Congratulations Dr. Kumbirai Zingore!
Congratulations Dr. Kumbirai Zingore!
We are proud to celebrate the success of Dr. Kumbirai Zingore, who has been awarded her PhD from the Department of Geomatics in the Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment University of Cape Town.
Her thesis, “Modeling the invasive range of the peach fruit fly Bactrocera zonata (Saunders) (Diptera: Tephritidae) in Africa under changing climatic conditions: Implications on horticulture”, delivers insights into the threat of invasive species in Africa’s horticultural sector.
Co-supervised by Professor Sheetal Silal at MASHA, and supported by Jared Norman (MASHA) and Tristan Naidoo (Statistical Sciences), Dr. Zingore’s work stands as an important contribution to the protection of African agriculture and livelihoods.
Zingore holds a BSc in Geology and Geography and an MSc in Geographical Information Systems from the University of Zimbabwe. Before joining UCT in 2017, she worked at the University of Zimbabwe and as a GIS consultant for international research organisations.
Dr Zingore's thesis focuses on developing models that complement existing models predicting the potential range expansion of invasive pest species by different mechanisms under current and future climatic conditions for the year 2050. She determines the establishment of the peach fruit fly Bactrocera zonata (Diptera: Tephritidae) using six machine learning and statistical algorithms. She goes on to develop a theoretical mathematical model and a geospatial agent-based model (ABM) to predict the distribution and spread of B. zonata. Furthermore, she develops and implements a framework for comparing the spread models. The ABM was found to provide better predictions of B. zonata's invasion, capturing its spread through biological capabilities and human-mediated events. The models developed in the study provide decision support system tools for mitigating and controlling B. zonata spread on the continent, hence improving the livelihoods and food security of people.
We warmly congratulate Dr. Zingore on this remarkable achievement and wish her continued success in her research journey!
