Dr Rina (C.C.) Grant -Biggs qualified as a veterinarian from Onderstepoort, University of Pretoria in 1974. During the thirteen years that she was employed at the veterinary laboratory in Windhoek (Namibia), she was responsible for the diagnosis of  plant poisonings and nutritional deficiencies. She developed faecal analysis as a diagnostic tool to determine the nutrient status of domestic and wild herbivores. She completed a  DVSc in physiology (equivalent to a PhD) focussing on the links between nutritional status and deficiencies of rangeland cattle and the landscapes they were utilizing.

After moving to the Kruger National Park (KNP) she worked as an independent researcher/consultant on how wildlife utilized the landscape (in terms of geology, soil type and vegetation), and the link to their nutritional status.

During this time she worked as the technical advisor for the Sappi Tree Spotting series that was aimed at helping novices to start identifying the common trees using various approaches such as distinguishing features and their location in the landscape.  This series covered the whole of South Africa.

She was appointed as Programme Integrator: Systems Ecology for Scientific Services from 2006 -2014, based in Skukuza in the Kruger National Park.  Her research in science-management links focussed on 1. The effect of elephant on vegetation and the related biodiversity. 2. The utilization of  small scale patches by wild herbivores in a heterogeneous environment.

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My publications

Hempson, G. P., Archibald, S., Bond W.J., ELLIS, R. P., Grant, C. C., Kruger, F. J., Kruger, L. M., Courney, M., Owen-Smith, N., Peel, M. J. S., Smit, I. P. J., & Vickers, K. J. 2015, "Ecology of grazing lawns in Africa", Biological Review, vol. 90, pp. 979-994.

2013 Treydte, A. C., Baumgartner, S., Heitkonig, I. M. A., Grant, C. C., & Getz, W. M. 2013, "Herbaceous Forage and Selection Patterns by Ungulates across Varying Herbivore Assemblages in a South African Savanna", Plos One, vol. doi:10.1371.

Vanak, A. T., Shannon, G., Thaker, M., Page, B., & Grant, R. 2012, "Biocomplexity in large tree mortality: interactions between elephant, fire and landscape in an African savanna", Ecography, vol. 35, pp. 315-321.

2011 Grant, C. C., Peel, M. J. S., & Bezuidenhout, H. 2011, "Evaluating herbivore management outcomes and associated vegetation impacts ", Koedoe, vol. 53(2), pp. 122-136.

Treydte, A. C., Grant, C. C., & Jeltsch, F. 2009, "Tree size and herbivory determine below-canopy grass quality and species composition in savannahs", Biodiversity and Conservation, vol. 18, pp. 3989-4002.

2009 Smit, I. P. J. & Grant, C. C. 2009, "Managing surface-water in a large semi-arid savanna park: Effects on grazer distribution patterns", Journal for Nature Conservation, vol. 17, pp. 61-71.

Shannon, G., Druce, D. J., Page, B., Eckhardt, H. C., Grant, R., & Slotow, R. 2008, "The utilization of large savanna trees by elephant in southern Kruger National Park", Journal of Tropical Ecology, vol. 24, pp. 281-289.

Smit, I. P. J., Grant, C. C., & Devereux, B. J. 2007, "Do artificial waterholes influence the way herbivores use the landscape? Herbivore distribution patterns around rivers and artificial surface water sources in a large African Savanna park", Biological Conservation, vol. 136, pp. 85-99.

Grant, C. C. & Scholes, M. C. 2006, "The importance of nutrient hot-spots in the conservation and management of large wild mammalian herbivores  in semi-arid savannas", Biological Conservation, vol. 130, pp. 426-437.

Naiman, R. J., Braack, L. E. O., Grant, C. C., Kemp, A. C., Du Toit, J. T., & Venter, F. J. 2003, "Interactions between species and ecosystem characteristics.," in The Kruger Experience, ecology and management of savanna heterogeneity, 1 edn, J. T. Du Toit, K. H. Rogers, & H. C. Biggs, eds., Long Island Press, Washington, pp. 221-241.

Redfern, J. V., Grant, C. C., Biggs, H. C., & Getz, W. M. 2003, "Surface-water constraints on herbivore foraging in the Kruger National Park, South Africa", Ecology, vol. 84, pp. 2092-2107.

Grant, C. C., Peel, M. J. S., Zambatis, N., and van Ryssen, J. B. J. (2000). Nitrogen and phosphorus concentration in faeces: an indicator of range quality as a practical adjunct to exisitng evaluation methods. African Journal of Range and Forage Science 17: 81-92.

Grant, C. C., Biggs, H. C., Meissner, H. H., & Basson, P. A. 1996, "The usefulness of faecal phosphorus and nitrogen in interpreting differences in live-mass gain and the response to P supplementation in grazing cattle in arid regions.", Onderstepoort Journal of Veterinary Science, vol. 63, pp. 121-126.

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rinagrant@gmail.com