ORC PROGRAMME 2025
Selected parts of our research conference will be live-streamed.
DAY 1: Wednesday, 15 October 2025
Session 1: Chair | Duncan MacFadyen
- 08:00 – 09:00 Registration / Networking / Refreshments
- 09:00 – 09:10 Welcome and introduction Nicky Oppenheimer
- 09:10 – 09:20 Keynote address by Hon. Bogolo Kenewendo
- 09:20 – 09:50 Integrating health and people in gorilla conservation Plenary by Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka
- 09:50 – 10:20 Climate change and southern African birds: 15 years of the Hot Birds Research Project. Full presentation Andrew McKechnie
Session 2: Chair | Rendani Nenguda
- 10:50 – 11:05 Conservation insights drawn from a millennium of grazing dynamics at HluhluweiMfolozi Park, South Africa. Results presentation Abraham Dabengwa
- 11:05 – 11:35 Bending the curve of biodiversity loss: What are we trying to change? Full presentation Belinda Reyers
- 11:35 – 11:50 Navigating the green dilemma: Stakeholder-driven research priorities to curb biodiversity loss in South Africa’s green energy transition. Results presentation Merlyn Nkomo
- 11:50 – 12:05 Soil fungal diversity of Tswalu Kalahari Nature Reserve based on high throughput sequencing Results presentation Eduard Venter
- 12:05 – 12:35 An energy flow view of terrestrial ecosystems Full presentation Yadvinder Malhi
- 12:35 – 12:50 Seasonal variation and drivers of parasite prevalence in migratory Serengeti wildebeest Results presentation Gareth Hempson
Session 3: Chair | Pumla Dlamini
- 14:00 – 14:30 Advancing One Health through the African Microbiome Project Full presentation Thulani Makhalanyane
- 14:30 – 14:45 Evaluating cheetah reintroduction success: A comparative study of two reserves in KwaZulu-Natal Results presentation Dorette Pretorius
- 14:45 – 15:00 Evaluating conservation corridor success for rare and common dragonflies using zeta diversity Results presentation Gabriella Kietzka
- 15:00 – 15:15 Biological responses to climate and land use changes in the KwaZulu-Natal rivers Results presentation Lwandile Ngozi
- 15:15 – 15:30 Burning for carbon: Fire, afforestation, and soil organic carbon dynamics in South Africa’s Afromontane grasslands Results presentation Lindokuhle Dlamini
Session 4: Chair | Maxwell Gomera
- 16:00 – 17:00 Minesterial panel – Alignment of interests: Transitioning from short-term philanthropy to permanent outcome-based capital through the reduction of frictional costs
- Hon. Bogolo Kenewendo
- Hon. Dr Rodney Sikumba
- Hon. Jiwoh Abdulaia
- Hon. Dr Evelyn Ndlovu
- 17:00 – 17:30 Break | Painted Wolf Wines – wine tasting
- 17:30 – 17:40 Movie introduction Anele Mdoda and Frankie du Toit
- 17:40 – 18:10 Movie Screening: The Last Ranger
- 18:10 – 18:40 QnA
- 18:40 – 19:30 Canapés
- 19:30 Venue close
Day 2: Thursday, 16 October 2025
Session 1: Chair | Peter Makumbe
- 08:00 – 08:30 Registration / Networking / Refreshments
- 08:30 – 09:00 Linking wildlife, conservation and people across landscapes Plenary by David Western
- 40 minutes SPEED PRESENTATION SESSION
- 09:00 – 09:05 Moss bioindicators: Factors influencing species diversity and community assembly along a rural-urban gradient in Madagascar’s capital city Speed presentation Antonio Razafindramboa
- 09:05 – 09:10 Temminck’s pangolin (Smutsia temminckii) habitat use in a dryland environment Speed presentation Benjamin Melamdowitz
- 09:10 – 09:15 Climate change and cyanobacteria: How construction of artificial waterholes can influence bloom potential in a semi-arid system Speed presentation Laurene van Dijk
- 09:15 – 09:20 Spatial and temporal gradient effects on ant and spider diversity in the Natal Midlands Speed presentation Asande Hadebe
- 9:20 – 09:25 White-browed sparrow-weaver structures as a resource to avian communities in the Kalahari Speed presentation Lesedi Moagi
- 09:25 – 09:30 Wetlands provide a stable forage resource for ungulates in a variable Highveld ecosystem Speed presentation Daleen Steenkamp
- 09:30 – 09:35 Legacy and emerging contaminants in an ecologically critical southern African river catchment Speed presentation Shaskia John
- 09:35 – 09:40 Speed presentation group Q&A session
- Poster session
- 09:40 – 11:00 Morning tea and poster session
Session 2: Chair | Tracey Webster
