The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) Council has just issued a statement on COVID-19 calling for global collaboration inclusive of developing countries to combat the pandemic. TWAS endorses the global call from UNESCO and from its close partner organization, the InterAcademy Partnership (IAP), recognizing the essential need for the global research community to act collectively and for open science to control the spread of the virus. TWAS also emphasizes that efforts to use scientific research to contain the virus must be inclusive of countries in the developing world, with an eye toward strengthening capacity for scientific research in the least-developed countries. Read more
Call for papers: Special Issue "Biological Mosquito Control in Aquatic Ecosystems" in International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. Pathogens and parasites vectored by mosquitoes continue to drive human, livestock, and wildlife disease with little sign of abatement. Population regulation of mosquitoes via natural enemies within communities could contribute to environmentally friendly management efforts. Recent advances have provided metrics to predict and compare the impact of natural enemies using functional and numerical responses, and prey-preference approaches. However, the contributions of many natural enemies towards mosquito population regulation lack quantification, particularly under shifting environmental contexts driven by, for example, climatic warming or habitat change. More research is therefore required to better understand the contributions of biological control agents towards vector control efforts under relevant context-dependencies. Continue reading Link, PDF
MSc funding opportunities for 2020-2021 at University of Venda. Details available on PDF.postgraduate_opportunities_-_univen.pdf Deadline: 5 October 2019.
Fighting for the conservation of even the less-charismatic species – Fellows’ seminar by Tatenda Dalu. Fighting for the conservation of even the less-charismatic species – Fellows’ seminar by Tatenda Dalu “Tourists don’t pay to see a crab,” said Tatenda Dalu of the Department of Ecology and Resource Management at the University of Venda. “Charismatic animals – like the big five – tend to receive the focus of conservation activities due to the tourist dollars they attract. Often the vital ecological role of the smaller organisms is ignored – for example, dragon flies are now used as important water-quality indicators. We only notice when there’s a crisis – like currently with the bee population. Crabs, especially the freshwater varieties, – no one knows much about them and their important ecological role is therefore overlooked.” Read more
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Dr Tatenda Dalu receive the Zimbabwe Achievers Academic Excellence Award. University of Venda Senior Lecturer Dr Tatenda Dalu is also in line to receive an Honorary Academic award for his work and research projects on environmental pollution and conservation within aquatic ecosystems. Read story on Nehanda Radio, New Zimbabwe and ZimAchievers
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Third Iso Lomso cohort of Fellows announced. The STIAS Research and Fellowship Programme Committee recently concluded its selection of the Iso Lomso cohort of fellows for 2019. Seven candidates were offered the prestigious three-year fellowship at the Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study. They join the first cohort of five candidates and the second cohort of seven candidates to constitute the current STIAS Iso Lomso fellows. Read more
Funded Postgraduate (BSc Hons (1), MSc (2)) opportunities available at University of Venda on trophic ecology in wetlands. Click for Advertisement. DEADLINE: 25 February 2019
Top Scholars in South Africa Honoured. Twenty of the country’s leading scholars and scientists were inaugurated as Members of the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf) at the annual Awards Ceremony on 10 October 2018. As the official Academy of South Africa, ASSAf has as core function to honour the country’s most outstanding scholars by electing them to Membership of the Academy. ASSAf Members are drawn from the full spectrum of disciplines. Read more
Studies from Africa are treated with disrespect‚ say South African academics. The academic old boy network must fall‚ Africans say in the August edition of the South African Journal of Science. Staff from Unisa and the University of Venda said international scientific journals were still guided by the legacy of imperialism and colonialism‚ meaning contributions from the Global South — particularly Africa — were treated with disrespect. “The stains of the colonial legacy still seem to manifest in the international publishing arena‚” said Mwazvita Dalu and Ashley Gunter‚ from Unisa’s geography department‚ and UV ecologist Tatenda Dalu. Read more from the TimesLIVE, BusinessLive and listen SAfm 104-107 podcast
New directions in mosquito control. Diseases spread by mosquitoes, such as malaria, dengue fever and chikungunya, continue to kill hundreds of thousands of people each year, and infect millions more. As such, the development of new and innovative approaches to manage mosquito populations is critical. Biological control using native predators can be an effective, environmentally-friendly approach to manage mosquito populations. Small or microscopic aquatic crustaceans called copepods have been identified as the most effective biological control agents of larval mosquitoes in their aquatic habitats, and have eliminated diseases from entire communities. SAIAB's Freshwater Research team recently discovered a new species of calanoid copepod Subsequent research has shown that the predatory impact of this species on disease carrying mosquitoes is far greater than all other copepods which have previously been used in biocontrol strategies. Read more from NRF and SAIAB
I am super excited to be joining the Editorial Boards of Aquatic Invasions and BioInvasion Records journals as an Associate Editor with effect from 1 May 2018.
