Van Steenderen C, Paterson ID, Edwards S, Day MD (2021) Addressing the red flags in cochineal identification: the use of molecular techniques to identify cochineal insects that are used as biological control agents for invasive alien cacti. Biological control. 104426
Last Modified: Fri, 16 Feb 2024 11:43:57 SAST