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Dr Bernard Coetzee is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Zoology and Entomology at the University of Pretoria, where he serves as acting director of the Conservation Ecology Research Unit. He holds a BSc Hons, MSc, and PhD in Zoology from the University of Pretoria. His academic appointments at the university include roles as Lecturer from 2015 to 2020, Research Associate at the Global Change Institute from 2017 to 2021, and Postdoctoral Research Associate from 2013 to 2015, prior to his current position since 2021.
Dr Coetzee is a conservation ecologist whose research examines how humans alter the natural environment and the resulting effects on biodiversity and human well-being. His interests encompass elephant conservation, birds, climate change, biogeography, nocturnal ecology, and landscape conservation. He teaches population, community, and climate change ecology to undergraduate and postgraduate students. Dr Coetzee has published extensively in peer-reviewed journals, including Science, Nature, Nature Ecology & Evolution, Biological Reviews, and Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society. Notable publications include a 2014 meta-analysis in PLoS ONE on protected area performance, a 2009 study in Global Ecology and Biogeography on Important Bird Areas under climate change, and a 2020 paper in Nature on Antarctica’s wilderness and biodiversity. He received the Jennifer Ward Oppenheimer Research Grant as its second recipient, was named to the 2025 Explorers Club 50, and holds a C1 rating from the National Research Foundation.
Explore the University of Pretoria-led study debunking catastrophic wildlife decline claims, highlighting stable populations in sub-Saharan Africa's protected zones.
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