- 11:00 – 11:15 Plastic pollution and biodiversity loss: Alteration of growth and reproductive parameters in African mud catfish (Clarias gariepinus) Results presentation Gideon Idowu
- 11:15 – 11:45 African lions: Safe and sound? Full presentation Paul Funston
- 11:45 – 12:00 Should wild animal welfare be considered in conservation? Results presentation Dilys Roe
- 12:00 – 12:30 Applicability of Environmental Management Systems (EMS) for effective management of Transfrontier Conservation Areas involving Zimbabwe Full presentation Patience Gandiwa
- 12:30 – 12:45 Triggering rapid scaling of agroforestry: A case of The International Small Group and Tree Planting Program (TIST) in Uganda Results presentation Antony Emenyu
- 12:45 – 13:00 Morally contested conservation Results presentation Darragh Hare
- 13:00 – 14:00 Lunch
Session 3: Chair | Wendy Panaino
- 14:00 – 14:15 Impact of invasive Rosaceae shrubs on bird and rodent diversity in montane grasslands Results presentation Karabo Moloi
- 14:15 – 14:30 Big data’s big daddy! Aerial-born multi-sensor data collection beyond the curve! Results presentation Steven Johnson
- 14:30 – 15:00 How doth the little crocodile Full presentation Stephan Woodborne
- 15:00 – 15:15 Improving AI for wildlife tracking: The value of expert tracker knowledge and training data Results presentation Tinao Petso
- 15:15 – 15:30 Ecophysiological responses and projected climatic suitability of Podocarpaceae in South Africa Results presentation Thando Twala
- 15:30 – 16:00 Afternoon tea
Session 4: Chair | Sally Archibald
- 16:00 – 17:00 Panel discussion – Future ecosystems for Africa: Lessons, impact and the path forward Panel members:
- Laura Periera
- Odirilwe Selomane
- Sènankpon Tcheton
- Tatenda Gotore
- Mohammed Armani
- Kim Zoeller
- Mulako Kabisa
- 17:00 – 17:20 Break
- 17:20 – 18:00 New JWO Research Grant Recipient Award presentation Jonathan Oppenheimer
- 18:00 Cocktail function
Day 3: Friday, 17 October 2025
Session 1: Chair | Andre Tranquelini
- 08:00 – 08:30 Registration / Networking / Refreshments
- 08:30 – 09:00 Nature works: Turning Africa’s
- 09:00 – 09:15 Stuck in a rut: Variation in reproductive behaviour, spatial patterns and endocrine activity in impala (Aepyceros melampus) Results presentation Juanita Wessels
- 09:15 – 09:45 Drugs, guns and eels: The decline of anguillid eels in East Africa and beyond Full presentation Lee Baumgartner
- 09:45 – 10:00 Understanding climate change adaptation policy, barriers and readiness in South Africa Results presentation Vhalinavho Khavhagali
- 10:00 – 10:15 Smuggled hitchhikers: Ticks on trafficked pangolins and scales pose a hidden pathogen threat Results presentation Zwannda Nethavhani
- 10:15 – 10:30 Thulamela: Gold, human burials and a forgotten African kingdom Results presentation Tim Forssman
- 10:30 – 10:40 JWO Research Grant 2024 snapshot
- Biophysical approaches to wildlife conservation: One year of interdisciplinary work Shannon Conradie
- 10:40 – 11:10 Morning tea
Session 2: Chair | Max Makuvise
- 11:10 – 11:25 How dehorning reduces rhino poaching Results presentation Timothy Kuiper
- 11:25 – 11:40 What evidence exists for the financial performance of wildlife-based land use in southern and East Africa Results presentation Susan de Witt
- 11:40 – 11:55 Fire frequency and experimental warming changes soil microbial diversity in Alpine grassland, South Africa Results presentation Sibusiso Dlamini
- 11:55 – 12:25 Clicks and the environment: Journalism’s responsibility to deepen climate literacy Full presentation Journalism panel
- 12:25 – 12:40 The potential of legume cover crops to improve soil acidity and nutrients in South African sugarcane fields Results presentation Naledi Zama
- 12:40 – 12:55 Understanding the cognitive consequences of climate change in wild animals Results presentation Ben Ashton
- 12:55 – 13:10 Estimating large carnivore densities using spatial capture-recapture in the arid Tswalu Kalahari Reserve, South Africa Results presentation Marna Visagie
- 13:10 – 13:40 Human-centred conservation: Communities at the core Full presentation Katie MacKenzie and Lessah Mandoloma
- 13:40 – 14:00 Conference awards Nicky Oppenheimer and close Jonathan Oppenheimer
- 14:00 – 15:00 Lunch
Session 3: Chair | Jonah Western
- 15:00 – 16:00 Community Science Roundtable Duan Biggs, Victor Mose and Lucy Waruingi
- 16:00 Venue close