Sacrificial males in a freshwater crustacean: “Two of the main selection forces that determine how organisms behave and live are sex and predation.” – says Dr Ryan John Wasserman, an aquatic ecologist at Monash University Malaysia. To understand why populations of a freshwater copepod (i.e. small crustacean) Lovenula raynerae have more females than males (i.e. female-biased sex ratio), Ryan turns his sites to ephemeral pond ecosystems – these are small ponds that only contain water for a season and have relatively simple food webs: Water fleas (Daphnia) serve as food for the copepod, while backswimmers eat the copepods. Read more and Oikos Journal article
Diatom of the month - December 2017: Water quality monitoring challenges by Luca Marazzi. Although water quality monitoring programmes extensively use diatoms in North America and Europe, this is not the case (yet) in emerging and developing countries. Dalu and Froneman (2016) reviewed diatom-based monitoring in sub-Saharan Africa, concluding that (i) much more training of new experts and financial resources to buy microscopes and identification guides are required to make the most of the ecological indicator properties of these algae; (ii) a stronger focus should be placed on multidisciplinary projects to quantify diatom species tolerances and ecological requirements and (iii) the extensive taxonomic literature (see Fig. 1) needs to be made more widely available, for example online. Read more
Special acknowledgement and thank you from the Vice Chancellor of Rhodes University Dr Sizwe Mabizela for my incredible research output over the course of the year. Read full letter
Moving on... I will be leaving Rhodes University at the end of the year (31 December 2017) to take a new position as a Senior Lecturer at University of Venda in Limpopo, South Africa. Excited about new position and the challenges that lie ahead. More news to follow
Water Wise: TATENDA DALU, 31, published his first scientific article after completing a BSc honours degree at the University of Zimbabwe. Read full story on Rhodos, page 25
Publons Peer Review Awards: I have be named as one of the top 1% (number 39) of peer reviewers for environmental sciences, 5th (out of 836) most prolific reviewer for Science of the Total Environment and 3rd (out of 1802) top peer reviewer from South Africa by Publons. Peer reviewers are the unsung guardians of science and research, keeping watch over the quality and integrity of scholarly communication. Thanks to their critical eye and devotion to sound research, we continue to expand the sphere of human knowledge. For the second year running, Publons has published the names of the world's top reviewers, recognizing both the quantity and quality of their efforts. Read more about awards
Emerging River Professional Award (ERPA) Finalist: I was named a finalist for 2017 Emerging River Professional Award (ERPA) sponsored by OceanaGold Corporation presented by the International WaterCentre Alumni Network (IWCAN) and International River Foundation (IRF) on 19 September 2017 during the RiverSymposium and Environmental Flows Conference in Brisbane, 18-20 September 2017. Read more
Africa: Restrict bush fires used in animal hunts: Controlled small-scale fires are traditionally used in the African savannah to flush out small mammals for hunting. Poachers in Zimbabwe are carelessly deploying crude versions of this practice, causing unmanageable bush fires and large-scale destruction. Read article
C·I·B members collaborate to build capacity in river rehabilitation monitoring: Habitat modification, pollution and alien fishes are among the greatest threats to South Africa’s freshwater biodiversity. Alien fish impact is primarily through predation on, and/or competition with, native fishes, invertebrate and plant communities. CapeNature have therefore initiated a programme to rehabilitate native fish assemblages through the removal of alien fishes. The monitoring of freshwater ecosystems prior to, and following the intervention is important to ensure due diligence from the implementing authority. Read more
Seasonal wetlands face uncertain future: Seasonal wetlands - ecologically important habitats that become visible during rainy seasons - are facing an uncertain future, warn scientists. These ephemeral ecosystems support unique flora and fauna species that do not occur in permanent wetlands. Yet these poorly understood habitats are being lost to future generations as a result of poor land-use practices, the authors observed. The details have been published in the Global Change Biology. Although these intermittent, shallow-water seasonal natural features are most closely associated with arid or semi-arid landscapes, they are more widespread than generally realised. For example, more than half of the total river length in the US, Greece and South Africa is made up by sections that have temporary flow. Read more
