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Dr Kowiyou

Prof Kowiyou Yessoufou

Associate Professor
Name: Kowiyou Yessoufou
Location: D2 Lab 344E Auckland Park Kingsway Campus
Geography Environmental Management Energy Studies Staff  Staff Members

Contact Details:
Tel: +27 (0) 11 559 2429

Email: kowiyouy@uj.ac.za

About Prof Kowiyou Yessoufou

Highest qualification PhD

Field(s) of research Ecology (Extinction risk, invasion of alien species, Biodiversity), Environmental Management, Phylogenetics
Lecturing: Modules with short description
– Environmental Problems and Sustainable Development

– Environmental Ethics, Economics and Administration

– Environmental Management Skills and Techniques (Conservation, Biosphere Reserve, Biodiversity)

Recent Publications

  • Kowiyou Yessoufou, Barnabas H. Daru, Respina Tafirei, Hosam O. Elansary and Isaac Rampedi. Integrating biogeography, phylogeny and threat data to explore extinction crisis in the taxonomic group of cycads. Ecology and Evolution.
  • Kabelo Desmond Letshwiti, Gerrit Hendrik Stoffberg, Kevin Mearns, Hosam O. Elansary & Kowiyou Yessoufou. Is high species richness at intermediate disturbance level valuable for phylogenetic conservation? Biology Letters.
  • Bezeng S. Bezeng, Michelle Van der Bank, Kowiyou Yessoufou, Barnabas H. Daru & T. Jonathan Davies. Climate change may reduce the spread of invasive species in South Africa. PloS One.
  • Barnabas H. Daru and Kowiyou Yessoufou. Phylogenetically informed delineation of phytogeographic realms of the world: A preliminary exploration based on incomplete dataset. Botany Letters.
  • Kowiyou Yessoufou, Bezeng S. Bezeng, Orou O. Gaoue, Olivier Maurin, Thato Bengu & Michelle van der Bank. Phylogenetically diverse native systems are more resilient to invasive plant species on Robben Island, South Africa. Global Ecology and Conservation.
  • Valère K. Salako, Thierry T. Houehanou, Kowiyou Yessoufou, Achille E. Assogbadjo, Akpovi Akoegninou, Romain L. Glele Kakai. Elephants limit functional diversity of the palm tree Borassus aethiopum in the Pendjari National Park, West Africa. Tropical Conservation Science.
  • Lesetsa Kennedy Leso, Gerrit Hendrik Stoffberg, Kevin Mearns, Hosam O. Elansary and Kowiyou Yessoufou. Ethnobotany at local scale: diversity of knowledge of medicinal plants and assessment of plant cultural importance in the Polokwane Local Municipality, South Africa. Botany Letters
BOOK CHAPTERS PUBLISHED
  • Barnabas H. Daru & Kowiyou Yessoufou (2016). A search for a single DNA barcode for seagrasses of the world. IN: DNA Barcoding in Marine Perspectives: Assessment and Conservation of Biodiversity (eds. Subrata Trivedi, Abid Ali Ansari & Sankar K. Ghosh). Springer International Publishing Switzerland. Pp 313-330. Book ISBN: 978-3-319-41838-4. DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-41840-7_19
  • Kowiyou Yessoufou & T. Jonathan Davies (2016). Reconsidering the loss of evolutionary history: How does non-random extinction prune the tree-of-life? In: Biodiversity Conservation and Phylogenetic Systematics (eds: Roseli Pellens & Philippe Grandcolas), Volume 14 of the Series “Topics in Biodiversity and Conservation. Pp 57-80. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-22461-9_4.
ARTICLES PUBLISHED IN PEER-REVIEWED JOURNALS
  • Barnabas H. Daru, Ben G. Holt, Jean-Philippe Lessard, Kowiyou Yessoufou, T. Jonathan Davies (2016). A phylogenetic regionalization of marine plants reveals high relatedness among geographically distant temperate assemblages. Biological Conservation. DOI: 10.1016/j.biocon.2016.08.022.
  • Kowiyou Yessoufou, Kevin Mearns, Hosam O. Elansary & Gerrit Hendrik Stoffberg (2016). Assessing the phylogenetic dimension of Australian Acacia species introduced outside their native ranges. Botany Letters 163, 33-39. DOI: 10.1080/12538078.2015.1124288.
  • Barnabas H. Daru, Michelle van der Bank, Olivier Maurin, Kowiyou Yessoufou, Hanno Schaefer, Jasper Slingsby & T. Jonathan Davies (2016). A novel phylogenetic regionalisation of phytogeographic zones of southern Africa reveals their hidden evolutionary affinities. Journal of Biogeography 43, 155–166. DOI: 10.1111/jbi.12619.
  • Kowiyou Yessoufou & Gerrit Hendrik Stoffberg (2016). Biogeography, threats and phylogenetic structure of mangrove forest globally and in South Africa: A review. South African Journal of Botany. DOI: 10.1016/j.sajb.2015.11.002.
