Biodiversity and Ecology
Coastal Zone Management
Ecosystem Functioning
Estuarine Health and Ecology
Invertebrate Fisheries
Linefish Research
Marine Protected Areas
Resource-use Monitoring
International Collaborative Projects
Support and Training Services
General

RESEARCH PROGRAMMES
This record reflects activities and projects in 2008.

BIODIVERSITY AND ECOLOGY

Biodiversity of East Coast reefs
The sub-tidal shallow reefs off KwaZulu-Natal have a high biodiversity ranging from rich coral encrusted reefs in the Greater St. Lucia Wetland Park to more temperate rocky reefs further south towards the Pondoland MPA. This project uses digital video and GIS technology in association with physical sampling to document, quantify and map the rich sessile fauna and flora of the KZN reefs. Results are applied to support the development of sustainable-use management strategies and process-orientated research has been initiated to gain a better understanding of the reefs.

Coral reef monitoring in KwaZulu-Natal
Assessing long-term changes in coral community structure in response to human impacts and possible responses to global climate change are key objectives. Correlations between coral community structure and regional oceanography in the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park, as well as the comparison between the community structure of Nine-mile Reef and the more heavily dived sites at Two-mile Reef are examined on a regular basis.

Bioindicators of coral reef health
The aim of this project is to select and investigate the use of bioindicators in assessing reef condition. Bioindicators are organisms that by their presence/absence, size and /or numbers will help reveal the effect of disturbances on a reef ecosystem such as climate change, overfishing, damaging fishing practices, and high diving pressure. South Africa's coral reefs are particularly vulnerable to changes in the environment because of their marginal distribution. Bioindicators will be used to assess South Africa's coral reefs and provide tools to aid in management decisions.

Genetic analysis to evaluate coral connectivity
Corals from the western Indian Ocean region are analysed genetically to investigate how closely they are related to one another across various scales of separation. Different techniques and genetic markers are applied to a number of species to determine the best modus operandi. Using an assortment of corals allows for the investigation of various perspectives on connectivity that result from an array of coral life-strategies. This project will aid the effective management of coral reefs and coral reef communities in the region.

Biodiversity in the Vetch's Bight
Changes in water circulation patterns and rates of sedimentation as a result of the planned widening of the Durban harbour entrance and the possible construction of a small craft harbour, will impact surrounding reef communities in the Vetch's Bight. Photographic surveys, fish point counts and benthic sampling is being employed to document species richness and diversity and monitor the impact of these developments on reef community structure. It is intended that this baseline information will be useful to improve ecological planning for similar projects in the future.

Specialist study on the marine ecology off Mtunzini
Studies are being undertaken to assess the potential consequences to the marine environment (and to existing fishing operations) in the Mtunzini prawn grounds by the proposed introduction of a submarine fibre optic telecommunications cable system off the KwaZulu-Natal coast.

COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT

Coastal Zone Research Programme
KwaZulu-Natal's Coastal and Biodiversity Management Unit has the responsibility of implementation the national integrated coastal zone management policy and its subsequent Coastal Zone Bill in this province. In order to strengthen the capacity of this unit, ORI provides scientific information, decision support and undertakes specific investigations by having embarked on a long-term research programme that specifically focuses on the complexities of the coastal zone of KwaZulu-Natal. The aim of this programme is to develop a sustainable integrated coastal management strategy based on implementing policy and building local capacity. The ongoing decision support considered elemental to this public-government partnership is the generation and provision of superior quality, defensible scientific information to coastal managers. Also prominent in this work plan is a research component consisting of a number of projects aimed at establishing a broad information framework relating to coastal and marine issues. These projects include the study of rapid coastal development and associated loss of environmental goods and services, coastal access and resource use and an evaluation of the modifications to the coastal buffer zone. The programme includes aspects of refining implementation strategies and capacity building with a diversity of stakeholders.

Boat Launch Site Monitoring System (BLSMS) in KZN
Effective management of publicly-owned coastal resources is a high priority of contemporary governance. In KwaZulu-Natal, coastal zone management has been enhanced by the introduction of the BLSMS in 2004, the first-ever province-wide monitoring initiative for boat launch sites in South Africa. The programme makes use of a system of registers to glean information on usage patterns, and it is an example of unique co-operation between different stakeholders towards a common goal of improved management of small craft launch sites and associated activities.

ECOSYSTEM FUNCTIONING

Thukela Bank functioning
The Thukela River is KZN's largest river, depositing large quantities of sediment and run-off water into the sea. The adjacent shelf supports the only substantial concentration of prawns in South Africa, as well as providing habitat for a range of organisms adapted to turbid conditions. It is likely that these organisms depend on the river for nutrients for at least part of their life cycle, and this project will attempt to determine the relative importance of terrestrial versus marine nutrients to the Thukela Bank. An additional focus is to determine the extent to which the local ocean currents assist these marine organisms to remain in their preferred habitat.

