Invitation: Expressions of Interest
The Maloti-Drakensberg as a Social-Ecological System under Global Change
The chair will be shared between SAEON and the ARU. While the chair will be able to access and contribute to the broader SAEON and UFS platforms, the primary relationship will be between the SAEON Grasslands-Forests-Wetlands Node, the Expanded Freshwater and Terrestrial Environmental Observation Network (EFTEON) Northern Drakensberg Landscape, and the ARU – including partners across the Maloti-Drakensberg. The position is intended to create added value to / optimise benefits of the established SAEON, EFTEON, and ARU platforms within the Maloti-Drakensberg Transfrontier Programme (MDTP).
MSc and PhD research projects available in UFS Geography (Bloemfontein)
Theme: Quaternary climate change, landscape evolution (mapping and modelling), geochronology (cosmogenic 36Cl and/or 137Cs), geoconservation and education (through immersive technologies such as virtual reality, 360 film, and photography) on sub-Antarctic islands.
Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship
Afromontane Research Unit, University of the Free State (South Africa), in collaboration with the Mount Mabu Conservation Project and Universidade Zambeze (Mozambique)
In partnership with the Mount Mabu Conservation Project and Universidade Zambeze (Mozambique), the ARU is looking for quality candidates to apply for a postdoctoral research fellowship to undertake new botanical exploration and develop long-term monitoring protocols on Mt Mabu, Zambezia province, Mozambique.
Project Advert 2023: Call for Applications
Phenology of vegetation and invertebrate communities at high-elevation wetlands in South Africa
Vegetation and invertebrate data were recorded for three summer seasons at high-elevation wetlands in Mpumalanga, South Africa: Middelpunt Wetland (cattle farm) and Verloren Vallei (nature reserve). Several related environmental variables were also collected, such as weather, water, and soil characteristics. The objective of the study is to describe and explain the phenology (or seasonality) of the (1) vegetation and/or (2) invertebrate communities of these wetlands.
Invitation: Expressions of Interest
The Maloti-Drakensberg as a Social-Ecological System under Global Change
The Chair will be shared between SAEON and the ARU. While the Chair will be able to access and contribute from and to the broader SAEON and UFS platforms, the primary relationship will be between the SAEON Grasslands-Forests-Wetlands Node, the Expanded Freshwater and Terrestrial Environmental Observation Network (EFTEON) Northern Drakensberg Landscape, and the ARU – including partners across the Maloti-Drakensberg.
Postdoctoral Fellowship
UFS-QQ Risk and Vulnerability Science Centre / Afromontane Research Unit
Towards Water Security for Phuthaditjhaba and the Greater Maloti-a-Phofung Local Municipality (Free State, South Africa): Monitoring High-elevation Wetland Health using Bio-acoustics and Diversity Indices
Fresh water is a critical resource for all life, but global change is already severely disrupting existing freshwater supplies. Human-driven landscape degradation, coupled with more frequent and intense weather events due to climate change, are affecting the hydrology and physico-chemical characteristics of strategic water source areas in Southern Africa.
The ARU is seeking a self-led, physically fit, postdoctoral fellow to coordinate the High-elevation Wetlands Bio-acoustics programme.
PhD, MSc, and Honours projects and Postdoctoral fellowshipsDepartment of Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Pretoria
Examining the impact of climate change in the Drakensberg
We are looking to recruit students and postdocs to investigate the ecological impact of changing environmental conditions on the composition and functioning of the flora of the Drakensberg. This project is studying fine- and broad-scale variation in vascular plant species composition, functional traits and grazing value, examining both intra- and inter-specific variation in relation to a range of microclimatic, topographic, and soil variables.
MSc Project Advert 2022, call for applications
Afromontane Research Unit, BirdLife South Africa, and Statistical Sciences, University of Cape Town
Exploring the role of large mammal ecosystem engineers in a high-elevation wetland
The objectives of the project are to explore and compare the wetland faunal communities in areas with and without large mammals using bioacoustic data. The results of this project will be used to inform best practice guidelines for wetland management by assessing the historical role of natural ecosystem engineers.
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Postdoctoral Fellowship
Afromontane Research Unit, University of the Free State: Qwaqwa Campus
Alpine Pollination and Plant Reproductive Ecology in the Maloti-Drakensberg and Other Southern African Afromontane Environments
The ARU is seeking a self-led, physically fit, postdoctoral fellow to join the Plant Reproductive Ecology research team. The fellow will be actively involved in the projects, including alpine and montane pollination studies in the Maloti-Drakensberg as part of an EU Horizon 2020 (Biodiversa) project, ‘RangeX’ – a global collaboration with the Mountain Invasion Research Network (MIREN).
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Postdoctoral Fellowship
UFS-QQ Risk and Vulnerability Science Centre / Afromontane Research Unit
Towards Water Security for Phuthaditjhaba and greater Maloti-a-Phofung Local Municipality (Free State, South Africa): Monitoring High-elevation Wetland Health using Bio-acoustics and Diversity Indices
Through its Risk and Vulnerability Science Centre (RVSC), the ARU seeks to develop an acoustic wetland health index using passive bio-acoustic monitoring to monitor the quality of high-elevation wetlands in Maloti-a-Phofung Local Municipality (Free State).
The ARU is seeking a self-led, physically fit, postdoctoral fellow to coordinate the High-elevation Wetlands Bio-acoustics programme.
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Postdoctoral Fellowship Opportunity (2022)
Qwaqwa, Free State, South Africa
Exploring Intersections Between Migration, Entrepreneurship and Sustainable Development in Marginal Mountain Communities
The RVSC: UFS-QQ seeks to appoint a suitably qualified and experienced postdoctoral research fellow for 2021, with the option of renewal for 2023 based on performance. The successful fellow will be registered in the Department of Geography and affiliated to the RVSC: UFS-QQ. The fellow will be an integral component of an interdisciplinary team that examines the links between migration, entrepreneurship, and sustainable development in Phuthaditjhaba/Qwaqwa.
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Postdoctoral Fellowship
UFS-QQ Risk and Vulnerability Science Centre / Afromontane Research Unit
Towards Water Security and Sustainable Rangelands in Phuthaditjhaba (Free State, South Africa): The Biodiversity Value of the Qwaqwa Malotis
The ARU is seeking a self-led, physically fit, postdoctoral fellow to coordinate a programme of multi-taxa biodiversity surveys of the Witsieshoek community conservation area (WCCA), with potential to expand along the Qwaqwa Malotis (i.e., to Monontsa). This will entail engaging with biodiversity specialists, local communities, and key stakeholders, as well as organising the logistics of field surveys, data analyses, organising workshops, fundraising, and writing popular and scientific publications from the results. The WCCA is an important part of the Maloti-Drakensberg Transfrontier Programme and is managed by Transfrontier Parks Destinations on behalf of the local Batlokwa Traditional Authority.
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Master’s Scholarship (2022-2023)
Afromontane Research Unit
EU Horizon 2020 BiodivERsA project ‘RangeX’
A collaboration with the Mountain Invasion Research Network (MIREN)
The ARU – as part of the Mountain Invasion Research Network (MIREN) – has successfully secured an EU Horizon 2020 BiodivERsA project:Mechanisms underlying the success and impact on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning of range-expanding species under climate change (RangeX).
The ARU invites applications from suitable candidates for a two-year master’s programme (2022-2023) that will assist with the ARU contribution to this project. Species that expand their range with climate warming could pose a threat to native biodiversity. The candidate will lead an experiment to test the effectiveness of novel range-expanding plant removal as a management option along an elevational gradient in the Maloti-Drakensberg (M-D) Mountains.
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