When students dream of becoming marine biologists, they often imagine remote islands, coral reefs, or research vessels crossing blue water. But one of the world’s richest, most accessible training grounds for a young marine scientist is found right here in South Africa, specifically along the dynamic coastline of False Bay Read more
When I joined Cape RADD for my field course with the University of Reading, I expected a unique and amazing trip. What I didn’t anticipate was just how much I would learn in 16 days, or how much I would love every second of it. Between gaining my SSI scuba Read more
Few marine creatures capture the imagination quite like nudibranchs. These vibrant, soft-bodied sea slugs are favourites among divers and underwater photographers, thanks to their stunning colours and bizarre forms. But in addition to being the stars of our marine social media feeds, nudibranchs also serve a crucial role as indicator Read more
Kelp refers to large brown seaweeds found along South Africa’s west and south coasts, with two main species: Sea Bamboo (Ecklonia maxima) and Split Fan (Laminaria pallida). These underwater forests support diverse marine life and provide valuable bioproducts for industry, e.g. Biofuel, alginates, fertilizers, Bioplastics, Pharmaceuticals etc. Let’s explore how Read more
At Cape RADD, we offer a SCUBA for Science program, where any SCUBA certified diver can assist us with collecting data in the Great African Sea Forest. Become a Citizen Marine Scientist for the day, learn about the amazing marine life, explore the underwater world and contribute to conservation. All Read more
Having lived in Asia and done over 200 dives in Southeast Asia, mainly in the Coral Triangle – Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines – I didn’t know much about diving in other parts of the world such as South Africa, so I signed up for a 3-week Marine Science Field Read more
While out doing a survey dive for the Cape RADD SCUBA for Science project, our divers had a rare encounter that left us in awe: a graceful John Dory (Zeus Capensis) fish swimming through the cool and calm waters at Long Beach in Simon’s Town. This predatory fish, known for Read more
Examining the patterns of interactions between individuals in both single-species and mixed-species shoals, particularly in relation to group cohesion, polarisation, and information use, and how these differ with risk. In collaboration with Alicia Burns, Behavioural biologist at Taronga Conservation Society Australia and researchers at the University of Sydney, Australia, Cape Read more
“How do I do that in R?”: Ethographer What’s an accelerometer? Next up in our series of tutorials is a revisiting of some ancient work that I conducted while earning a masters degree at the University of Cape Town. In this project I compared patterns of shark swimming behaviour that Read more
Shark Senses With an evolutionary period of over 400 million years, sharks are finely tuned to their environment. Sharks have a total of seven senses to interpret changes in their environment. These senses are: auditory perception (sound), tactician (touch), gustatory perception (taste), vision (sight), olfaction (taste), water movement detection (lateral Read more