Research co-chair: Prof Aliza le Roux
Introduction
Prof Aliza le Roux is driven by a commitment to understanding and strengthening the relationship between people and nature. Her research explores how wildlife adapts to human-altered environments and how communities engage with the natural world around them. Through an interdisciplinary approach that brings together behavioural ecology, conservation science, and citizen participation, she is helping to build knowledge that supports both biodiversity and sustainable futures in mountain landscapes.
The information below provides an overview of Prof Le Roux's research programme, including her research focus and vision, academic and leadership profile, the students involved in this research, key research partnerships, and a selection of publications arising from this body of work.
The sections that follow provide further insight into these areas through perspectives shared by Prof Le Roux and her students.
Research focus
When we lose our connection to something, we stop caring for it. To help create a sustainable future in montane environments, we therefore need to understand how wild animals adapt to humans and anthropogenic landscapes, but also how humans respond to the changing interface between society and the natural environment. Research in my group therefore focuses on a few linked themes:
- Decision-making in small wild mammals, particularly in response to anthropogenic risks and opportunities.
- Alterations in animal social interactions within a changing physical environment.
- Innovation and learning in small wild mammals.
- Citizen engagement and participatory approaches that can foster a better relationship with nature.
Vision
At a time when people are becoming increasingly disconnected from nature in the name of progress, I want to restore our relationship with nature through science, storytelling, and understanding the species and processes that we currently ignore. My vision is for mountain landscapes where people reimagine themselves as stewards of the environment, working especially with small wild creatures for a thriving and dynamic environment.
Academic and leadership profile
I have been working on the rural Qwaqwa Campus of the UFS since 2012, actively seeking out opportunities to develop my multidisciplinary scientific connections as well as leadership skills. Through membership of the South African Young Academy of Science and the Africa Science Leadership Programme, I have grown significantly in my scientific and academic leadership capabilities and have taken on many successful leadership roles. I was the Assistant Dean of the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences (the first woman in this post), became the first woman to achieve full professor rank on the Qwaqwa Campus, and I was the acting Vice-Principal: Academic and Research for the campus. Outside the UFS, I am an editor for one of the top behavioural ecology journals in the world, and I have led the Zoological Society of Southern Africa as President. As part of a Scientific Advisory Group on Emergencies, I have also made significant contributions to scientific advice for the national government.
Through these leadership roles, I have contributed significantly to the development of human capacity and infrastructure for research on the Qwaqwa Campus. This includes the establishment of a biobank and animal research facility. As research co-chair, I am now able to devote more of my energy to hands-on research and research leadership. This allows me to combine my skills in cognitive and behavioural ecology with my experience as a mentor and occasional social scientist. I am particularly thrilled by the opportunity to investigate how small mammals respond to environmental change, while also exploring how people relate to this changing natural environment. This is an exciting future for me, because true transdisciplinary research takes time and remains rare. I am therefore eager to develop this research trajectory further.
News
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Announcements
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Contact me
Prof Aliza le Roux
T: +27 58 718 5327