Funded Postgraduate (BSc Hons (1), MSc (2)) opportunities available at University of Venda on trophic ecology in wetlands. Click for Advertisement. DEADLINE: 25 February 2019
Top Scholars in South Africa Honoured. Twenty of the country’s leading scholars and scientists were inaugurated as Members of the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf) at the annual Awards Ceremony on 10 October 2018. As the official Academy of South Africa, ASSAf has as core function to honour the country’s most outstanding scholars by electing them to Membership of the Academy. ASSAf Members are drawn from the full spectrum of disciplines. Read more
Studies from Africa are treated with disrespect‚ say South African academics. The academic old boy network must fall‚ Africans say in the August edition of the South African Journal of Science. Staff from Unisa and the University of Venda said international scientific journals were still guided by the legacy of imperialism and colonialism‚ meaning contributions from the Global South — particularly Africa — were treated with disrespect. “The stains of the colonial legacy still seem to manifest in the international publishing arena‚” said Mwazvita Dalu and Ashley Gunter‚ from Unisa’s geography department‚ and UV ecologist Tatenda Dalu. Read more from the TimesLIVE, BusinessLive and listen SAfm 104-107 podcast
New directions in mosquito control. Diseases spread by mosquitoes, such as malaria, dengue fever and chikungunya, continue to kill hundreds of thousands of people each year, and infect millions more. As such, the development of new and innovative approaches to manage mosquito populations is critical. Biological control using native predators can be an effective, environmentally-friendly approach to manage mosquito populations. Small or microscopic aquatic crustaceans called copepods have been identified as the most effective biological control agents of larval mosquitoes in their aquatic habitats, and have eliminated diseases from entire communities. SAIAB's Freshwater Research team recently discovered a new species of calanoid copepod Subsequent research has shown that the predatory impact of this species on disease carrying mosquitoes is far greater than all other copepods which have previously been used in biocontrol strategies. Read more from NRF and SAIAB
I am super excited to be joining the Editorial Boards of Aquatic Invasions and BioInvasion Records journals as an Associate Editor with effect from 1 May 2018.
Sacrificial males in a freshwater crustacean: “Two of the main selection forces that determine how organisms behave and live are sex and predation.” – says Dr Ryan John Wasserman, an aquatic ecologist at Monash University Malaysia. To understand why populations of a freshwater copepod (i.e. small crustacean) Lovenula raynerae have more females than males (i.e. female-biased sex ratio), Ryan turns his sites to ephemeral pond ecosystems – these are small ponds that only contain water for a season and have relatively simple food webs: Water fleas (Daphnia) serve as food for the copepod, while backswimmers eat the copepods. Read more and Oikos Journal article
Diatom of the month - December 2017: Water quality monitoring challenges by Luca Marazzi. Although water quality monitoring programmes extensively use diatoms in North America and Europe, this is not the case (yet) in emerging and developing countries. Dalu and Froneman (2016) reviewed diatom-based monitoring in sub-Saharan Africa, concluding that (i) much more training of new experts and financial resources to buy microscopes and identification guides are required to make the most of the ecological indicator properties of these algae; (ii) a stronger focus should be placed on multidisciplinary projects to quantify diatom species tolerances and ecological requirements and (iii) the extensive taxonomic literature (see Fig. 1) needs to be made more widely available, for example online. Read more
Special acknowledgement and thank you from the Vice Chancellor of Rhodes University Dr Sizwe Mabizela for my incredible research output over the course of the year. Read full letter
Moving on... I will be leaving Rhodes University at the end of the year (31 December 2017) to take a new position as a Senior Lecturer at University of Venda in Limpopo, South Africa. Excited about new position and the challenges that lie ahead. More news to follow
Water Wise: TATENDA DALU, 31, published his first scientific article after completing a BSc honours degree at the University of Zimbabwe. Read full story on Rhodos, page 25
