Thursday, March 31, 2011

WELCOME TO SAIAB!

In the interests of health and safety and to help us to add value to your visitors, please give us a minute of your time so you are clear about visiting procedures:

Our Receptionist will assist.






Short Term Visitors - Day visitors
  • Please encourage your visitor to sign the Daily Visitor Register that indicates who they are visiting.
  • When they have signed the register, they will be given a Visitors Sticker to wear for the whole duration of the visit inside the building.
  • On departure the visitor must Sign Out.
  • Students must possess their Student Cards at all times in the building.

Long Term Visitors - more than one day
  • Please encourage your visitor to complete the Long term Visitor Registration Form and Indemnity Form.
  • They will be required to sign for a Key and a Long Term Visitor Card.
  • On completion of the visit they will be requested to return the key, card and Sign them In.

We hope you enjoy your time at SAIAB

Health and Wellness at SAIAB

From early in the second term a Support Group for staff and students living
with HIV will be established. This will be facilitated by Jaclyn Lotter an
Intern Psychologist at the Rhodes Psychology Clinic together with a
colleague. People living with HIV will be referred by the Sisters at the
Health Care Centre and can also approach Jaclyn directly. The group will be
a closed group, which means that participation is based on complete
confidentiality of people's identity and will be limited to a certain amount
of people to best meet the needs of the group.
If you would like to join this group or find out more either contact Sister
Natasha Douglas at the Health Care Centre (8523) or Jaclyn Lotter at the
Psychology Clinic (8502).

Monday, March 14, 2011

SAIAB/DIFS Seminar Series

1 February - Reyhana Mahomed - Social Networking

31 March - Paul Skelton - Barcoding as a solution to the taxonomic impediment

20 April - Alan Whitfield - Building a research pyramid around estuarine fishes and looking into the future using new technologies

26 May - Monica Mwale - SAMSS presentation

28 July - Kit Magellan - How do indigenous fish deal with invasion

25 August - Amber Childs - Trip to Japan

27 October - Dennis Tweddle - Zaireichthys taxonomy

Caught on Camera









Notice board - March 2010


Bridgette Smith - Finance and Payroll Officer


Sally Schramm - Head Librarian


Thembinkosi Mfondini - General Assistant



Siphokazi Nonyukela - Rhodes University Intern in Science Communication







To the Lamont and Bailey families for their new baby

To Mark Lisher on his appointment as the new Biomaterials Officer

To Professor Alan Whitfield on his Doctor of Science Degree from Rhodes University

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Ten tips for a greener office


-Turn off equipment that need not be on when you’re out of the office

-Print and copy double-sided

-Edit documents on screen rather than printing out and hand editing

-Convert paper files to electronic file

-Activate your computer’s ‘sleep’ mode option so that when the machine is not being used, it will automatically switch from full power to sleep mode. This can reduce your computer’s energy use by as much as 70%

-Use water-based ink

-Copiers use more energy per unit than any other type of office equipment. Try to make double-sided copies whenever possible
-Recycle all waste

