My interests include aspects of physiology, ecology, biogeography, evolution, conservation biology and life history of the herpetofauna. My research now focuses on snake ecology: snakes are truly remarkable predators and are model organisms in ecology and physiology due to their simplicity and because they are extreme in many ways. The importance of snakes as ecosystem stabilizers is greatly underappreciated and so my research is now aimed at investigating aspects of predator-prey relationships to reveal their importance in ecosystems.
Human activity has historically had negative impacts on reptile biodiversity through wanton killing of snakes, poaching for the muthi trade and the pet trade, and habitat transformation. Reptiles have also generally not featured in management plans for conservation in Africa. Highlighting the importance of certain reptiles, such as the ecosystem stabilization through ectothermic predation by snakes has raised knowledge on the importance of reptiles in conservation. Increased public awareness of snakes has, in my opinion, decreased human/snake conflict in the last decades in South Africa, highlighting the importance of research and public interface with knowledge on reptiles. However, negative impacts do persist in certain aspects of human activities, such as poaching for the muthi market and pet trade.