My name is Guy Sutton. I am a Research Entomologist at the Centre for Biological Control at Rhodes University (South Africa). My research primarily involves finding and developing insect biological control agents for managing invasive alien plants, with a particular focus on managing invasive African grasses that have become invasive globally. Moreover, I passionate about developing quantitative methods and software for answering ecological questions, bridging the spheres of statistics, software development, coding and ecology.
Please find my CV here.
| Degree | Year | Institution |
|---|---|---|
| PhD, Entomology | 2020 | Rhodes University, South Africa |
| MSc, Entomology | 2017 | Rhodes University, South Africa |
| BSc (Honours), Entomology | 2015 | Rhodes University, South Africa |
| BSc, Microbiology and Entomology | 2014 | Rhodes University, South Africa |
🏢 Research Entomologist (Centre for Biological Control, Rhodes University) (2019 - Current)
Led multiple projects developing biological control of invasive weeds, focusing on controlling invasive African grasses
Developed and taught numerous undergrauate and postgraduate courses and workshops on quantitative methods in ecology (using R and Julia)
Developed open-source software packages for analysing ecological datasets, e.g. ThermalSampleR, and SPEDE-sampler
I have published 17 peer-reviewed scientific articles to date, which have been cited over 115 times. My current H-index is 9.
Manrakhan, A., Daneel, J-H., Serfontein, L., Mauda, E., Sutton, G.F., & Hattingh, V. (2023). Efficacy of an existing Ceratitis capitata (Diptera: Tephritidae) cold disinfestation treatment schedule for Ceratitis cosyra. Journal of Economic Entomology, In Press (2023/03/11).
Sutton, G.F., & Martin, G.D. (2022). Testing MaxEnt model performance in a novel geographic region using an intentionally introduced insect. Ecological Modelling 473:e110139. PDF
Moore, S.D., et al., Sutton, G.F., & Hattingh, V. (2022). Efficacy of various low temperatures and exposure time combinations for Thaumatotibia leucotreta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae). Journal of Economic Entomology 115: 1115-1128. PDF
van Steenderen, C.V.S., & Sutton, G.F. (2022). SPEDE-sampler: an R Shiny application to assess how methodological choices and taxon-sampling can affect Generalised Mixed Yule Coalescent (GMYC) output and interpretation. Molecular Ecology Resources 22: 2054-2069. PDF
Canavan, K., Canavan, S., Clark, V.R., Gwate, O., Richardson, D.M., Sutton, G.F., & Martin, G.D. (2021). The alien plants that threaten South Africa’s mountain ecosystems. Land 10: e1393. PDF
Sutton, G.F., Bownes, A., Visser, V., Mapaura, A., & Canavan, K. (2021). Progress and prospects for the biological control of invasive alien grasses (Poaceae) in South Africa. African Entomology 29: 837-858. PDF
Olckers, T., Coetzee, J.A., Egli, D., Martin, G.D., Paterson, I.D., Sutton, G.F., & Wood, A.R. (2021). Biological control of South African plants that are invasive elsewhere in the world. African Entomology 29: 1005-1029.PDF
Canavan, K., Hill, M.P., Ivey, P., Sutton, G.F., Paterson, I.D. (2021). Prioritisation of targets for weed biological control III: A tool to identify the next targets for biological control in South Africa and set priorities for resource allocation. Biocontrol Science and Technology 31: 584-601. PDF
Chikowore, G., Mutamiswa, R., Martin, G.D., Sutton, G.F., & Chidawanyika, F. (2021). Reduction of grazing index in high elevation grasslands following Black locust invasion in South Africa. Rangeland Ecology and Management 76: 109-117. PDF
Sutton, G.F., Canavan, K., Day, M.D., & Paterson, I.D. (2021). Field-based ecological studies to assess prospective biological control agents for invasive alien plants: an example from giant rat’s tail grass. Journal of Applied Ecology 58: 1043-1054. PDF
Martin, G.D., Magengelele, N.L., Paterson, I.D., Sutton, G.F. (2020). Climate modelling suggests a review of the legal status of Brazilian pepper Schinus terebinthifolia in South Africa is required. South African Journal of Botany 132: 95-102. PDF
Sutton, G.F., Canavan, K., Day, M.D., Den Breeyen, A., Cristofaro, M., McConnachie, A., Goolsby, J.A., & Paterson, I.D. (2019). Grasses as suitable targets for classical weed biological control. BioControl 64: 605-622. PDF
Sutton, G.F. (2019). Searching for a needle in a haystack: where to survey for climatically-matched biological control agents for two grasses (Sporobolus spp.) invading Australia. Biological Control 129: 37-44. PDF
Sutton, G.F., Klein, H., & Paterson, I.D. (2018). Evaluating the efficacy of Hypogeococcus sp. as a biological control agent of the cactaceous weed Cereus jamacaru in South Africa. BioControl 63: 493-503. PDF
Sutton, G.F., Paterson, I.D., & Paynter, Q. (2017). Genetic matching of invasive populations of the African tulip tree, Spathodea campanulata Beauv. (Bignoniaceae), to their native distribution: maximising the likelihood of selecting hostcompatible biological control agents. Biological Control 114: 167-175. PDF
Sutton, G.F., Paterson, I.D., Compton, S.G., & Paynter, Q. (2017). Predicting the risk of non-target damage to a close relative of a target weed using sequential no- choice tests, paired-choice tests and olfactory discrimination experiments. Biocontrol Science and Technology 27: 364-377. PDF
Sutton, G.F., Compton, S.G., & Coetzee, J.A. (2016). Naturally occurring phytopathogens enhance biological control of water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) by Megamelus scutellaris (Hemiptera: Delphacidae), even in eutrophic water. Biological Control 103: 261-268. PDF