Conserving Africa's Mega-Diversity in the Anthropocene

Joris P. G. M. Cromsigt is an Associate Professor in Wildlife Ecology at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. His research spans the broad field of the ecology of large mammals and their role in the functioning of ecosystems. He has over sixteen years of experience in working in South African savanna systems, much of this based in Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park. Sally Archibald works on understanding the dynamics of savanna ecosystems in the context of global change. Her work integrates field ecological data, remote sensing, modelling, and biogeochemistry. She is involved in collaborative research projects on fire-grazer interactions, inter-continental savanna comparisons, the importance of land-atmosphere feedbacks, and pursuing a global theory of fire. Professor Archibald was a finalist in the National Science and Technology Forum emerging researcher awards in 2016 and is on the steering committee of several scientific programs including the Integrated Land Ecosystem-Atmosphere Processes Study (iLEAPS), the Miombo Network, and the Southern African Science Service Centre for Climate Change and Adaptive Land Use (SASSCAL). She has authored and co-authored more than thirty publications, achieving an H-index of 18. Norman Owen-Smith received his PhD degree from the University of Wisconsin, Madison for his study on the behavioural ecology of the white rhinoceros. His research has covered the ecology of large mammalian herbivores and their interactions with vegetation. His awards include Gold Medals from the Zoological Society of South Africa and the Southern African Association for the Advancement of Science, life membership in the Ecological Society of America, the Bill Venter/Altron Literary Award and the Harry Oppenheimer Fellowship, and he is a Fellow of the Royal Society of South Africa. He has written or edited five books.

• Part I. Setting the Scene: 1. Anthropogenic influences in Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park: from early times to recent management Mariska te Beest, Norman Owen-Smith, Roger Porter and Jim Feely; 2. The abiotic template for the Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park's landscape heterogeneity Ruth A. Howison, Han Olff, Norman Owen-Smith, Joris P. G. M. Cromsigt and Sally Archibald; 3. Long-term vegetation dynamics within the Hluhluwe iMfolozi Park A. Carla Staver, Heath Beckett and Jan Graf; 4. Temporal changes in the large herbivore fauna of Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park Elizabeth le Roux, Geoff Clinning, Dave J. Druce, Norman Owen-Smith, Jan A. Graf and Joris P. G. M. Cromsigt; Part II. Theoretical Advances in Savanna Ecology: 5. Megaherbivores, competition and coexistence within the large herbivore guild Norman Owen-Smith, Joris P. G. M. Cromsigt and Randal Arsenault; 6. The functional ecology of grazing lawns - how grazers, termites, people and fire shape HiP's savanna grassland mosaic Joris P. G. M. Cromsigt, Michiel Veldhuis, William Stock, Elizabeth le Roux, Cleo Gosling and Sally Archibald; 7. Demographic bottlenecks and savanna tree abundance William J. Bond, A. Carla Staver, Michael Cramer, Julia Wakeling, Jeremy J. Midgley and Dave Balfour; 8. Woody plant traits and life history strategies across disturbance gradients and biome boundaries in the Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park Laurence Kruger, Tristan Charles-Dominique, William Bond, Jeremy Midgley, Dave Balfour and Abednig Mkhwanazi; 9. Contributions of smaller fauna to ecological processes and biodiversity Norman Owen-Smith, Cleo Gosling, Nicole Hagenah, Marcus Byrne and Catherine Parr; 10. Interactions between fire and ecosystem processes Sally Archibald, Heath Beckett, William J. Bond, Corli Coetsee, Dave J. Druce and Carla Staver; Part III. Where Science and Conservation Management Meet: 11. Rhino management challenges: spatial and social ecology for habitat and population management Wayne Linklater and Adrian M. Shrader; 12. Reassembly of the large predator guild into Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park Michael J. Somers, Penny Becker, Dave J. Druce, Jan Graf, Micaela Szykman Gunther, David Marneweck, Martina Trinkel, Marcos Moleón and Matt W. Hayward; 13. Wildlife disease dynamics in carnivore and herbivore hosts in the Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park Anna E. Jolles, Nicki Le Roex, Gabriella Flacke, David Cooper, Claire Geoghegan and Michael J. Somers; 14. Elephant management in the Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park Dave J. Druce, Heleen Druce, Mariska te Beest, Joris P. G. M. Cromsigt and Susan Janse van Rensburg; 15. Successful control of the invasive shrub Chromolaena odorata in Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park Mariska te Beest, Owen Howison, Ruth A. Howison, L. Alexander Dew, Mandisa Mgobozi Poswa, Lihle Dumalisile, Susan J. van Rensburg and Colette Terblanche; 16. Conserving Africa's mega-diversity in the Anthropocene: the Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park story Joris P. G. M. Cromsigt, Sally Archibald and Norman Owen-Smith.

'… contains a wealth of information on a particularly well-studied area, and the editors and authors are to be complimented in compiling this record. It presents much in the way of useful data, and interpretations of the significance of these data both for the science of ecology and the practice of ecosystem management. It is highly recommended for students, ecological researchers, managers of protected areas, historians, and anyone interested in ecosystem conservation.' Brian W. van Wilgen, African Journal of Range and Forage Science