Biography

I am a naturalist and researcher based at the FitzPatrick Institute for African Ornithology, University of Cape Town. From a very young age, I have always enjoyed cataloguing the natural world around me. Birdwatching went hand in hand, but I have since broadened my fascination to include everything from moss to birds to fish. When I am not busy with research work, you can find me hiking in the Cape Fold Mountains, searching for rare plants, or identifying observations on iNaturalist.

After completing a BSc undergrad in Biology and Applied Statistics at the University of Cape Town, I joined the African Honeyguides team in 2021 as a BSc Honours student and then as an MPhil student at the University of Cambridge, which I completed in 2024 and have now returned to the University of Cape Town as a researcher. My research has investigated the effects of honey-hunting on wildfire in Niassa Special Reserve in northern Mozambique. I am using spatial data collected by honey-hunters as well as fire satellite imagery to quantify the impact honey-hunting, and by extension the human-honeyguide mutualism, has on the timing and frequency of wildfires.

Research focus

My current focus is on furthering our understanding of how honey-hunting impacts the surrounding ecosystem through fire. Specifically, I am using several years’ worth of data from our study region to explore how wildfires linked to honey-hunting influence subsequent fire regimes; to robustly identify the contribution of the human-honeyguide mutualism to wildfire frequency and timing; and to then model these effects over the greater Niassa Special Reserve. Fire has played a crucial role in shaping human history and by untangling this specific fire-mediated relationship between humans and honeyguides, I hope to add a new perspective to the life histories of both species.

Peer-reviewed publications

• Cram, D.L., van der Wal, J.E.M., Uomini, N.T., Cantor, M., Afan, A.I., Attwood, M.C., Amphaeris, J., Balasani, F., Blair, C.J., Bronstein, J.L., Buanachique, I.O., Cuthill, R.R.T., Das, J., Daura-Jorge, F.G., Deb, A., Dixit, T., Dlamini, G.S., Dounias, E., Gedi, I.I., Gruber, M., Hoffman, L.S., Holzlehner, T., Isack, H.A., Laltaika, A.E., Lloyd-Jones, D.J., Lund, J., Machado, A.M.S., Mahadevan, L., Moreno, I.B., Nwaogu, C.J., Pereira, V.L., Pierotti, R., Rucunua, S.A., dos Santos, W.F., Serpa, N., Smith, B.D., Sridhar, H., Tolkova, I., Tun, T., Valle-Pereira, J.V.S., Wood, B.M., Wrangham, R.W. & Spottiswoode, C.N. 2022 The ecology and evolution of human-wildlife cooperation. People and Nature 4: 841-855. Read abstract in English, Portuguese and Kiswahili here
• van der Wal, J.E.M., Spottiswoode, C.N., Uomini, N.T., Cantor, M., Daura-Jorge, F.G., Afan, A.I., Attwood, M.C., Amphaeris, J., Balasani, F., Begg, C.M., Blair, C.J., Bronstein, J.L., Buanachique, I.O., Cuthill, R.R.T., Das, J., Deb, A., Dixit, T., Dlamini, G.S., Dounias, E., Gedi, I.I., Gruber, M., Hoffman, L.S., Holzlehner, T., Isack, H.A., Laltaika, A.E., Lloyd-Jones, D.J., Lund, J., Machado, A.M.S., Mahadevan, L., Moreno, I.B., Nwaogu, C.J., Pereira, V.L., Pierotti, R., Rucunua, S.A., dos Santos, W.F., Serpa, N., Smith, B.D., Tolkova, I., Tun, T., Valle-Pereira, J.V.S., Wood, B.M., Wrangham, R.W. & Cram, D.L. 2022 Safeguarding human-wildlife cooperation. Conservation Letters e12886 Read abstract in English,  Portuguese and Kiswahili here