Zolile Maseko

Entomology Doctoral Candidate

Office: S11, Second Floor, Life Sciences Building
Email:  zolylmaseko@gmail.com

BSc (Hons) National University of Science and Technology (2012)
MSc, Entomology, Rhodes University (2016)

Thesis title: The impact and distribution of two populations of Eccritortasus species on the alien invasive weed, Eichhornia crassipes in South Africa.

Supervisors: Prof. Martin Hill, Prof Julie Coetzee and Dr Iain Paterson

Zolile Maseko is a PhD candidate with the Centre at Rhodes University. He came to Rhodes in pursuit of an MSc in Entomology in 2013, and stayed on for his PhD. Currently, he is working on the invasive aquatic weed, water hyacinth and the efficacy of two species of Eccritotarsus, part of the group of nine control agents released against the weed in South Africa. The current distribution of either species is currently unknown and therefore, his research shall involve national surveys to identify sites where the species have established as well as assess the impact they have on the weed. Furthermore, the study will encompass investigations into the competition between these two species as they utilize the same resource. This study will therefore provide essential data to assess the performance of these two species in the field.

Research interests
  • Biological control of weeds
  • Plant-insect and insect-insect interactions
  • Biostatistics
  • Aquatic entomology
  • Fresh water ecology
Recent publications

Nhiwatiwa, T., Maseko, Z. and Dalu, T. 2017. Fish communities in small subtropical reservoirs subject
to extensive drawdowns, with focus on the biology of Enteromius paludinosus (Peters, 1852) and
Clarias gariepinus (Burchell, 1822). Ecological Research 32(6) pp971-982.

Last Modified: Fri, 02 Nov 2018 14:06:45 SAST