Dr Hanneline Smit-Robinson appointed to the Fitz CoE Board

Hanneline Smit-Robinson graduated with a PhD in molecular zoology on the phylogeny and population structure of elephant-shrews from Stellenbosch University. During her PhD she described a new species of elephant-shrew: Karoo Rock Elephant-shrew, and focused her research on the taxonomic relationships within this African endemic clade. She was the recipient of an UNESCO-L’Oreal Award for Young Women in Science in 2008 to do postdoctoral research for two years, on the population structure and distributions of arid-adapted bird species, specifically the Fiscal Flycatcher, at the University of Berkeley-California with Prof. Rauri Bowie. Thereafter, she returned to South Africa to take up the position of Conservation Manager at BirdLife South Africa in June 2010. She heads the Conservation Division of BirdLife South Africa whose primary objectives include the conservation of the country’s threatened terrestrial bird species. The Conservation Division’s goal is to implement conservation decisions based on scientific research and monitoring and thus to conserve South Africa’s indigenous bird species.