Professor Owen-Smith's special interests lie in the ecology of large mammalian herbivores, their interactions with vegetation, applications of optimal foraging theory to consumer-resource interactions and population dynamics, with special reference to African savanna ecosystems. He has produced three books, including Megaherbivores (Cambridge1988), and Adaptive Herbivore Ecology (Cambridge 2002). He leads the African Ecology and Conservation Biology Research Group, or "Centre for African Ecology"