UKZN Researchers Shine at Aquatic Sciences Conference

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The Southern African Society of Aquatic Scientists (SASAqS) Conference, hosted in Hilton by UKZN and the Institute of Natural Resources (INR), drew researchers from a wide range of disciplines around the theme of aquatic science and practice, with several contributions by UKZN staff and students. 

Chair of the Local Organising Committee, honorary researcher Dr Matthew Burnett of the INR, welcomed more than 120 delegates to the event. 

“We are living in a time when our aquatic ecosystems and the people that rely on them are facing unprecedented pressures. The challenges are complex, which is why we are here, to bring our unique understanding and potential solutions to these challenges,” said SASAqS President, Professor Wynand Malherbe, while opening the event. 

Malherbe highlighted the blend of disciplines, experience and projects within SASAqS producing collaboration that inspires action to understand and conserve aquatic ecosystems. 

UKZN’s Professor Stefan Schmidt presented a keynote presentation on the status of and perspectives on the microbial pollution of local rivers, covering the historical phenomenon of river pollution, from invisible disease contamination to more visible signs of river death emanating from leadership and infrastructural challenges. Schmidt described a historical analysis of the Msunduzi River System, which he and his research group sampled over time, demonstrating decreasing water quality and increased waste, and pharmaceutical and microbial pollution in a system that more and more people rely on for domestic activities, recreation and irrigation for small-scale farming. 

Postdoctoral research fellow at UKZN, Dr Mahlatse Mashaphu, highlighted the importance of genetic tools for monitoring, managing, and restoring freshwater aquatic biodiversity in South Africa in her plenary presentation, while Dr Justin Pringle of UKZN’s Environmental Fluid Mechanics Lab delivered a keynote presentation on the importance of understanding how fluids move to better forecast critical environmental processes and inform evidence-based management strategies. 

In a plenary presentation, Mr Mark Horan of the Centre for Water Resources Research (CWRR) spoke about the Centre’s development of downscaled physical and climatological sub-catchment parameters for water resources management and biodiversity conservation in South Africa. 

Professor Carola Niesler and Dr Mlondi Shezi introduced UKZN’s Zebrafish Research Facility and the potential for zebrafish research, also hosting a post-conference field trip at the facility which breeds and maintains zebrafish under strict conditions that make them ideal biological models for research into human health and disease. 

Topics and sessions at the event focused on micro-plastics, microbiology, ecotoxicology, fisheries, and water resource management of aquatic systems, featuring interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary aquatic sciences research. Several UKZN students and researchers spoke on a range of topics, from machine learning models to predict fish activity to citizen science tools for monitoring wastewater treatment works and rivers. A workshop by the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) explored partnership practices from source to tap. 

At the award ceremony on the final night of the conference, Burnett received an Early Career Researcher Award for his work on aquatic ecosystems, and Dr Mark Graham, a UKZN alumnus, CWRR associate and director of GroundTruth, received the SASAqS Gold Medal, a rarely-bestowed honour recognising exceptional, long-term contributions to aquatic science or the management and conservation of aquatic ecosystems. 

Conference sponsors included Inqaba Biotec, SANBI, the ENVASS group of companies, the National Research Foundation and its South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity, the Sustainable and Healthy Food Systems - Southern Africa Programme, and the PEERJ Journal. 

Words and photograph: Christine Cuénod