ACEP IV MSc opportunity:
Remote underwater discovery and characterization of benthic biodiversity of the continental
shelf, Agulhas ecoregion
We invite applications from students interested in taking on an MSc project on Benthic biodiversity of
the Agulhas bioregion: soft-sediment epibenthos. The project is funded under the ACEP IV
programme by the National Research Foundation (NRF) to the amount of R60 000 per year, full time,
for two years. The MSc student should be based in Cape Town at either SAEON Egagasini or at a
South African University.
Benthic biodiversity of unconsolidated substratum habitats (non-reef) of the continental shelf remain
poorly studied in South Africa (Leslie et al. 2000, Griffiths et al. 2010). Given that benthic habitats like
these face increasing anthropogenic pressure from activities such as demersal trawl fishing and
resource extraction, understanding spatial patterns of benthic biodiversity and links to habitat
characteristics are a priority for conservation, marine spatial planning and ecological research (Thrush
and Dayton 2002, Kipson et al. 2011). Underwater cameras now give us the means to investigate
these environments more extensively and less destructively. This MSc project will focus on the Algoa
Bay region, where benthic photography and basic sediment sampling will be used to undertake a
broad scale survey of seafloor habitats and resident invertebrate epifauna covering areas up to 150m
depth. The project aims to ground-truth the existing National Biodiversity Assessment habitat types in
Algoa Bay, and test how well these broad habitat categories capture spatial patterns of epifaunal
diversity. This baseline information and mapping will support a broader ACEP IV project “Benthic
biodiversity from the Agulhas Bioregion as a source of new pharmaceuticals”, and will be linked to
concurrent work on reef areas.
Eligibility: BSc Hons (zoology, biology, environmental science etc). The student will be required to
undertake field sampling on small research vessels and travel to Port Elizabeth. Some experience in
invertebrate identification and image analyses will be an advantage. The project is based in Cape
Town through the South African Envrionmental Observation Network but the student may be
registered at any South African University. Preference will be given to South African citizens.
If you meet the requirements and would like to apply for the bursary please send a motivating cover
letter and CV (with contact details of three references) to Dr Lara Atkinson, Lara@saeon.ac.za or Dr
Charles von der Meden, Charlie@saeon.ac.za
Applications must be submitted by 29 February 2016. The bursary will be awarded by 1 April 2016.
Should you not have heard from SAEON by then, please consider your application unsuccessful.
Literature cited:
Griffiths CL, Robinson TB, Lange L, Mead A (2010) Marine biodiversity in South Africa: An evaluation
of current states of knowledge. PLoS ONE 5:e12008
Kipson S, Fourt M, Teixido´ N, Cebrian E and others (2011) Rapid biodiversity assessment and
monitoring method for highly diverse benthic communities: A case study of Mediterranean
coralligenous outcrops. PLoS ONE 6:e27103. doi:27110.21371/journal.pone.0027103
Leslie RW, Tilney RL, Rogers J (2000) Functional ecosystems: Soft subtidal substrates, National
Research Foundation, Pretoria
Thrush SF, Dayton PK (2002) Disturbance to marine benthic habitats by trawling and dredging:
Implications for marine biodiversity. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 33:449-473