Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items

Journey of a lifetime: Marike Stander joins research expedition to Marion Island

05 August 2022 | Story Leonie Bolleurs | Photo Supplied

The Prince Edward Islands are the most southerly part of South Africa’s official territory and consist of Marion Island and Prince Edward Island. On Marion Island, about 270 km² in size and situated in the sub-Antarctic Indian Ocean, 1 920 km from the South African shore, activities are restricted to research and conservation management.

This is where Marike Stander, Lecturer in the Department of Geography at the University of the Free State (UFS), was granted the opportunity to assist a research group led by Prof Werner Nel (University of Fort Hare) and Prof David Hedding (Unisa) – based on her knowledge and experience in tracer sampling.

Back home, Stander is working to complete her doctoral research, investigating the often-overlooked major issue of soil erosion. She believes the management of soil erosion, a global issue, is key. According to her, it impacts the storage of carbon and nutrients, and therefore the production of food, but it can also act as a pollutant in water sources.

Fieldwork and data collection

She was approached by the Sub-Antarctic Landscape-Climate Interactions (SANAP-LCI) Research Group, a project funded by the South African National Antarctic Programme-NRF. One of their research objectives is to explore the viability of using geochemical tracers in the substrate on Marion Island, the focus of Stander’s doctoral research.

With the support of the UFS Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences and the Department of Geography, she was released to accompany the research group for the first time in her life on their annual relief expedition with the SA Agulhas II from Cape Town to Marion Island, where she assisted with fieldwork and data collection. During this three-week field campaign, Stander collected sediment samples for the tracer project, as well as rock and peat samples.

With the SANAP-LCI group collaborating with research labs in the United Kingdom and France, she was able to bring her expertise to the table, while at the same time learning about other geochronological techniques and field methods.

She was also excited about the exposure to the work of a myriad of researchers in various fields from around the world. Stander says in a time when the importance of interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary work is being emphasised, it was invaluable to meet and learn from various distinguished scientists. “It changes your perspective and allows your mind to not only think outside the box, but also to think about all the interconnected boxes and how they affect each other.”

She believes being exposed to various sampling strategies from different scientists also broaden one’s skill set and experience. “Using your capabilities and skills in a different setting builds depth to your skill set and expands your horizon.”

Volcanoes and albatrosses

Very few people get the opportunity to visit Marion Island. Thus, just the chance to visit and experience life on the island is described by many as one of their most memorable events. Always fascinated by volcanic features, Stander was completely captivated by this relatively young volcanic island. “There are so many interesting features, such as the pahoehoe and a’a lava flows, as well as the numerous scoria cones,” describes Stander, who cannot believe that she managed to cover the vast distances in gumboots, the only footwear that are effective to cross anything – from razor-sharp rocks to deep waterlogged mires.

She was also overwhelmed by the flora and fauna on the island. “It is so very different from what we are used to and from what I’ve experienced before. Seeing these animals in a relatively untouched remote location really captivated me,” she says.

“More specifically, I fell in love with the albatrosses. These remarkable seabirds cover vast distances over the ocean looking for food. They are unfortunately threatened by the invasive mice on Marion Island.” Stander invites people to help organisations such as Mouse-Free Marion to take on the difficult task of eradicating these mice. Find them at www.mousefreemarion.org.

On a lighter note, Stander also learnt a thing or two that was totally new to her. For instance, that there are radio telescopes installed on the radio-quiet Marion Island, searching for the universe’s first stars. And that male elephant seals that drive out all other male competitors during mating season are called ‘beachmasters’. She learned that these ‘beachmaster’ bulls have a harem of female elephant seals and can weight up to three tons.

• She wishes to thank Prof Werner Nel, Prof David Hedding, and Dr Liezel Rudolph (UFS) from the SANAP-LCI project for affording her the opportunity to join the expedition. She also thanks the SANAP-NRF and the Department of Forestry, Fisheries, and the Environment for making the expedition possible.

News Archive

New challenges for animal science discussed

2006-04-04

Some of the guests attending the congress were from the left Dr Heinz Meissner (honorary president of the South African Society for Animal Science (SASAS) and senior manager at the Animal Production Institute of the Agricultural Research Council), Mr Paul Bevan (President of SASAS) and Prof Magda Fourie (Vice-Rector: Academic Planning at the UFS).
Photo: Lacea Loader

New challenges for animal science discussed

The South African Society for Animal Science (SASAS) is presenting its 41st Congress at the University of the Free State’s (UFS) Main Campus in Bloemfontein.

The congress started yesterday and will run until Thursday 6 April 2006. The theme is New challenges for the animal science industries.

It is one of the largest congresses in the 45 years since SASAS was founded in 1961. Among the delegates 12 African countries are represented, with the biggest delegation from Kenya. Delegates are also from the United States of America, Iran, Turkey, Germany, the Netherlands and Portugal and African countries like Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Botswana.

“Many of our members play an important role in the training of animal scientists at universities. The congress is specifically industry orientated so that scientists can interact with farmers through the respective producer organisations,” said Prof HO de Waal, Chairperson of the organising committee and lecturer at the UFS Department of Animal, Wildlife and Grassland Sciences.

According to Dr Heinz Meissner, honorary president of SASAS and a senior manager at the Animal Production Institute of the Agricultural Research Council, the National Livestock Strategy (NLS) Plan clarifies the role and responsibility of the livestock sector.

“Through this strategy we need to focus on enhancing equitable access and participation in livestock agriculture, improve global competitiveness and profitability of the livestock sector and ensure that the ventures implemented do not over utilise our resources,” said Dr Meissner.

In her welcoming address, Prof Magda Fourie, Vice-Rector: Academic Planning at the UFS highlighted the related challenges that the UFS will be focusing on specifically over the next five years. “We have identified five strategic clusters that represent broad areas of excellence in research and post-graduate education. Two of these are food production, quality and safety for Africa and sustainable development,” she said.

“The food safety and security cluster will focus on the production of food in all its varieties within the African context, encompassing the entire value chain – from production to consumption and nutrition related issues. This would include a strong emphasis on sustainable production systems,” she said.

According to Prof Fourie the rural development cluster will engage in questions around the role of higher education in sustainable development. “One of the focus areas in this strategic cluster pertains to sustainable livelihoods. It refers to a way of approaching development that incorporates all aspects of human livelihoods and means by which people obtain them,” she said.

Prof Fourie said that the challenges we are facing such as food production can only be effectively addressed through collaborative efforts. “That is why it is important that collaboration takes place between different scientific disciplines, researchers, institutions and countries who are confronted with similar difficulties,” she said.

According to Prof de Waal the congress will give key role players a unique opportunity to present a profile of what they perceive an animal scientist should be and state their specific requirement regarding the animal sciences and its applications.

“In this way we can determine what the industry’s needs are and we can re-align our curriculum to suit these needs,” said Prof de Waal.

During the next two days, various areas of interest will be discussed. This includes ruminant and monogastric nutrition, animal physiology, beef, dairy, sheep and ostrich breeding and sustainable farming covering the range from commercial to the small-scale farming level.

Media release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Media Representative
Tel: (051) 401-2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl.stg@mail.uovs.ac.za
4 April 2006

Back

Economic and Management Sciences

Education

Health Sciences

The Humanities

Law

Natural and Agricultural Sciences

Theology and Religion

Open Distance Learning

Business School

We use cookies to make interactions with our websites and services easy and meaningful. To better understand how they are used, read more about the UFS cookie policy. By continuing to use this site you are giving us your consent to do this.

Accept