  • Hosam O. Elansary, Kowiyou Yessoufou, Eman A. Mahmoud & Krystyna Skalicka-Woźniak (2016) In vitro Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Effects of Ceratostigma plumbaginoides. Natural Product Communications 11, 1455 – 1458.
  • Salem, M. Z. M., Elansary, H. O., Elkelish, A. A., Zeidler, A., Ali, H. M., Mervat, E. H., and Yessoufou, K. (2016). In vitro bioactivity and antimicrobial activity of Picea abies and Larix decidua wood and bark extracts. BioResources 11(4), 9421-9437.
  • Hosam O. Elansary, Kowiyou Yessoufou, Shadi Shokralla, Eman A. Mahmoud, Krystyna Skalicka-Woźniak (2016). Enhancing mint and basil oil composition and antibacterial activity using seaweed extracts. Industrial Crops and Products 92, 50–56.
  • Hosam O. Elansary, Jeff Norrie, Hayssam M. Ali, Mohamed Z. M. Salem, Eman A. Mahmoud and Kowiyou Yessoufou (2016) Enhancement of Calibrachoa growth, secondary metabolites and bioactivity using seaweed extracts. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine 16, 341. DOI 10.1186/s12906-016-1332-5.
  • Hosam O. Elansary & Kowiyou Yessoufou. In vitro antioxidant, antifungal, and antibacterial activities of five international Calibrachoa cultivars. Natural Product Research 30:11, 1339-1342. DOI: 10.1080/14786419.2015.1055745.
  • Lerato N. Hoveka, Bezeng S. Bezeng, Kowiyou Yessoufou, J. Stephen Boatwright, Michelle van der Bank (2016). Effects of climate change on the future distribution of the top five freshwater invasive plants in South Africa. South African Journal of Botany 102, 33-38. DOI: 10.1016/j.sajb.2015.07.017
  • Lerato N. Hoveka, Michelle van der Bank, Stephen Boatwright, Bezeng S. Bezeng & Kowiyou Yessoufou (2016). The noncoding trnH-psbA spacer, as an effective DNA barcode for aquatic freshwater plants, reveals prohibited invasive species in aquarium trade in South Africa. South African Journal of Botany 102, 208–216. DOI: 10.1016/j.sajb.2015.06.014.
  • Bezeng Simeon Bezeng, T. Jonathan Davies, Kowiyou Yessoufou, Olivier Maurin and Michelle Van der Bank (2015). Revisiting Darwin’s naturalization conundrum: explaining invasion success of non-native trees in southern Africa. Journal of Ecology 103, 871–879. DOI: 10.1111/1365-2745.12410.
  • Jephris Gere, Kowiyou Yessoufou, Barnabas H. Daru, Olivier Maurin, Michelle Van Der Bank (2015). African Continent, a likely origin of the family Combretaceae (Myrtales). A biogeographical view. Annual Research & Review in Biology 8(5), 1-20. DOI: 10.9734/ARRB/2015/17476.
  • Kowiyou Yessoufou, Barnabas H. Daru & Muthama Muasya (2015). Phylogenetic exploration of South African commonly used medicinal plants. Molecular Ecology Resources 15(2) 405-413. DOI: 10.1111/1755-0998.12310.
  • Kowiyou Yessoufou, Hosam O. Elansary, Eman A. Mahmoud, Krystyna Skalicka-Woźniak (2015). Antifungal, antibacterial, and anticancer activities of Ficus drupacea L. stem bark extract and biologically active isolated compounds. Industrial Crops and Products 74, 752-758. DOI: 10.1016/j.indcrop.2015.06.011
  • Hosam O. Elansary, Eman A. Mahmoud, Shadi Shokralla & Kowiyou Yessoufou. (2015). Diversity of plants, traditional knowledge and practices in local cosmetic industry in Egypt: A case study of Alexandria governorate in the Northern Egypt. Economic Botany 69(2) 114–126. DOI: 10.1007/s12231-015-9308-9.
  • Hosam O. Elansary & Kowiyou Yessoufou 2015. Growth regulators and mowing heights enhance the morphological and physiological performance of Seaspray turfgrass during drought conditions. Acta Physiologiae Plantarum 37, 232-242. DOI 10.1007/s11738-015-1986-5.
  • Barnabas H. Daru, Kowiyou Yessoufou, Nuttman C, Abalaka J. (2015). Bird uses of Ficus species: a preliminary study from Amurum Forest Reserve, Nigeria. Malimbus 37, 1-15.
  • Olivier Maurin, T. Jonathan Davies, John E. Burrows, Barnabas H. Daru, Kowiyou Yessoufou, Muthama A. Muasya, Michelle Van der Bank & Williams Bond (2014). Savanna fire and the origins of “underground forests” of Africa. New Phytologist 204: 201–214. DOI: 10.1111/nph.12936.
  • Kowiyou Yessoufou, Jephris Gere, Barnabas H. Daru & Michelle Van der Bank (2014). Differences in evolutionary history translate into differences in invasion success of alien mammals in South Africa. Ecology and Evolution 4(11): 2115-2123. DOI: 10.1002/ece3.