-Buy recycled toner and ink




Thursday, March 10, 2011

Bringing pictures to life

Devoted to building and nurturing human capital development, the National Research Foundation (NRF) assesses its staff based on a performance system that not only monitors employees’ performance in the work place, but also encourages its staff to pursue career-orientated goals. The South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity (SAIAB) is a national facility of the NRF and Chief Scientist, Professor Alan Whitfield, who has been awarded the prestigious Doctor of Science (DSc) from Rhodes University, feels that he owes this achievement largely to the NRF’s performance system.
Sitting comfortably in his office on the second floor of SAIAB, one leg crossed over the other, Whitfield fondly recounts memories of his childhood: “I was always interested in the natural world. When I was eight, I went to the Durban Aquarium for the first time. My aunt had to battle to get me out.”  His passion for the marine environment was developed right there. Two years later, when Whitfield was only ten years old and while other kids his age were collecting marbles, he religiously collected pictures of fish, brochures from aquariums, vacancy adverts for fish scientists and compiled these in a neat little album with brief descriptions next to each picture. While telling me about the album he walks straight to a cupboard behind me and pulls it out: “My dad knew about my love for fish and that I wanted to become a fish scientist. So when he read the newspaper and saw something fish-related, he would call me to have a look and that is how I started my album.” Whitfield has always felt a connection with the natural environment so much so that even when he went through a phase of switching career options like every child does, he digressed to game ranging and then wanting to become a game researcher. Fortunately for aquatic science, this was a brief digression and Christmas holidays to visit his grandparents on the banks of the Swartkops Estuary in the Eastern Cape served to enhance his interest in the watery world.  
In 1971, Whitfield attended what was then the University of Natal in Pietermaritzburg where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Zoology and Botany. He went on to do an honours degree in Zoology and then a Masters and PhD degree in Ichthyology. After completing his Masters, Whitfield moved to Sedgefield in the southern Cape where he was employed as a Research Officer at Rhodes University until 1987 when he joined the JLB Smith Institute of Ichthyology, now known as SAIAB. Whitfield joined SAIAB as the Principal Ichthyologist and is now the Chief Scientist. “All parts of my job are rewarding in some way,” said Whitfield. “I enjoy the field work, writing scientific papers, planning a research trip and I enjoy seeing students develop.”
In his submission for the Doctor of Science degree, Whitfield acknowledges past South African Estuarine Ichthyologists for the work they have contributed to “enriching my scientific experience of these fascinating coastal ecosystems”. His research career spans 35 years with more than 130 published papers reflecting a significant contribution to the study of biology and ecology of fishes in South African estuaries. Whitfield confesses that achieving a DSc was never a goal: “what triggered pursuing this was the NRF performance system. Every two years we are asked what new training or qualifications one is going to aim for; I thought of all the training that I would like to do -eventually settling on a DSc as the most interesting and challenging”.
When asked if he could be anything else, what that would be, Whitfield takes a 180 degree turn: “Aha, I am very interested in the investment world, especially trading on the stock exchange which has been one of my hobbies for decades. When I retire as a scientist I want to become a serious short and medium-term trader.” On his other plans for retirement, Whitfield plans to write a book on fishes and estuaries that “won’t be linked to any performance system!”
The degree will be conferred at the Rhodes University Graduation Ceremony in April.

SAIAB welcomes Rhodes DIFS students

On the 7th of February 2010, the South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity (SAIAB) welcomed six honours students from the Rhodes University Department of Ichthyology and Fishery Science (DIFS). DIFS students regularly utilize the library and laboratory facilities available at SAIAB.

As an introduction, a short video was played in an effort to help them understand the institution and get a ‘feel’ for SAIAB’s aim, mission and vision. Professor Paul Skelton welcomed the students on behalf of the institution and wished them good luck for the upcoming year.

They were further orientated around the Margaret Smith Library and JLB Smith Collection Management Centre as these are the areas within the institution which they will use regularly.
SAIAB is an Associated Institute of Rhodes University and works closely with the DIFS. This relationship has been maintained since 1981 when DIFS used the facilities of the JLB Smith Institute of Ichthyology, now known as SAIAB, for lectures. “SAIAB and DIFS maintain strong ties with researchers supervising students from DIFS and sharing the library facilities,” said SAIAB’s Science Advancement Coordinator, Vanessa Rouhani.
DIFS honours student, Kerthu Shipoke, who comes from Namibia, is hoping to learn a lot from SAIAB and is very impressed with the amount of research the institute has undertaken. Another student, Roy Bealey, shares Shipoke’s sentiments and plans to advance his studies through to Masters level.

SAIAB welcomes 7000 new specimens to its Collection

Approximately 7000 specimens of fish, crustaceans, cephalopods and gelatinous pelagic fauna were caught during a 40 day cruise from Reunion Island to Algoa Bay as part of the South West Indian Ocean Fisheries Project (SWIOFP) and brought to the South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity (SAIAB) to be identified and catalogued. Situated in Grahamstown, SAIAB is a National Research Facility of the National Research Foundation and home of the National Fish Collection.

In November 2009, experts in the marine sciences from Mauritius, South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania and the Seychelles embarked on the fourth and final leg of cruises for SWIOFP. The 40 day cruise on board the Research vessel, Dr Fridtjof Nansen, started in Reunion Island and ended in Algoa Bay. In November 2010, all specimens caught were brought to SAIAB for a workshop on applying an ecosystem-based approach to fisheries management with a specific focus on seamounts. The aim of the workshop was to identify and catalogue as much of the collected material as possible and identify new samples that need to be described by the experts. The collection will remain at SAIAB for further study and as a point of reference.


