Mesfin Wondafrash Gossa

My research focuses on insect pests of trees in plantation forests and trees in botanic gardens and arboreta. During my previous postdoctoral fellowship, I investigated eucalypt insect pests and their natural enemies in sub-Saharan Africa. This includes many eucalypt-feeding insects that have been recently introduced in sub-Saharan Africa and pose a serious threat to the sustainability of Eucalyptus forestry in the region. To understand this problem, we developed Eucalyptus Insect Pest Project in Africa (EIPPA). In this project, we investigated the presence, distribution, prevalence, genetic diversity and host utilization patterns of eucalypt insect pests and their natural enemies in sub-Saharan Africa. This was a collaborative project which involves various stakeholders across sub-Saharan Africa. Results from this project will be useful to inform management strategies of eucalypt insect pest in the region. My current research focuses on monitoring tree health at sentinel sites such botanic gardens and arboreta in South Africa. This is a project funded by the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) and aims at identifying pre-existing and emerging pest problems in botanic gardens and arboreta and managing them and building the capacity of staff members of the gardens through trainings and workshops.