  • Kowiyou Yessoufou, Samuel O. Bamigboye, Barnabas H. Daru & Michelle Van der Bank (2014). Evidence of constant diversification punctuated by a mass extinction in the African cycads. Ecology and Evolution 4 (1): 50-58. DOI: 10.1002/ece3.880.
  • Theresa M. Sethusa, Ian M Millar, Kowiyou Yessoufou, Andreana Jacobs, Michelle Van der Bank, Herman F Van der Bank (2014). DNA barcode efficacy for identification of economically important scale insects (Hemiptera: Coccoidea) in South Africa. African Entomology 22 (2): 257–266.
  • Barnabas H. Daru, Kowiyou Yessoufou, T. Jonathan Davies (2014) Speculation versus data-driven conclusions: A response to Gereau et al.’s “Phylogenetic patterns of extinction risk: the need for critical application of appropriate datasets”. PeerJ PrePrints 2:e323v1. DOI: 10.7287/peerj.preprints.323v1.
  • Kowiyou Yessoufou, Jonathan T Davies, Olivier Maurin, Maria Kuzmina, Hanno Schaefer, Michelle Van der Bank & Vincent Savolainen (2013). Large herbivores favour species diversity but have mixed impacts on phylogenetic community structure in an African savanna ecosystem. Journal of Ecology 101: 614–625. DOI: 10.1111/1365-2745.12059.
  • Barnabas H Daru, Kowiyou Yessoufou, Ledile T Mankga & Jonathan T Davies (2013). A global trend towards the loss of evolutionarily unique species in mangrove ecosystems. PloS ONE 8 (6): e66686. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0066686.
  • T. Jonathan Davies & Kowiyou Yessoufou (2013). Revisiting the impacts of non-random extinction on the tree-of-life. Biology Letters 9: 20130343. DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2013.0343.
  • Bezeng S. Bezeng, Vincent Savolainen, Kowiyou Yessoufou, Olivier Maurin, Alex Papadopulos & Michelle Van der Bank (2013). A phylogenetic approach towards understanding what drives plant invasiveness on Robben Island, South Africa (2013). Botanical Journal of the Linnaean Society London 172: 142–152. DOI: 10.1111/boj.12030.
  • Jephris Gere, Kowiyou Yessoufou, Olivier Maurin, Ledile T. Mankga, Barnabas H Daru & Michelle Van der Bank (2013). Incorporating trnH-psbA to core DNA barcodes improves discrimination­ of species within southern African Combretaceae. Zookeys 365: 127–147. DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.365.5728.
  • Ledile T. Mankga, Kowiyou Yessoufou, Annah M. Moteetee & Michelle Van der Bank (2013). Efficacy of the core DNA barcodes in identifying poorly conserved and processed plant materials commonly used in South African traditional medicine. Zookeys 365: 215–233. DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.365.5730.
  • Herman F. Van der Bank, Dai Herbert, Richard Greenfield & Kowiyou Yessoufou (2013). Revisiting species delimitation within the genus Oxystele using DNA barcoding approach. Zookeys 365: 337-354. DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.365.5356.
  • Sidney O. Nzeako, Kowiyou Yessoufou, Michelle van der Bank & Helen O. Imafidor (2013) Testing impacts of endoparasitic nematode Meloidogyne javanica on crop productivity, using tomato cultivar “Gboko” as a case study in Nigeria. International Journal of Plant Breeding and Crop Science Research 1 (1): 1-9.
  • Philippa Z.N. Franzini, Ansie S. Dippenaar-Schoeman, Kowiyou Yessoufou & Herman F. Van der Bank (2013). Mitochondrial, genomic DNA, and morphological data indicate that more than one species of Cyrtophora (Araneae: Araneidae) occur in South Africa. International Journal of Modern Biological Research 1: 21-34.
  • Kowiyou Yessoufou, Barnabas H. Daru & T. Jonathan Davies (2012). Phylogenetic Patterns of Extinction Risk in the Eastern Arc Ecosystems, an African Biodiversity Hotspot. PloS ONE 7 (10): e47082. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0047082.
  • Herman F. Van der Bank, Richard Greenfield, Barnabas H. Daru & Kowiyou Yessoufou (2012). DNA barcoding reveals micro-evolutionary changes and river system-level phylogeographic resolution of seven African silver catfish, schilbe intermedius (siluriformes, schilbeidae) populations. Acta Ichthyologica Et Piscatoria 42: 307-320.
  • Kowiyou Yessoufou, Michelle van der Bank, Jacinta Abalaka & Barnabas H. Daru (2012). Fig-frugivore interactions follow a constrained Brownian motion model of evolution in an Important Bird Area, West Africa. Israel Journal of Ecology and Evolution 58: 39-51.