Offshore soft sediment macrobenthic survey
The offshore soft sediment environment of the east coast is poorly described in terms of habitat and the biota that reside there. Tisand (Pty) Ltd holds prospecting rights to an area on the continental shelf between Richards Bay and Cape St Lucia. Tisand is presently considering its options with respect to these mineral rights and in this respect commissioned a sediment coring survey representative of the entire lease area. The opportunity was also taken to improve information on the distribution of benthic organisms in the lease area. This survey is a soft sediment macrobenthic survey of the offshore environment in the shelf area Richards Bay to St Lucia (10m to 50m depth) and will provide data necessary for technical, economic and environmental feasibility analyses before mining considerations are made.

ESTUARINE HEALTH & ECOLOGY

St Lucia Drought Monitoring
For the past five years South Africa's largest estuary and only estuarine world heritage site, St Lucia, was under severe ecological stress due to a prevailing drought in northern KwaZulu-Natal. Over the past two years, the system has been studied in this drought state, to gather information pertaining to the ecological health and functioning of the lakes and estuary and monitor macrobenthos (amongst other biological components) in terms of community changes with increased duration of the drought. In March 2007, the estuary re-opened and this project now has an added objective of time series monitoring of changes related to reconnection of this estuarine ecosystem with the marine environment.

Ecological effects of dredging and dredge disposal on the coastal environment
To facilitate the export of additional volumes of coal, the South African National Ports Authority (NPA) has extended its coal berths in the Port of Richards Bay. This involved capital dredging and the disposal of large volumes of spoil. This project defined the baseline state of the inshore receiving environments of Richards Bay, including the port environs and the adjacent Mhlathuze Estuary using macrobenthos as the biological indicator of environmental disturbance. The effects of the entrainment of fine sediments during dredging and the disposal of this dredged spoil are currently being monitored and have continued after dredging into a biological "recovery" phase to identify keystone species and assemblages.

Ecological changes to a coastal lake related to artificial level fluctuation
Lake Nhlabane on the Zululand coast is artificially separated from Nhlabane estuary by a barrage. The lake is in the Richards Bay Minerals (Rio Tinto) heavy mineral mining lease area and lake water is used in the wet mining/ dredging process. Multiple raisings of the weir on the barrage have had considerable impacts on the peripheral vegetation, and therefore littoral ecology of the lake. This study is producing data that will define the present ecological state of the lake and provide recommendations for future drawdown levels and rates of drawdown to limit the current cycle of inundation and exposure of peripheral vegetation, littoral invertebrates, benthic invertebrates and fish biota.

Ecological functioning and processes in small (<5ha) sub-tropical estuaries
Richards Bay Minerals requires that the baseline condition be determined for each of three small estuaries within the Zulti South mining lease area on the Zululand coast. The ecological states of these estuaries are to be determined in such a manner that they represent the pre-mining condition for future reference. To elucidate the biological composition of the estuaries, the abiotic environment is described in terms of general water quality condition and grain size distribution and organic content of sediments. The current biophysical environment of the systems have been characterised in terms of major aquatic invertebrate (zoobenthos) and vertebrate (fish) components.

Indirect effects of heavy mineral dune mining on the estuarine ecology of a small intermittently open estuary
Nhlabane Estuary on the northern KwaZulu-Natal coast has been exposed to several major anthropogenic and natural events over the past two decades. The estuary has been subject to fine sediment spills, bisection by two mining dredger crossings and two major droughts. The macrobenthic ecological condition of the system is a reflection of the temporal and spatial variation to which the estuary has been subject. This study includes a survey of sites from where previous macrobenthic collections have been made since 1992. These data are being combined with past results to produce an integrated time series of ecological condition that will attempt to explain temporal population changes in terms of major events in the system.

Multi-scale variability, patterns and distribution gradients related to macrobenthic invertebrate assemblages in selected South African sub-tropical estuaries

Estuaries are complex, variable and diverse. Consequently they present unique challenges relative to understanding the effects of natural and environmental stressors on these systems. KwaZulu-Natal has ~73 estuaries, classified into five types of varying size. The last few decades have seen the degradation of these estuaries in terms of habitat destruction and loss of function and species. The future health of estuaries is dependent on the gathering of up to date information and how this information can be assimilated and reproduced for not only academic purposes but also how it can be packaged for direct management purposes. The aim of this project is to identify whether the different estuaries have different biophysical states related to anthropogenic effects and climatic events and if each are characterised by unique biotic assemblages, certainly at the micro-organism level.

INVERTEBRATE FISHERIES

Inshore/offshore migration of rock lobsters in KZN

This is part of a larger study aimed at providing essential information for the management of P. homarus rock lobster stocks in KZN. Mark and recapture is used to establish the relationship between lobsters on shallow inshore reefs and those found in deeper offshore reefs. Results will be incorporated into models that predict the status of KZN rock lobster stocks and evaluate the effectiveness of various management options.

LINEFISH RESEARCH

Biology and stock assessment of the coastal fish Lichia amia (Garrick)
The limited range of garrick, its popularity as a gamefish to all sectors of the recreational fishery and the degradation of many estuaries which function as nurseries for this species, has aroused concern about the stock status of this species. Considering its value, a comprehensive stock assessment was required to determine its current status.

