Dr Mesfin Gossa
| Postdoctoral Fellow | |
Department |
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Zoology and Entomology |
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| Full CV | |
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Research Profiles
My Links
- Botanical gardens and biosecurity
- Botanical gardens: why we need them and how they can also pose a risk
- SANBI funded Sentinel Plant Project in botanical gardens in South Africa
- Autumn Graduation Honours For FABI
- Eucalyptus Insect Pests in Africa
- FABIans Attend International Entomological Congress (ICE) In Orlando, USA
- FABIans Attend The 2017 Combined Congress Of The Entomological And Zoological Societies Of Southern Africa
- FABIans Celebrate PhD Degree With Mesfin Gossa And His Family
- TPCP Publication Celebration
Currently I am a Senior Scientist at the Institute for Commercial Forestry Research (ICFR). I am an entomologist and nematologist by training, with broad interest in surveillance, monitoring, identification, population genetics, ecology, biocontrol, and management of insect pests of economic importance to agriculture and forestry. My current research focuses on field evaluation and quantification of the impacts of pests and pathogens on tree growth and yield, and the development of management options to support effective and sustainable management of pests and diseases within the IPM framework. These include testing and identification of new and best performing natural, biological and synthetic products (insecticides, miticides and fungicides) against key nursery and plantation pests and pathogens.
Qualifications
- PhD Entomology (2013-2016), University of Pretoria, South Africa
- MSc Nematology (2010 – 2012), Universiteit Gent, Belgium; Universität Bielefeld; Germany; Universidade de Evora, Portugal, and Universidade de Jaen, Spain
- MSc Insect Sciences (2005 -2007), Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia
- BSc Plant Sciences (1998 – 2002), Alemaya University, Ethiopia
Work experience
- Postdoctoral Research Fellow (2017 – 2024), FABI, University of Pretoria, South Africa
- Lecturer (2008 – 2018), School of Plant Sciences, Haramaya University, Ethiopia
- Lecturer (2007), Department of Plant Sciences, Arba Minch University, Ethiopia
- Assistant Researcher (2005 – 2007), Ethiopian Agricultural Research Organization, Ethiopia
- Junior Researcher (2003 -2005), Ethiopian Agricultural Research Organization, Ethiopia
- Intern (2001), National Wheat Research Project, Kulumsa, Ethiopia
Teaching
Undergraduate courses
- General Entomology, Department of Biology, Arba Minch University, Ethiopia (2017)
- Applied Entomology, Department of Applied Biology, Arba Minch University, Ethiopia (2017)
- Applied Climatology and Agrometeorology, Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Management, Haramaya University, Ethiopia (2008-2010)
- Management of Crop Pests and Diseases of Economic Importance, School of Plant Sciences and Department of Crop Production and Protection, Haramaya University, Ethiopia (2008-2010)
- Weeds and their Management, Harar Agro-technical College, Ethiopia (2009)
Postgraduate (MSc and PhD) course
- Agricultural Nematology, School of Plant Sciences, Haramaya University, Ethiopia (2012)
Student supervision
- Agil Katumanyame (2018-2022) - PhD Entomology, University of Pretoria (co-supervision)
- Lesego Malekana (2019) - BSc (CTHB Mentorship Program), University of Pretoria
- Thendo Budeli (2015) - BSc (CTHB Mentorship Program), University of Pretoria
- Supervised 19 BSc students (2008-2012)- Senior Seminar, Haramaya University
- Supervised BSc students (2008-2012) - Practical Attachment, Haramaya University
Pest and disease surveillance
- Wattle, Eucalyptus and Moringa pests and diseases survey in Ethiopia, November 2022
- Wattle pests and diseases survey II in Ethiopia, July 2022
- Wattle pests and diseases survey I in Ethiopia, March 2022
- Plant health surveys in ten botanic gardens across South Africa, 2019, 2020, 2021
- Eucalyptus insect pest survey in Ethiopia, 2018
- Eucalyptus insect pest survey in Ghana, 2018
- Eucalyptus insect pest survey in Sierra Leone, 2018
- Eucalyptus insect pest survey in Zimbabwe, 2017
Leadership and administrative contributions
- Laboratory Manager, FABI, University of Pretoria, South Africa (2017)
- Deputy Coordinator, Summer In-service Program, Haramaya University, Ethiopia (2009 -2010)
- Academic Coordinator, School of Plant Sciences, Haramaya University, Ethiopia (2008 -2009)
- Head, Entomology Research Division, Werer Agricultural Research Center, Ethiopia (2004 – 2005)
Review service
- Journal of Economic Entomology
- International Journal of Pest Management
- Frontiers in Plant Science
- Royal Society Open Science
Visits to universities and research institutes
- Department of Conservation Ecology and Entomology, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa, 2017
- Department of Ecogenomics, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands, 2011
- E-nema Biocontrol Company, Kiel, Germany, 2011
- Department of Biotechnology and Biological Control, Christain-Alberchts-Universitat zu Kiel, Germany, 2011
- Julius Kuhn Institute, Institute for Epidemiology and Pathogen Diagnostics, Munster, Germany, 2011
- Institute of Crop Science and Resource Protection, Bonn University, Bonn, Germany, 2011
- Nematology Laboratory, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands, 2011
- Applied Plant Research, Wageningen UR, Lelystad, The Netherlands, 2011
- Plant Research International, Wageningen UR, Wageningen, The Netherlands, 2011Koppert Biological System, Berkel en Rodenrijs, The Netherlands, 2011
Awards
- South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) Postdoctoral Research Fellowship (2019 – 2022)
- National Research Foundation (South Africa) Innovation Doctoral Scholarship (2014 – 2015)
- University of Pretoria Postgraduate Bursary (2013)
- European Union Education and Culture Director General (Erasmus Mundus) Scholarship (2010 – 2012)
- Ghent University dean’s list, Highest Distinction, MSc. Nematology (2012)
- Addis Ababa University dean’s list, Highest Distinction, MSc. Insect Sciences (2007)
- Alemaya University dean’s list, Distinction, BSc. Plant Sciences (2002)
News
Four FABIans attended the 27th International Congress of Entomology in Kyoto, Japan.
Three FABIans presented at the recent IUFRO Division 7 Joint Meeting that took place in Japan.
FABIans said farewell to Dr Mesfin Gossa at a gathering of colleagues and friends on 18 May.
FABI’s Prof. Brett Hurley and Dr Mesfin Gossa and FAO’s Dr Shiroma Sathyapala and Natalia Cano organised a FISNA-hosted webinar titled “Forest Health & Wildlife: behaviour and effect of forest-damaging mammals”.
Prof. Brett Hurley and Dr Mesfin Gossa attended and were co-organisers of a recent FISNA workshop in Kenya.
Twenty four FABIans attended and presented at the recent 23rd Congress of the Entomological Society of Southern Africa.
The University of Pretoria joined the rest of the world in celebrating the IDPH on 12 May under the theme: Plant Health Innovation for Food Security.
ABI, in collaboration with the Forest Invasive Species Network for Africa (FISNA), co-hosted a webinar on forest invasive species in Africa on 14 March.
Researchers from EEFRI visited FABI, the ICFR and several forestry companies on a recent two week long trip research trip to SA.
FABI has partnered with the University of the Sunshine Coast and ICFR to develop a research project to determine the diversity and distribution of wattle pests and pathogens in the Awi Zone of Ethiopia, and investigate potential management options.
As part of the Sentinel Plant Project, Dr Mesfin Gossa has, in collaboration with the KZN NBG set up a PSHB monitoring system for the London plane trees.
It was a double celebration for Agil Katumanyane when she successfully defended het PhD on 30 November.
