NEWS
Bumps in the road on the journey to a PhD degree
In the challenging world of academia and wildlife research, stories of perseverance and passion often stand out. One such inspiring journey is that of Valery Phakoago, a University of the Witwatersrand student who recently completed her PhD.
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Editor-in-chief
Andrea has been appointed as the new editor-in-chief for the journal Conservation Physiology. You can read her vision for the journal here: https://academic.oup.com/conphys/article/12/1/coae039/7702128
Bewonder en Bewaar
Andrea, Chanel and Walter, and the meerkats they are studying in the Kalahari, were recently (21 April 2024) featured in an episode of the South African TV show, “Bewonder en Bewaar” The show features scientists involved in conservation. If you are in South Africa, you can catch the show on DSTV Catch Up, or in later months, via Showmax.
Outside JEB
Outside JEB recently featured our work on pangolins, which was published in Conservation Physiology.
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Cold and hungry
Arista’s photograph of her study animal was selected as the cover photo for the Sept/Oct 2023 issue of the journal Physiological and Biochemical Zoology.
Read the full article here:
Roaring into research
Lion-hearted PhD graduate joins our team as a Wits Centenary Postdoctoral Fellow.
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Holy moly holes
For her Masters, Grace Warner investigated the potential role of microclimates in buffering organisms against climate change.
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Kruger Park workshop
With the support of the Society for Experimental Biology and the Independent Research Fund Denmark, we held a very successful workshop on wildlife conservation physiology in the Kruger National Park in 2022:
Pangolin pups
As part of her PhD work, Wendy Panaino had the incredible opportunity to spend time with pangolin pups at Tswalu.
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What are the consequences of climate change for aardvarks?
Our recent work on the responses to aardvark in the Kalahari facing a severe drought has received widespread media attention. Read more in the news articles below and our published paper:
Kalahari Endangered Ecosystem Project
An ambitious project to understand the impacts of climate change on the Kalahari ecosystem by investigating the responses of multiple index species to environmental change.
Cheetahs cannot fool biologgers
News feature on our recent paper using biologging to reveal new insights on the physiology and behaviour of cheetahs.
As temperatures rise, meerkat pups feel the heat
News feature on our recent paper, led by postdoc Tanja van de Ven and in collaboration with Tim Clutton-Brock, from the University of Cambridge, revealing that the growth and survival of meerkat pups in the Kalahari is threatened by climate change.
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Reducing the risk of anaesthesia related deaths in immobilized rhino
A paper published by Peter Buss as part of his PhD work was awarded the 2018 Elsevier Prize for the best article published in the journal Veterinary Anaesthesia and Analgesia. Leith Meyer, who supervised Peter Buss together with Andrea Fuller, explains the importance of the work.
Using science to improve the safety of lion immobilization
Our team conducted research in the Kruger National Park to investigate novel immobilizing drug combinations to facilitate the capture of free-ranging lions for conservation management, monitoring and research purposes.
