ACEP has taken on three BSc Honours students from the University of Fort Hare. The students are undertaking short but intense investigations into nearshore plankton dynamics in Algoa Bay as part of SAEON Elwandle Node’s Algoa Bay Long-term Monitoring Research Programme (ABLTMRP). This work will contribute to our understanding of small-scale temporal variations in nutrient concentrations, phytoplankton and zooplankton biomass and abundance over a 24-hour period, at specific water column depth increments, in the shallow near-shore waters west of St Croix Island. Ms Kwasa Ntongana is investigating variability in physico-chemical parameters and nutrient concentrations. Ms Zimkhitha Gebe is determining fluctuations in phytoplankton chlorophyll-a biomass, and aims to monitor the vertical behaviour of the F-max depth. Mr Mfundo Bizani aims to determine how variability in the afore mentioned ‘parameters’ influence the zooplankton community.
ACEP is providing logistical and financial support for the students in the forms of the use of R/V uKwabelana, manpower, mentorship and student bursaries. In May the students where involved in a 24 hour sampling trip onboard R/V uKwabelana in Algoa Bay to collect the samples for their projects.
Students using the plankton pump to collect samples in Algoa Bay and filtering water to collect chlorophyll samples.
ACEP believes that this programme of intensive one-on-one training which is not provided in the traditional postgraduate environment at Universities produces the outcomes which are required to address current demographic imbalances. Working closely with the University of Fort Hare, we aim to produce top class black graduates from disadvantaged backgrounds through guided Honours and Masters programmes and specialised tutoring by mentors to cover possible gaps in their education.