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17 January 2020 | Story Leonie Bolleurs | Photo Leonie Bolleurs
Prof Aliza le Roux and Dr Mpho Romoejane
Prof Aliza le Roux and Dr Mpho Ramoejane (camera-trap expert) at a wetland area in the Golden Gate National Park, searching for the rare white-winged flufftail.

The White-winged Flufftail, a highly endangered bird species, was spotted less than 70 km from the UFS Qwaqwa Campus, home of the Afromontane Research Unit (ARU). In collaboration with BirdLife South Africa, the ARU is conducting a study to find out if this species also made its home in the Golden Gate Highlands National Park.

This rare species has so far only been found at three sites in South Africa.


Study to benefit local community

One of the ARU’s goals is to undertake research that will benefit the local communities, including SANParks. Should it be confirmed that these rare birds are also found in the area, the status of the Golden Gate Highlands National Park in the Important Birding Area (IBA) directory is likely to increase.

Prof Aliza le Roux, Associate Professor in the Department of Zoology and Entomology on the Qwaqwa Campus of the University of the Free State (UFS) and affiliated to the ARU, is conducting the study. She is also involved in other wetland studies.

According to Prof Le Roux, it is very difficult to find the bird. In a study, Prof Le Roux, Dr Sandy-Lynn Steenhuisen (botanist in the Department of Plant Sciences), and Dr Ralph Clark (ARU Director) have been deploying song meters in a rolling grid in the wetland areas, recording all bird noises around dawn and dusk. This is a non-invasive method to record bird sounds and helps to maintain the health of wetlands.

With these song meters they are trying to create a soundscape of the wetlands, recording all the sounds of the area by changing the location of the song meters every two weeks to cover the entire 2 km-long wetland area. Soundscape ecology is a fairly new technique and could be an effective way of measuring wetland health in high-altitude settings.

“In contrast with camera traps, song meters do not need a direct line of sight to record the presence of a specific bird – it can pick up songs from 150 m away in all directions. Camera traps may, however, be useful for adding visual confirmation of any bird’s presence, which is useful for a species that has only been heard a few times. In fact, no recording of the White-winged Flufftail’s call is currently in the public domain,” says Dr Le Roux.


Collaboration with Japanese university

Using these recordings from the soundscape, the team identifies the different bird, frog, and insect sounds recorded. According to Prof Le Roux, they are fairly new to the process and she would like to learn more, specifically about the analysis of the song diversity. She is visiting researchers at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) in Japan in early December to investigate the variety of tools available to effectively analyse terabytes of acoustic data. Researchers at OIST have done similar studies on soundscapes in Okinawa along an urban gradient, and their expertise as well as access to a supercomputer could boost this research significantly.

The Qwaqwa area is on the border of the White-winged Flufftail’s expected distribution range.

“Because they and their habitat are threatened,
we are not sure if they are in the area;
and whether they may only be here to breed.”
—Prof Aliza Le Roux,
Associate Professor, UFS.


“If we find that they did make the park their home, they will be more protected, as the park is a conservation area.”


Grasslands

Prof Aliza le Roux and Dr Mpho Ramoejane (camera-trap expert) at a wetland area in the Golden Gate National Park. The wetlands often get trampled, affecting the condition of the area. Interestingly, trampling improves conditions for flufftails, as the cattle open up spaces between the reeds.

Photo: Leonie Bolleurs

News Archive

Ensure your place at the UFS
2010-10-27

The University of the Free State (UFS) appeals to all prospective South African students who want to come and study at the UFS in 2011 to submit their applications no later than Tuesday, 30 November 2010.

The UFS is aware of the fact that learners will not have received their final Grade 12 results by Tuesday, 30 November 2010; therefore provisional admission will be granted based on learners’ most recent Grade 12 results. Final admission will take place upon receipt of the final Grade 12 results, which will be available early in January 2011.

Prospective students can obtain application forms for admission at the following places:

  1. The UFS’s web site at www.ufs.ac.za,
  2. The Information Office (Unit for Prospective Students) at the Thakaneng Bridge on the UFS’s Main Campus in Bloemfontein,
  3. You may also send an e-mail to info@ufs.ac.za or
  4. Phone 051 401 3000 and the necessary forms will be posted to you.

Senior undergraduate students (that is all students who were registered up to and during 2010 at the UFS) as well as post-graduate students, must self-register electronically on-line from Monday, 1 November 2010 until Tuesday, 4 January 2011. This includes master’s and doctoral students.

In order to encourage senior students to register online, the UFS offers 20 laptops as incentives for the senior students who successfully register online from 1 November 2010. These laptops will be handed over to the winners after the registration process in 2011.

Registration of first-year students:

The Rector and Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Jonathan Jansen, will welcome first-year students on Friday, 14 January and Saturday, 15 January 2011, respectively, in the Callie Human Centre. The Faculties of Economic and Management Sciences, the Humanities and Education will be welcomed on 14 January 2011 and the students of the Faculties of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, Law and Theology shall be welcomed on 15 January 2011. The compulsory orientation programme for new first-years will also then commence.

From 17 to 21 January 2011 first-year students will receive academic advice at the Callie Human Centre, whereafter they will be referred for self-registration. These processes will take place according to the set timetable. This timetable is available in the Kovsie Guide that will be sent to learners as soon as we have received their applications, as well as on the web site of the UFS at www.ufs.ac.za/register2011.

First-year students’ fees must be paid prior to arrival on 14 and 15 January 2011.

Registration of senior students:

Senior students who experience problems with the electronic on-line self-registration process have the opportunity to resolve problems within a programme on campus from Wednesday, 5 January until Wednesday, 12 January 2011. This programme will be sent out to students and is also available at www.ufs.ac.za/register2011. The specific scheduled day for senior students to resolve problems is the last and only day to resolve the problem.

Senior students can also contact 051 401 9111 for more information in this regard.

Students may register for prescribed modules for 2011, even though the November 2010 examination results are not yet available. Changes resulting from examination results that are made available later can be done up to and including 28 January 2011.

In terms of applications for senior students, only students who have interrupted a calendar year of study need to re-apply for admission.

Registration of students at the UFS’s Qwaqwa Campus:

Senior and first-year students of the UFS’s Qwaqwa Campus register from Wednesday, 12 January until Friday, 28 January 2011 in the Nelson Mandela Hall on this campus.

Registration of students at the UFS South Campus:

First-year students from the UFS’s South Campus in the University Preparation Programme and the Extended Programme (only Natural and Agricultural Sciences) register from Monday, 24 January till Friday, 28 January 2011 in the Arena Hall on the South Campus.

Students who have successfully completed the University Preparation Programme register with the first-year students on the UFS Main Campus on Friday, 14 and Saturday, 15 January 2011 – according to faculties (cf. paragraph 6).

Lectures for all students shall commence on Monday, 24 January 2011.

MEDIA RELEASE
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Director: Strategic Communication (actg)
Tel: 051 401 2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl@ufs.ac.za
26 October 2010

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