Publons Peer Review Awards: I have be named as one of the top 1% (number 39) of peer reviewers for environmental sciences, 5th (out of 836) most prolific reviewer for Science of the Total Environment and 3rd (out of 1802) top peer reviewer from South Africa by Publons. Peer reviewers are the unsung guardians of science and research, keeping watch over the quality and integrity of scholarly communication. Thanks to their critical eye and devotion to sound research, we continue to expand the sphere of human knowledge. For the second year running, Publons has published the names of the world's top reviewers, recognizing both the quantity and quality of their efforts. Read more about awards
Emerging River Professional Award (ERPA) Finalist: I was named a finalist for 2017 Emerging River Professional Award (ERPA) sponsored by OceanaGold Corporation presented by the International WaterCentre Alumni Network (IWCAN) and International River Foundation (IRF) on 19 September 2017 during the RiverSymposium and Environmental Flows Conference in Brisbane, 18-20 September 2017. Read more
Africa: Restrict bush fires used in animal hunts: Controlled small-scale fires are traditionally used in the African savannah to flush out small mammals for hunting. Poachers in Zimbabwe are carelessly deploying crude versions of this practice, causing unmanageable bush fires and large-scale destruction. Read article
C·I·B members collaborate to build capacity in river rehabilitation monitoring: Habitat modification, pollution and alien fishes are among the greatest threats to South Africa’s freshwater biodiversity. Alien fish impact is primarily through predation on, and/or competition with, native fishes, invertebrate and plant communities. CapeNature have therefore initiated a programme to rehabilitate native fish assemblages through the removal of alien fishes. The monitoring of freshwater ecosystems prior to, and following the intervention is important to ensure due diligence from the implementing authority. Read more
Seasonal wetlands face uncertain future: Seasonal wetlands - ecologically important habitats that become visible during rainy seasons - are facing an uncertain future, warn scientists. These ephemeral ecosystems support unique flora and fauna species that do not occur in permanent wetlands. Yet these poorly understood habitats are being lost to future generations as a result of poor land-use practices, the authors observed. The details have been published in the Global Change Biology. Although these intermittent, shallow-water seasonal natural features are most closely associated with arid or semi-arid landscapes, they are more widespread than generally realised. For example, more than half of the total river length in the US, Greece and South Africa is made up by sections that have temporary flow. Read more
Southern African Society of Aquatic Scientists Bronze Medal Winner 2016: I was recently awarded the Southern African Society for Aquatic Scientists Bronze Medal 2016 at the yearly conference held at Skukuza, Kruger National Park (South Africa: 26-30 June). Many thanks to my best buddie, friend and work colleague Dr Ryan J Wasserman (insert) for nominating me for the award. See Link on story and SASAqS website.
Lovenula rayneri Saurez-Morales, Wasserman, Dalu 2015
FEATURED ARTICLE: A new species of copepod collected near Grahamstown has just been described (see published article by Saurez-Morales, Wasserman, Dalu 2015 in Crustaceana. Despite Grahamstown being a hotspot for Southern African aquatic biodiversity research, this little crustacean had managed to fly under the radar and avoid attention until recently. In June 2014, research collaborators from South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity (SAIAB) and Rhodes University collected copepods from a temporary (ephemeral) pond on a farm just outside Grahamstown. Immediately suspecting that the species had not been described, samples were sent to Dr Eduardo Suárez-Morales, a freshwater copepod specialist based at El Colegio de la Frontera Sur in Mexico. The copepod was identified as belonging to the group “Paradiaptomus” and the genus “Lovenula”. The new species was named Lovenula raynerae Saurez-Morales, Wasserman, Dalu 2015, after Dr Nancy A Rayner for her outstanding contributions to the taxonomical knowledge of this particular group of copepods. Perhaps the most striking thing about Lovenula raynerae is its size (4 - 5 mm long). It is among the world’s largest freshwater copepods, and is likely the largest of all African copepods. See featured research on El Colegio De La Frontera Sur, South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity and Water Wheel Magazine (July-August Issue, 2015) websites for more information on the recently discovered biggest known African freshwater copepod Lovenula raynerae Saurez-Morales, Wasserman, Dalu 2015.