Postdoctoral research Fellow, Dr Mesfin Gossa visited three botanical gardens in the Western Cape Province as part of the SANBI-funded Sentinel Plant Project.
Recently, FABI had established a collaboration partnership with the Department of Horticulture at Durban University of Technology (DUT) to train students through the SANBI Sentinel Plant Project.
From 28 June until 1 July, academic staff, postdoctoral Fellows and students from FABI attended the 22nd Biennial Entomological Society of Southern Africa (ESSA) Congress.
In April 2021, FABIans met with staff members of the Department of Horticulture at Durban University of Technology (DUT) to discuss possibilities for student training through the Sentinel Plant Project.
Drs. Mesfin Gossa and Trudy Paap initiated a link with the Department of Horticulture at the Durban University of Technology (DUT) to discuss possibilities of student training via the Sentinel Plant Project.
South Africa’s iconic silver trees (Leucadendron argenteum) are listed as Endangered (EN) in the Red List of South African Plants.
During the week of 9 November, a FABI team including Prof. Mike Wingfield, Prof. Brenda Wingfield, Dr Trudy Paap, Dr Mesfin Gossa and Dr Hiroyuki Suzuki visited botanical gardens in the Western Cape Province.
It has been just over four years since the SANBI-funded postdoctoral project ‘Monitoring plant health in sentinel sites: botanical gardens and arboreta’ started.
In 2017, a collaborative project was developed with the aim of understanding the distribution and genetic diversity of Eucalyptus insect pests and their natural enemies in sub-Saharan Africa.
The 21st Congress of the Entomological Society of Southern Africa (ESSA) with the theme “Innovative Entomology” was held in Umhlanga in the KwaZulu-Natal Province from 8-11 July.
Recently, Drs Mesfin Gossa and Trudy Paap assessed plant health in eight gardens across South Africa, including Arderne Gardens, Durban Botanic Garden, Pretoria National Zoological Garden, and Harold Porter, Kirstenbosch, KwaZulu-Natal, Pretoria and Walter Sisulu National Botanical Gardens.
FABI postdoctoral research Fellow Dr Mesfin Gossa recently visited MIRO Forestry Company in Ghana and Sierra Leone, as part of the Eucalyptus Insect Pest Project in Africa (EIPPA). This project is led by Proff Brett Hurley, Bernard Slippers and Dr Gossa, and currently covers over 15 countries in sub-Saharan Africa.
Dr Gerda Fourie, research leader of the Macadamia Protection Programme (MPP) and Dr Mesfin Gossa, Postdoctoral Fellow in the Tree Protection Co-operative Programme (TPCP) attended an Insect Mass-Rearing Workshop held from 23-27 October at Stellenbosch University.
My Journal Articles
| Publication |
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Wondafrash M, Wingfield MJ, Hurley BP, Slippers B, Mutitu EK, Jenya H, Paap T. (2025) DNA sequence data confirms the presence of two closely related cypress-feeding aphid species on African cypress (Widdringtonia spp.) in South Africa. Southern Forests 86:278-285.
10.2989/20702620.2024.2390863  |
| Pham NQ, Wingfield MJ, Marincowitz S, Tanga AA, Tiki KR, Kassie WB, Hurley BP, Germishuizen I, Lawson SA, Healey MA, Wondafrash M. (2024) First report of the wattle rust pathogen, Uromycladium acaciae (Raveneliaceae, Pucciniales) in Ethiopia. Forestry: An International Journal of Forest Research :1–8.