Nkosinathi Mazungula, SAIAB’s Research Assistant was on this cruise collecting Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) samples from all the specimens caught. “This cruise was particularly significant because the diversity of the region was unfamiliar,” said SAIAB Aquatic Biologist Dr Monica Mwale who assisted in cataloging specimens. “Very little is known of the diversity of the species in the SWIO region,” said Mwale, “and this last cruise aimed at improving the scientific knowledge of seamount ecosystems and their associated biodiversity in the high seas of the southern Indian Ocean.” During the cruise, a total of 40 trawls were undertaken, 32 were at seamount sites and eight were off seamount sites; these were largely undertaken between 300 and 900m below sea level.



The West Indian Ocean is a site renowned for some of the most dynamic and variable large marine ecosystems on the planet. Realising the significance of the region, neighbouring countries have developed a collaborative project that embraces their own fishery-related needs and expectations in a regional and transboundary context. SWIOFP is implemented by the World Bank and is one of a trio of projects linked to Global Environment Facility (GEF) supported projects. The other two projects are the West Indian Ocean Land Based Sources of Pollution (WIOLaB) Project implemented by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Agulhas & Somali Current Large Marine Ecosystem Project (ASCLME) implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). SAIAB plays an important role in all three projects.


















For further information on the ASCLME Project which is hosted at SAIAB, and its partnerships with other regional and global initiatives, visit the website at http://www.asclme.org/

Grouping the groupers: the importance of taxonomy for fisheries management

People often think they know a lot about a species in a particular area through common knowledge gleaned through ecological and fishing interests. Often, however, it is only when scientists establish specific taxonomic characteristics of that species through systematic observation and extensive on-site recording of its actual distribution, that an accurate picture can be established. This has strong implications for those involved in fishing and fisheries management.

Taxonomy is the science of classifying organisms and providing a solid foundation for the research needed to conserve life on earth. Taxonomy is becoming more and more important as scientists struggle to identify species in order to understand the subtle relationships and complex interactions of ecosystems threatened by human activities.

For example, groupers are large species of the Serranid family which are very important in marine ecosystems. They are often the main predators in these ecosystems and play a basic role in the food chain. The genus Mycteroperca is represented by 15 different species which, because they are large, are a popular fisheries target.

There is a great deal of fishing activity in the areas in which these fish are found and the main features of the life cycles of most of these species are usually well known. However, in the case of an island grouper, Mycteroperca fusca (M. fusca), found in the waters of the Canary Islands, Azores, Cape Verde Islands and Madeira off the northwest coast of Africa,  there was no information about the characteristics of its life cycle, even though ecological and fishing interests in the eastern Atlantic Islands are strong.

Dr Phillip Heemstra, internationally renowned taxonomist, author and Curator Emeritus at the South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity (SAIAB), a research facility of the National Research Foundation (NRF), established that for many years M. fusca was confused with Myceteroperca rubra (M. rubra) which is limited to the west coast of Africa and Mediterranean waters. As a result, the life cycle of this species was unknown and the effect of extensive fisheries activity on the species could not be gauged.

Heemstra discovered that M. fusca and M. rubra are two distinct species and that there is little overlap in their respective ranges. “The two species are separate. They look the same but they scatter and spread in different areas,” said Heemstra. It is important to understand that they are different species in order to be able to manage them. Without specific classification, information and naming systems to identify species, scientists would find it very difficult to describe the relationships among them accurately. Heemstra suggests that as these are two isolated species with different population, there should be fishery restrictions to avoid exploitation of the smaller populations of the island species.

It is also vital to bear in mind the geographical distribution of the two species: M rubra is found only along the continent of Africa and in the Mediterranean Sea. As a result, if this species is to be fished sustainably, it is important to consider its island population. During reproduction the species come together in large numbers in a small area. These gatherings are known as spawning aggregations. The process requires the females to release the eggs at the same time the males are present. The males in turn release sperm to fertilise the eggs which then float on the open ocean. If the island population is threatened it may affect the continental population. If the continental population is over-exploited the species may not get any recruits from the island population. As Heemstra explains, “If it starts becoming rare in some parts of its range, one may have to take measures to conserve this species - like having a closed season on the spawning, or not permitting fishing of spawning aggregations that contain a lot of groupers.”

SAIAB’s strengths in taxonomy and the ability of taxonomists like Heemstra to categorise and recognise species relationships, gain knowledge of species distribution and determine keystone species can make valuable contributions to fisheries management and to developing sustainable fishing practice.