Dr Nico de Bruyn of the University of Pretoria's Zoology and Entomology department gave a talk on Tuesday 3 June on the adventures and misadventures of doing research at the edge of the world.
Dr Nico de Bruyn of the University of Pretoria's Zoology and Entomology department gave a talk on Tuesday 3 June on the adventures and misadventures of doing research at the edge of the world.
De Bruyn's public lecture was on his research on kill predators on Bouvet, an uninhabited sub-Antarctic volcanic island in the South Atlantic Ocean.
It is the most remote island on our planet.
De Bruyn formed part of the fifth Bouvetᴓya expedition from 4 December 2007 to 18 February 2008.
The researches were interested in what is happening in the vast ocean that surrounds Bouvet Island.
Scientists from universities across the country attended the lecture “At world’s end: science on the most remote piece of land on the planet”.
On this island, which is mainly covered in ice and glaciers, a nyrᴓysa (landslide) was formed between 1955 and 1958, leading to a more habitable area.
The nyrᴓysa is home to a few bird species, including penguins, as well as seals. The 75 000 Antarctic fur seals were of great interest to the researchers.
Their major work included tracking the seals and recording their diving, hunting and eating habits.
They also did the same to the island's macaroni and chinstrap penguins to study what is happening to their populations. By taking stomach samples from the penguins they could analyse what else is in the ocean.
The avalanches and continuous rock falls are a real and constant threat to the animals. The subsurface of the island is a mountain belt which causes constant melting and shifting of the island.
When an environment is constantly changing, the animals have to adapt quickly.
De Bruyn said that a great deal of science can be done in these harsh circumstances with a smile and a tenacious attitude.
“It is important to have a strong social context to make it a successful expedition both scientifically and socially,” he said.
De Bruyn's lecture was part of the 2014 Annual Amy Jacot-Guillarmod Memorial Lecture of the Royal Society of South Africa (Eastern Cape Branch). The society strives to make science accessible to the public.