10.1093/forestry/cpad040 |
| Katumanyane A, Slippers B, Wondafrash M, Malan AP, Hurley BP. (2023) Natural infection of white grubs (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) with entomopathogenic nematodes in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. Journal of Helminthology 97
10.1017/S0022149X23000378 |
| Katumanyane A, Slippers B, Wondafrash M, Malan AP, Hurley BP. (2023) Mechanisms behind differential white grub host susceptibility to entomopathogenic nematodes. Nematology
10.1163/15685411-bja10253 |
| Katumanyane A, Slippers B, Wondafrash M, Malan AP, Hurley BP. (2023) Susceptibility of white grubs from forestry and sugarcane plantations in South Africa to entomopathogenic nematodes. BioControl
10.1007/s10526-023-10185-7 |
| Wondafrash M, Slippers B, Asfaw BA, Makowe IA, Jenya H, Bush S, Kayumba I, Nambazimana A, van der Lingen S, Hurley BP. (2021) Tracing the distribution of natural enemies of non-native invasive eucalypt insect pests in sub- Saharan Africa. Southern Forests: a Journal of Forest Science 83(3):1-10.
10.2989/20702620.2021.1960218 |
| Wondafrash M, Wingfield MJ, Wilson JRU, Hurley BP, Slippers B, Paap T. (2021) Botanical gardens as key resources and hazards for biosecurity. Biodiversity and Conservation
10.1007/s10531-021-02180-0 |
| Wondafrash M, Slippers B, Nambazimana A, Kayumba I, Nibouche S, van der Lingen S, Asfaw BA, Jenya H, Mutitu EK, Makowe IA, Chungu D, Kiwuso P, Kulimush E, Razafindrakotomamonjy A, Bosu PP, Sookar P, Hurley BP. (2020) Distribution and genetic diversity of five invasive pests of Eucalyptus in sub-Saharan Africa. Biological Invasions 22:2205–2221.
10.1007/s10530-020-02250-4 |
| Wondafrash M, Slippers B, Hurley BP, Garnas J. (2019) Local antagonism and resource partitioning between two invasive pine plantation pests. Agricultural and Forest Entomology
10.1111/afe.12330 |
| Nicole M. Van Dam, Mesfin Wondafrash, Vartika Mathur , Tom O. Tytgat. (2018) Differences in hormonal signaling triggered by two root-feeding nematode species result in contrasting effects on aphid population growth. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution 6(88)
10.3389/fevo.2018.00088 |
| Wondafrash M, Slippers B, Garnas J, Hurley BP. (2017) Parasitoid assemblage associated with a North American pine weevil in South Africa. Agricultural and Forest Entomology
10.1111/afe.12246 |
| Wondafrash M, Slippers B, Garnas J, Roux G, Foit J, Langor DW, Hurley BP. (2016) Identification and genetic diversity of two invasive Pissodes spp. Germar (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) in their introduced range in the southern hemisphere. Biological Invasions 18:2283.
10.1007/s10530-016-1159-5 |
| Abebe E, Mekete T, Seid A, Meressa BH, Wondafrash M, Addis T, Getaneh G, Abate BA. (2015) Research on plant-parasitic and entomopathogenic nematodes in Ethiopia: a review of current state and future direction. Nematology 17(7):741-759.
10.1163/15685411-00002919 |
| Wondafrash M, Van Dam NM, Tytgat TOG. (2013) Plant systemic induced responses mediate interactions between root parasitic nematodes and aboveground herbivorous insects.. Frontiers in Plant Sciences 4:87.
10.3389/fpls.2013.00087 |
| Wondafrash M, Getu E, Terefe G. (2012) Survival and Feeding of African bollworm, Helicoverpa armigera (Hubner) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) affected by Neem, Azadirachta indica (A. Juss) Extracts. World Journal of Agricultural Sciences 8(3):280-285.
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| Wondafrash M, Getu E, Terefe G. (2012) Neem, Azadirachta indica (A. Juss) Extracts Negatively Influenced Growth and Development of African Bollworm, Helicoverpa armigera (Hubner) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). Academic Journal of Entomology 5(1):22-27.
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| Wondafrash M, Getu E, Terefe G. (2012) Life-cycle Parameters of African bollworm, Helicoverpa armigera (Hubner) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) affected by Neem, Azadirachta indica (A. Juss) Extracts. Agricultural Science Research Journal 2(6):335-345.
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