Twelve good research years: A collaboration between SANParks, Rhodes’ Ichthyology and Fisheries Science Department and the South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity
Long-term collaborations can have immense value. Keeping the work fun and relevant where clear objectives for both parties are consistently met has contributed to the longevity of this programme.
“You will have to excuse me” said nine year old Rebecca, “I am naturally a very curious person and I ask a lot of questions. Is that okay?” “Sure”, I responded, “if you want to be a scientist, curiosity and asking questions are important, so ask away.” Soon questions were flying around from “what fish is that?” to “how do fish talk?” Most were answered, others received vague mumblings and hand gestures ending with “Remember to ask your dad that one.” It was late at night and some students, myself and Rebecca (Cliff Jones’ daughter) were sitting on a boat in the middle of Island Lake catching, identifying, measuring and releasing fish as part of a long-term estuarine fish community monitoring programme.
This is a program that SANParks has been running in collaboration with the Ichthyology and Fisheries Science Department at Rhodes University and the South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity for 12 years. A productive and rewarding partnership enabling SANParks to fulfil biodiversity monitoring obligations whilst students gain theoretical knowledge and practical sampling technique experience.
A Rhodes University honours student releases a measured spotted grunter, caught during a survey that forms part of a rewarding 12 year partnership between Rhodes University, SAIAB and SANParks (Photo: Kyle Smith).
“This remains a wonderful opportunity for our honours students to get involved in a monitoring program,” states Cliff Jones, the head of department at Rhodes. “The field-trip is very well aligned with the department’s ethos, where we seek to complement the theory that the students are taught with applicable, real-life practical work. Here, the students are trained in field-sampling techniques, a first for many and yet the outcome of this training makes a direct contribution to the management of these systems. This certainly makes the learning experience richer for the students and it goes a long-way towards preparing them for further studies or employment.”
The collaboration has contributed towards 3 Masters studies (2 completed and one still underway), 3 published scientific articles, and various presentations at scientific conferences and science-management meetings. Furthermore, the work has enabled SANParks to evaluate and track the health of estuarine systems using the Estuarine Fish Community Index. We are currently entering an exciting new phase of the programme where we will be exploring inter-annual patterns in fish communities and potential drivers of these in more detail.
Although the work is demanding, keeping it fun has certainly contributed to the longevity of the collaboration. So what has been the most difficult question? Hard to say, but certainly a first for me was “Do you also suffer from ingrown toenails? My dad does.” A disconcerted and somewhat distraught honours student looked up and answered “I feel like I now know my supervisor on a whole new level and I am not sure how I feel about that”. Oi vey, what gets discussed on field trips stays on field trips…..unless you write an article about it.
The late Olaf Weyl (seated) and Cliff Jones demonstrating good seine netting techniques (Photo: Kyle Smith).
This article was originally published in the 2021/2022 Research Report.