MARINE PROTECTED AREAS (MPAs)

St Lucia Marine Reserve surf-zone fish monitoring & tagging

This is a long-term project designed to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness and benefit of marine protected areas (MPAs) in relation to the impact of shore angling. Tagging of key linefish species is providing useful information on the movement patterns, natural mortality and growth rates of the species found within the MPA. Results will be used for fishery management decisions including the refinement of criteria needed to establish MPA networks.

Facilitating the implementation of the management plans for the Pondoland MPA and developing relevant monitoring systems (Phase II)
Phase I of this project collected (2002-2003), collated and analysed information on the physical structure of the Pondoland region (bathymetry and seafloor map) and compiled an inventory of marine organisms and their relative distribution and abundance. The Pondoland MPA was proclaimed on 4 June 2004 (Government Gazette No. 26430). Phase II of this project is focusing on the development and implementation of relevant monitoring programmes that can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of this MPA.

RESOURCE-USE MONITORING

Long-term monitoring of KZN mussels
Four sites in central KZN are being monitored at regular intervals to determine the effectiveness of a localised zero-harvest strategy on mussel (Perna perna) stock recovery. As three of the sites were previously exploited, but are now within a sanctuary, their levels of recruitment and cover can be compared with a fourth site which is outside the sanctuary and still subjected to harvesting. The outcomes of this project are an integral part of the mussel management recommendations made for the fishery along the KZN coastline.

National Marine Linefish System (NMLS): KZN recreational data
This is the longest-standing (since 1984) fisheries monitoring programme in South Africa. In KwaZulu-Natal, the NMLS relies on trained Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife staff to collect catch and effort data from each facet of the recreational marine fishery through a comprehensive system of compliance-orientated access point and creel surveys. The system provides extensive decision-support to management authorities and functions as an excellent platform for resource user - resource manager interaction.

ORI/WWF-SA Marine Linefish Tagging Project
Conceived and initiated by ORI in 1984, this nation-wide tagging project is WWF-SA's longest running project, with voluntary participation by anglers, commercial fishers, scientists and resource managers. Tag and recapture data provides valuable information on fish movement patterns, growth, fishing mortality and stock size. These scientific data are used in biological studies and stock assessments of marine linefish by scientists around the country and thereby underpin conservation measures. The Tony & Lisette Lewis Foundation South Africa is gratefully acknowledged for their generous sponsorship of this project (July 2006 to June 2009).

Linefish Observer Programme
Marine and Coastal Management (MCM) implemented a National Land-based Observer Programme to collect catch and effort and length frequency data on linefish caught by both commercial and recreational skiboat fishermen around the South African coast. The ORI has been contracted by MCM to implement this programme in KZN. Two observers have been appointed (one on the north coast and the other on the south coast) to conduct regular inspections of linefish catches at the main boat launch sites along the KZN coast. The information collected in this programme will be used to help evaluate and improve the current management of our linefish resources.

Prawn Trawling Observer Programme
Information required for the management of South Africa's industrial prawn fishery is derived in part from data supplied by the fishing industry and in part from fishery-independent data collected via surveys and by at-sea scientific observers. The ORI supplies onboard observers and all data collected are collated and analysed by the ORI staff.

Statistics of recreational inshore invertebrate & commercial oyster fisheries in KZN
This monitoring project estimates and validates the annual off-take of coastal invertebrates by licensed recreational fishers and commercial oyster harvesters in KZN. Catch and effort is monitored, using nature conservation staff (EKZNW) daily shore patrol data and quarterly ORI mail and telephone surveys. Results are used to provide management recommendations for these fisheries in KZN.

INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATIVE PROJECTS

ORI is involved in a number of regional projects, including coral reef health, fisheries, marine protected areas, linefish policy and the trade in ornamental fisheries. The following three projects are of particular interest:

SUPPORT AND TRAINING SERVICES

Decision support and Management advice
Advice and decision support is regularly sought from the ORI by local, regional and national government agencies, non-governmental organisations, legal firms and the general public. Staff members participate in a range of committees, workshops and panels as well as review the scientific content of various documents including fisheries and coastal environmental legislation. Management support activities include participation on sub-committees for Marine and Coastal Management (MCM), Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife (EKZNW), the KwaZulu-Natal Province, the South African Network for Coastal and Oceanic Research (SANCOR) and the National Research Foundation (NRF).

Post-graduate supervision and training
The ORI is an affiliated research institute of the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN). Senior staff members provide supervision of MSc, PhD and post-doctorate students in South Africa and other countries of the SADC region. ORI scientists also present the Fisheries Science Module for BSc Honours and MSc courses at the UKZN, as well as contributing to courses on population dynamics to scholars and educators through the Sea World Education Centre, and specifically designed courses such as fish identification courses for the local conservation agency, Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife (EKZNW).

For more information on Universities and courses offered in marine biology in South Africa go to Links & Collaboration.

GENERAL

The information presented here is applicable to the year 2008. The ORI has been involved in numerous other research studies along the East Coast of Africa during its 50-year history. For further information about our past and current projects as well as areas of collaboration, please contact: