Dr Christopher O’Kane
Research Fellows
Kadas Research Fellow
After reading Medicine and History of Art at Cambridge, I practised medicine in The Household Cavalry for thirteen years. Coming to the field of Conservation Biology later in life, I gained a M.Sc. from Natal University, South Africa in 2006 for my work on habitat selection and demographics of large mammalian herbivores in Ithala Game Reserve, South Africa. From 2006 to 2010 I researched elephant and other large mammalian browsers/mixed-feeders in Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park, South Africa, investigating how these species influence savanna woodland dynamics over the long-term, and the implications this has for managing elephants – especially in the context of increasing calls for elephants to be culled in parts of South Africa. Based at WildCRU since 2006, I gained my D.Phil. in 2012. Holding the Kadas Research Fellowship, I am now continuing my work on African ungulates, including elephant, and their impact on ecosystem processes.
Selected Publications
O’KANE, C.A.J., & MACDONALD, D.W. 2017. An experimental demonstration of the impact of predation on sexual segregation and primary sex ratios amongst ungulates. Austral Ecology 42: 414-421
O’KANE, C.A.J., & MACDONALD, D.W. 2015. An experimental demonstration that predation influences antelope sex ratios and resource-associated mortality. Basic and Applied Ecology 17: 370-376.
O’KANE, C.A.J., PAGE, B. & MACDONALD, D.W. 2014. Conducting animal censuses amongst abrupt topography; a GIS-based alternative to Distance. Austral Ecology 39: 848-854.
O’KANE, C.A.J., PAGE, B. & MACDONALD, D.W. 2014. Differing influences of resource availability on the demographics and habitat selection of wildebeest compared to impala. Journal of Tropical Ecology 30:189-198.
O’KANE, C.A.J., DUFFY, K., PAGE, B. & MACDONALD, D.W. 2013. Model highlights likely long-term influences of mesobrowsers versus those of elephant on woodland dynamics. African Journal of Ecology 52: 192-208.
O’KANE, C. A. J., DUFFY, K., PAGE, B. & MACDONALD, D. W. 2013. Effects of resource limitation on habitat usage by the browser guild in Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park, South Africa. Journal of Tropical Ecology 29:39-47.
O’KANE, C. A. J., DUFFY, K., PAGE, B. & MACDONALD, D. W. 2012. Heavy impact on seedlings by the impala suggests a central role in woodland dynamics. Journal of Tropical Ecology 28:291-297.
O’KANE, C. A. J., DUFFY, K. J., PAGE, B. R. & MACDONALD, D. W. 2011. Are the long-term effects of mesobrowsers on woodland dynamics substitutive or additive to those of elephant? Acta Oecologica 37:393-398.
O’KANE, C. A. J., DUFFY, K. J., PAGE, B. R. & MACDONALD, D. W. 2011. Overlap and seasonal shifts in use of woody plant species amongst a guild of savanna browsers. Journal of Tropical Ecology 27:249-258.
