Christie Craig
Christie has interests in both the social sciences and biological sciences- this led her to the field of conservation. In 2017 she completed her Masters in Conservation Biology at the University of Cape Town. Her research focus was looking at poison use among communal farmers in Namibia, using interviews to understand and quantify this behavior. This study was driven by concern for vultures in Africa, which are facing extinction, largely due to the indiscriminate use of poisons to control livestock predators. Christie then went on to work as a research assistant on the Sociable Weaver and Pygmy Falcon project at UCT, and worked part-time as the social media manager for Wild Bird Trust. in 2018 Christie was appointed by the Endangered Wildlife Trust as the Western Cape Field Officer and PhD candidate for the Blue Crane Project. This project aims to fill knowledge gaps which prevent effective conservation decision making for this species. The project focuses mainly on the Western Cape population, where Blue Cranes have expanded their range to include man-made agricultural habitats. The overarching question is: "How safe are Blue Cranes in the Western Cape?". The research will look at understanding the state of the Blue Crane population, its threats (namely power line collisions) and ultimately aims to predict the viability of this population. Christie will be supervised by Prof. Peter Ryan and Tanya Smith (EWT)
Publications:
MSc:
Craig, C.A., Thomson, R.L., Girardello, M. and Santangeli, A. 2019. The drivers and extent of poison use by Namibia’s communal farmers: implications for averting the African vulture crisis. Ambio 48(8): 913-922. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-018-1128-6
Craig, C.A., Thomson, R.L. and Santangeli, A. 2018. Communal farmers of Namibia appreciate vultures and the ecosystem services they provide. Ostrich 89(3): 211-220. https://doi.org/10.2989/00306525.2018.1435566
BSc Hons:
Craig, C.A., Brassine, E.I. and Parker, D.M. 2017. A record of cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) diet in the Northern Tuli Game Reserve, Botswana. African Journal of Ecology. 55(4): 697-700. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/aje.12374/full
Craig, C.A., Hunter, C.A., Craig, A.J,F,K. and Hulley, P.E. 2017. Birds feeding on Aloe nectar: Do camera traps and point counts produce comparable data? Biodiversity Observations 8(44): 1-10. https://journals.uct.ac.za/index.php/BO/article/view/467