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Richard M. Cowling
Researcher at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University
Publications - 400
Citations - 32117
Richard M. Cowling is an academic researcher from Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Thicket & Biodiversity. The author has an hindex of 96, co-authored 392 publications receiving 30042 citations. Previous affiliations of Richard M. Cowling include University of Zimbabwe & University of Cape Town.
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Journal Article
Do insect distributions fit our biomes
TL;DR: In the Baviaanskloof Conservation Area of the southeastern Cape, where the four biomes marginally co-occur, some insect assemblages are enriched relative to sites at the core of the biomes, presumably through the mixing of faunas via transient or persistent establishment of populations recruited from adjacent biomes.
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Clustering of fertile seeds in infructescences of serotinous Protea species: an anti‐predation mechanism?
TL;DR: Low seed-set of South African Proteaceae was investigated as a granivore evasion strategy, finding only a slight decrease in fertile:non-fertile seed ratios with increasing levels of granivory was found, indicating that insects feed non-selectively.
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Active restoration of woody canopy dominants in degraded South African semi-arid thicket is neither ecologically nor economically feasible
TL;DR: It is concluded that biodiversity goals for the restoration programme are better achieved via spontaneous recruitment of woody canopy and otherspecies, eventhoughthismay take more than 40 yr postrestoration.
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A mismatch between germination requirements and environmental conditions: Niche conservatism in xeric subtropical thicket canopy species?
TL;DR: It is argued that the low number of seedlings is a consequence of niche conservatism where thicket species have retained germination and seedling establishment requirements associated with their ancestral origins in the warm, wet forests of the early Cenozoic.
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A fiery past: A comparison of glacial and contemporary fire regimes on the Palaeo-Agulhas Plain, Cape Floristic Region
TL;DR: In this article, the authors characterized the fire danger climate of the Palaeo-Agulhas Plain (PAP) during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM; 19-26 ka BP) and explored the severity and seasonality of fire danger weather along west-east and coastal-inland gradients across the PAP.