SAWISE Treasurer: Prof. Karen Esler

Karen Esler is AN ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR IN THE DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION
ECOLOGY & ENTOMOLOGY at the University of Stellenbosch. She is keenly interested in
developing innovative ways to teach and inspire students (undergraduate and post-
graduate) in the fields of general ecology, population ecology and scientific methodology.
Currently she teaches GENERAL ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION ECOLOGY at the under-
graduate level. At the post graduate level she supervises a range of Masters and PhD
students.

The overall goal of her research in semi-arid systems has been to explain community
structure and population processes in semi-arid to arid vegetation by researching aspects
of seed bank ecology, germination ecology, seedling establishment and phenology.
The applied aspect of this work has been to advise on aspects of restoration and
conservation. More recently she has been involved with research projects focusing
on ecological assessment of strandveld and renosterveld vegetation. This work has
focused again on inferring process from pattern at a population and community level.
Esler serves on a range of committees and is a member of HERS-SA (amongst other organizations).