SANCOR Newsletter Issue #172: March 2003

 

Student’s Corner

The intertidal environmental gradient: effects on the biology of Gelidium pristoides.

Anita Ballantyne

MSc Project, University of Port Elizabeth

Introduction

The intertidal zone is a steep gradient

Conclusion

Desiccation resistance ability and morphological and anatomical plasticity give Gelidium pristoidesa selective advantage in the intertidal zone, making it the dominant intertidal macroalga of the Eastern Cape coast.

 

Forte’ on board of the research cruise

 

Since Prof. Rod Bally left the Department of Zoology to become the University Planner, things became quiet on Fort Hare’s side of marine science. Well, not any more, Prof. Evgeny Pakhomov of the Southern Ocean Group, Rhodes University, joined the department in April 2001. Prof. Pakhomov is well known in the marine science community for his outstanding contribution in research. Within the five years of his contract at Rhodes he had published more than 70 research papers. At the moment he is already supervising 4 honours, 2 masters and 1 PhD students at Forte’. It is without doubt that Prof. Pakhomov, working alongside with Ms Vicky Ndzipa - Rhodes marine biology MSc graduate - will rebuild our brand name and grow our numbers.

The Fort Hare community received the announcement made by Minister of Education Kader Asmal about the future of Fort with much approbation. By absorbing the Rhodes East London campus Forte’ would gain a foothold on a major metropolitan market, and most significantly, promote movement into areas such as coastal and marine resources management. Fort Hare will derive benefits from being in such a strategic position, which enhances access to the dock.

 

In September 2001 six delegates from Fort Hare including the Dean of Science, Prof. Daniel O. Okeyo (an aquabiologist) attended the Coelacanth Initiative workshop in Grahamstown. Forte’s involvement in such a gathering marked the beginning of efforts to resume its commitment to regional, national and international collaborative activities. Department of Arts, Culture Science & Technology Minister Ben Ngubane officially launched the Coelacanth Program on 12^th April 2002 at Sodwana Bay. The program is more than just a study of conservation of a fish, but is potentially an investment in South African government initiatives in science and ecotourism.

In July 2002 the Coelacanth Program embarked on the East Coast Research and Training cruise from Maputo, in Mozambique, to Cape Town. Forte’ was most privileged to join the East London leg of the cruise, considering that East London is the ‘home’ of the coelacanth. The cruise offered an incredible opportunity for trainees to gain shipboard benefit and hands-on training, most importantly of the operation of the hi-tech oceanographic equipment. The five Fort Harians on board of the FRS Algoa research vessel was Enoch Nkoane, Vicky Ndzipa, Tembela Bushula, Zipho Buwa and Nosi Ketse.

 

It seems like Forte’ is leaving footprints on marine sands by wiping away SAMSS (Southern African Marine Sciences Symposia) student awards for two consecutive meetings. Vicky Ndzipa went home with one of the two best oral presentation awards at the SAMSS 2000 meeting. Elliot Weni (ex Fort Harian, now UCT student) snatched the Thales Geosolutions Poster Prize at the SAMSS 2002 meeting held in Namibia. A couple of ex Fort Harian students presented papers and posters in the SAMSS 2002 meeting. Ntobeko Bacela chaired, for the first time, one of the parallel sessions in this meeting. Forte’ indeed boasts a remarkable number of alumni who are still carrying the torch out there. But that’s what our logo says, "in

INTERNATIONAL GIS SYMPOSIUM

Geographic information systems (GIS) provide powerful tools for both the representation and analysis of spatial data. Unfortunately the use of GIS within the marine environment seems to have been focused predominantly on its use as a mapping tool and its analytical potential has not been adequately explored. As the Oceanographic Research Institute (ORI) is becoming increasingly dependent on GIS, it was decided that it would be beneficial for a member of staff to be exposed to the various GIS analytical applications presented at the Second International Symposium on GIS / Spatial Analysis in Fishery and Aquatic Sciences. The objectives of this symposium were to highlight recent developments and applications of GIS / spatial analyses in fishery and aquatic sciences and to provide a platform for the exchange of ideas and information, as well as suggesting improvements, techniques and applications of GIS / spatial analyses. It was an opportunity to learn more about the applications of GIS in marine science and also to meet the role players on the international GIS scene within this multi-disciplinary field.

 

The symposium was held at the University of Sussex, Brighton in the United Kingdom from the 3^rd to the 6^th of September last year. Coming up with the funds to attend a symposium in the United Kingdom, considering the Rand-Sterling exchange rate, was beyond the means of the ORI and so it is with gratitude that the National Research Foundation is acknowledged for providing the means for my attendance.

One hundred and forty-nine participants attended the symposium from 34 countries. There were a total of 67 oral presentations, 23 poster presentations and 5 software demonstrations covering a wide variety within the subject area. The oral sessions included the subjects: marine remote sensing, systems and software, marine and freshwater habitats and mapping, freshwater and marine environments and ecosystems, aquaculture, marine and freshwater management, and numerical analyses.

 

It was extremely interesting to see how scientists are incorporating GIS in their work and how this has benefited their research. Brent Wood of New Zealand gave one of the most interesting presentations demonstrating that it is possible to produce similar results to the expensive GIS programmes, using software that is freely available on the internet. This enables both organisations and individuals that do not possess the funds to purchase GIS software to still incorporate GIS in their work.

A few points that were stressed throughout the symposium were:

The old adage, a picture speaks louder than words, is especially appropriate for the presentation of spatial data. It gains particular relevance when information needs to be disseminated to a wider community than the scientific one where terminology and numeric analyses may not always be understood but the presentation of a graphic or animation series portrays the results clearly. With the insight and knowledge gained from the attendance of the symposium, the ORI will be extending the GIS applications incorporated in its research in order to benefit several projects.

Bernadine Everett

Oceanographic Research Institute