Member Profile
Membership type: full
Aliza le Roux
Country of origin: South Africa Currently in: South Africa, Phuthaditjhaba, Free State General field of specialization: Biological Systems and Organisms-
Degrees
Biological Systems and Organisms -
Current Research Activities
Biological Systems and Organisms
I investigate the cognitive and behavioral ecology of wild mammals. In the past decade, I have investigated cognition and communication in gelada monkeys (as postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Michigan); risk, fear and cognition in samango monkeys; and the intricacies of parental care in wild bat-eared foxes. With several collaborators, I am investigating the impacts of roads on wildlife, assessing potential road-kill mitigation strategies. My research on carnivores continues, and I am also initiating a research project on mammalian behavior in mountains.
Publications resulting from Research:
1. Jacobs, P.J. & le Roux, A. (2016). First report of a myrmecophageous bat-eared fox (Otocyon megalotis) hunting a hare (Lepus sp.). African Journal of Ecology 54(1): 128-130.
2. le Roux, A., Botha, H., Dalerum, F. & Ganswindt, A. (2016) Non-invasive measurement of adrenocortical activity in a myrmecophageous mammal, the bat-eared fox. African Zoology 51(1): 47-51.
3. le Roux, A. (Accepted). Inverted engagement: A case study of the flipped classroom on a rural South African campus. Journal for New Generation Science (special edition).
4. le Roux, A. & Breshears, D. (In Press). Encouraging the use of novel open source software on a rural South African campus. Journal of Higher Education in Africa.
5. Nowak, K. Richards, S.A., le Roux, A. & Hill, R. A. (Accepted) Does live-capture affect habituated mammals' landscape of fear?: A case study using samango monkeys. Journal of Mammalogy.
6. Benitez, M., Beehner, J., Fischer, J., le Roux, A. & Bergman, T. (Accepted). Acoustic and temporal variation in gelada loud calls advertise male quality. International Journal of Primatology.
7. Nowak, K., Wimberger, K., Hill, R. A., Richards, S. A. & le Roux, A. (Accepted) Monkeys manage risk in a seasonal, heterogeneous landscape in Amathole Mountains, South Africa. International Journal of Primatology
8. Nowak K, le Roux, A., Richards, S.A., Scheijen C., Hill R. 2014. Human observers modulate arboreal monkeys’ perceived landscape of fear. Behavioural Ecology 25:1199–1204.
9. Manser, M. B., Jansen, D. A. W. A. M., Graw, B., Hollén, L. I., Bousquet, C. A. H., Furrer, R. D. & le Roux, A. 2014. Vocal complexity in meerkats and other mongoose species. Advances in the Study of Behavior 46: 281-310 (invited paper).
10. le Roux, A., R. Beishuizen, W. Brekelmans, A. Ganswindt, M. Paris, F. Dalerum. 2014. Innovative paternal care in the bat-eared fox. Acta Ethologica 17(1): 63-66.
11. le Roux, A., N. Snyder-Mackler, E. Roberts, J. Beehner, T. Bergman. 2013. Evidence for tactical concealment in a wild primate. Nature Communications 4:1462.
12. Gustison, M., A. le Roux, and T. Bergman. 2012. Derived vocalisations of geladas (Theropithecus gelada) and the evolution of vocal complexity in primates. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 367: 1847-1859 (invited paper).
13. le Roux, A., and T. J. Bergman. 2012. Indirect rival assessment in a social primate, Theropithecus gelada. Animal Behaviour 83: 249-255.
14. le Roux, A., J. C. Beehner, and T. J. Bergman. 2010. Female philopatry and dominance patterns in wild geladas. American Journal of Primatology 71:1-9.
15. Vos, P. J., K. J. Cloete, A. le Roux, M. Kidd, and G. P. Jordaan. 2010. A retrospective review of trends and clinical characteristics of methamphetamine-related acute psychiatric admissions in a South African context. African Journal of Psychiatry 13: 390-394.
16. le Roux, A., M. I. Cherry, and M. B. Manser. 2009. The vocal repertoire in a solitary foraging carnivore, Cynictis penicillata, may reflect facultative sociality. Naturwissenschaften 96:575-584.
17. le Roux, A., M. I. Cherry, L. Gygax, and M. B. Manser. 2009. Vigilance behaviour and fitness consequences: comparing a solitary foraging and an obligate group-foraging mammal. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 63:1097-1107.
18. Vidya, T. N. C., Z. Balmforth, A. le Roux, and M. I. Cherry. 2009. Genetic structure, relatedness and helping behaviour in the yellow mongoose in a farmland and a natural habitat. Journal of Zoology 278:57-64.
19. Koen, L., P. Magni, D. J. H. Niehaus, and A. le Roux. 2008. Antipsychotic prescription patterns in Xhosa patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder: original article. African Journal of Psychiatry 11:287-290.
20. le Roux, A., M. I. Cherry, and M. B. Manser. 2008a. The audience effect in a facultatively social mammal, the yellow mongoose, Cynictis penicillata. Animal Behaviour 75:943-949.
21. le Roux, A., M. I. Cherry, and M. B. Manser. 2008b. The effects of population density and sociality on scent marking in the yellow mongoose. Journal of Zoology 275:33-40.
22. le Roux, A., T. P. Jackson, and M. I. Cherry. 2002. Differences in alarm vocalizations of sympatric populations of the whistling rats, Parotomys brantsii and P. littledalei (Rodentia : Muridae). Journal of Zoology 257:189-194.
23. le Roux, A., T. P. Jackson, and M. I. Cherry. 2001a. Does Brants' whistling rat (Parotomys brantsii) use an urgency-based alarm system in reaction to aerial and terrestrial predators? Behaviour 138:757-773.
24. le Roux, A., T. P. Jackson, and M. I. Cherry. 2001b. The effect of changing call duration and calling bouts on vigilance in Brants' whistling rat, Parotomys brantsii. Behaviour 138:1287-1302.
Current profession
Current professional activities type:ResearchTeachingI am a senior lecturer in Zoology at the University of the Free State's rural Qwaqwa campus. In addition to teaching several undergraduate and postgraduate courses (centered on ecology and scientific writing), I am currently supervising 10 postgraduate students. Further, I am a coordinator for the Afromontane Research Unit, in which we are actively creating a research culture on this isolated campus, harnessing the talent of local researchers around a common research niche area.
Affiliations
South African Young Academy of Science
