Richard Dean

Richard first gained a broad background as artisan and as conservation practitioner in many different areas of Africa and globally before his MSc on ant-plant interactions at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, followed by his PhD on nomadic birds through UCT. He has maintained his affiliation to the Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology at UCT to this day.

Richard produced over 200 scientific publications, many of them on the Karoo, but also made significant marks in several other fields, especially ornithology, including authoring the definitive book on nomadic desert birds, co-authoring revision VII of Roberts Birds of South Africa, and serving as editor of the journal Ostrich. Together with Sue, Richard edited the milestone book: “The Karoo – Ecological Patterns and Processes” (Cambridge University Press, 1999).