The 13th Annual Research Meeting of the CIB - Congratulations Natasha!

The 13th Annual Research Meeting of the CIB took place at Stellenbosch University Thursday and Friday.

Presentations were made by Nitya, Natasha and Marike.

From top right:

1. The judges receive their thank you presents from Dave Richardson: Piero Genovesi, Laura Meyerson, Petr Pyšek & Tim Blackburn.

2. Marike answers a question from the audience (and who was part of the winning pod)

3. Natasha gives the talk that won her best runner up for a PhD presentation

4. Nitya wows the audience with the size of his bullfrog. 

Well done to the whole lab who put on a magnificent set of froggy presentations. Especially well done to Natasha!

Marike wins again

Congratulations (again) to Marike Louw for winning the best student speaker award at Fynbos Forum, 2017! Marike's talk is based on her MSc work on aSCR on the Cape Peninsula Moss Frog, Arthroleptella lightfooti. We're so please that you've decided to make prize winning a habit!

Fynbos forum is held annually at a different venue and brings together managers, practicioners and academics. 

The talk focussed on research being conducted on Arthroleptella lightfooti, the Cape Peninsula Moss frog, using a technique called Acoustic Spatial Capture-Recapture. The technique was explained in detail, from its conceptual basis to its physical application to the Moss frog species. Preliminary results obtained from 2016 were presented and immediate and longterm goals using this technique were outlined. Marike's research will enable us to build a better picture of moss frog density on the Cape peninsula, and how this endemic amphibian is affected by different management practices.

Louw, M. & Measey, J. 2017. Listen up! Eavesdropping on a Cape Peninsula Endemic. Fynbos Forum, Swellendam Showgrounds.  31 July – 3 August 2017.

Young Science Communication Winner 2017 - Marike Louw (2nd place)!

Many congratulations to Marike on winning 2nd place in the Young Science Communication Competition run by SAASTA through the NRF. 

You can see some of the prize winning story here. Or you can download the entire piece here.

Giovanni wins the top prize for best student presentation at the 13th Herpetological Association of Africa conference

Yes, Gio has stolen the show again in amazing style for his presentation: 

"Never underestimate your opponent: Adaptive phenotypic response in a recent amphibian invader"

Seen here Gio accepting the cash prize from HAA chair, Graham Alexander.

Corey wins first prize

Well done, Corey! First prize in the Department of Botany & Zoology's Annual Research Meeting, for the best MSc talk. Corey outlined his experiment in conservation of Xenopus gilli   by determining the predation rate from sympatric X. laevis. 

...and he looks really happy. 

In a sneaky moment, while everyone was waiting for the photographer, I popped this image of the deparment.