SANCOR Newsletter -200 - Sancor home page - National Research ...

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Page 14SANCOR NEWSLETTER #200tems to favour proliferaon or prolongedsurvival of infecous agents, or by facilitangnew host‐pathogen interacons. Theseemerging infecous diseases in turn posethreats to ecosystem biodiversity and humanhealth. Thus the interdisciplinary field ofconservaon medicine, the interface betweenhuman, wildlife and ecosystemhealth, is emerging as an ever more importantfield of research.The preliminary results from the health assessmentobtained by the MSc student onthe project, Dr. Morne de Wet (a qualifiedveterinarian), under the guidance of Dr. PeterThompson from Onderstepoort, indicatethat the changes in the animals first seen in2009 were caused by a parasite, which appearsto have been sweeping through thepopulaons at that me. Nowadays we rarelysee animals with similar signs any more.Exactly what caused this “outbreak” of theparasites and why they were seen in somany animals from both species remainsunclear‐ possibilies range from an alteredimmunity of the dolphins due to environmentalpollutants, over climacally drivenchanges in the food of the dolphins causingchanges in the lifecycle of parasites, to theintroducon of a new parasite due to alteredrates of contact between different species.The results from the invesgaon of thePeruvian pelicans indicated that the animalsdied from a combinaon of malnutrion andparasitosis. A lack of Peruvian anchoveta(Engraulis ringens) (whether due to climaccondions or overfishing is unclear) had leadto the pelicans not finding sufficient food,thus taking fish they usually do not eat andwhich may therefore not provide the requirednutrion. As a result the animals mayhave been in bad condion, enabling theparasites, which are commonly present inwild Pelican populaons, to thrive and thuscause the demise of the birds. However, theresults on the dolphins and porpoises affectedby the die‐off remain contenous, somesciensts being convinced that acousc traumawas the cause.Certainly the case of the Peruvian pelicansillustrates how changes in climate and relatedenvironmental changes go hand in handwith animal and human health as their habitatsoverlap or come into increasing contact.Peruvian authories have warned people notto eat the pelican meat or to get into contactwith the dead birds due to the possibility ofcontracng the parasite.But the story does not end here. Recentfindings by Ian Lipkin and colleagues in theUnited States are alarming: their researchresults recently published by the AmericanSociety for Microbiology indicate that thecause of death of 162 harbour seals in NewEngland, USA, last year may have been froma type of the H3N8 influenza A virus, which isclosely related to a flu strain circulang inNorth American birds since 2002. Since sealshave receptors for both the bird and mammalianflu virus the virus could potenallymutate into a variety more capable of causingdisease in humans.What we do know is that the South Africancoastal dolphins currently show very fewsigns of disease and appear to be generallyin good health within the realm of what isexpected for wild mammal populaons.However, exactly what caused this“outbreak” of the parasites and why theywere seen in so many animals from bothspecies remains unclear. Muldisciplinaryteams are needed to piece together the fullpuzzle: biologists, parasitologists,pathologists, toxicologist etc. As we connuecollaborang with colleagues in Germany itbecomes more evident how much capacitybuilding sll is required in South Africa in thefield of marine diseases and, more specifically,marine conservaon medicine.Team members from the Port Elizabeth Museum/Bayworld, Naonal ZoologicalGardens (Pretoria), Rhodes University and the Veterinary University of Hannover,Germany, during dolphin necropsies at the KwaZulu-Natal Sharks Board.Further reading:T. B. Waltzek, G. Cortés‐Hinojosa, J. F. X.Wellehan Jr. and G. C. Gray (2012) MarineMammal Zoonoses: A Review of DiseaseManifestaons Zoonoses and Public Health:1‐15. published online 14 June 2012 (DOI:10.1111/j.1863‐2378.2012.01492.x)Lipkin and MosconaM.A. Miller, I.A. Gardner, C. Kreuder, D.M.Paradies, K.R. Worcester, D.A. Jessup, E.Dodd, M.D. Harris, J.A. Ames, A.E. Packham,P.A. Conrad (2002) Coastal freshwater runoffis a risk factor for Toxoplasma gondii infec‐on of southern sea oers (Enhydra lutrisnereis) Internaonal Journal for Parasitology32: 997–1006
Page 15SANCOR NEWSLETTER #200BASICally – It works!By Pavs PillayMarine Research Institute – UCTIn 2010 Ma‐Re affiliated researchers gatheredat the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardensand took on the challenge of addressingaspects of climate change research in aninterdisciplinary manner. Aer much discussion,debate and further deliberaon theBASICS project ‐ Benguela and Agulhas Systemsfor supporng Interdisciplinary Climate‐change Science — was conceptualised anddeveloped. The project was designed tofocus on the development of a system of‘marine data collecon and integraon intomodels’ that aim to project ocean condions(both physical and biological) at the seasonalme scale.The overarching aim of Ma‐Re BASICS is toprovide an umbrella framework that incorporatesdiverse projects on marine socialand ecological systems, spanning mulpledisciplines and extending across differentdepartments and facules. From this a systemof physical and biological indicators arebeing developed, that will be of praccal usein ocean forecasng and fisheries management,with the prospect of beer social andeconomic planning for coastal communies.Hence the BASICS programme is at the nexusof interdisciplinary research, rapid coastaldevelopment and planning and the increasein demand for resources from the ocean.Two years down the road and the BASICSproject has set the landscape for interdisciplinarymarine research at UCT and involvesnot only departments within the naturalsciences but a number of departments withinthe social sciences (Dept. of Social Anthropology,Dept. of Sociology and the Dept. ofHistorical Studies). The core funding for theBASICS programme has been sourcedthrough the University of Cape Town ViceChancellor’s Iniave to the value of R1.8million p.a. for 2 years and then a furtherR1.6 million p.a. for another 2 years, drawingto an end in December 2013.The programme to date (2010 – mid 2012)has funded 46 students (10 postdoctoralstudents, 16 PhD’s and 20 MSc’s). By theend of 2011, six masters dissertaons hadbeen submied and the students have graduated.Several publicaons are in the pipelinewith a host of PhD graduates coming upto compleon of their degrees in 2012/2013.The programme has proven that interdisciplinaryresearch is indeed possible and workablein a structured university set‐up. Newavenues are being explored to fund andsmulate this ongoing interdisciplinary researchpost‐2013. It is imperave that UCTconnues to provide the acve, excing,collaborave research framework needed tosupport marine sciensts working in theBenguela and Agulhas ecosystems with arich and vibrant work environment alignedwith global programmes and iniaves.Ma‐Re Students Network – It’s all about getting involved!By Hayley Evers-King, Morgan Brandand Emily McGregorMarine Research Institute – UCTThe Marine Research (MA‐RE) instute involvesa large number of postgraduate studentsconducng interdisciplinary marineresearch across departments. The MA‐REstudents commiee & network has beenformed to help make the most of this diversegroup by fostering collaboraon, creang amore unified student body and raising theprofile of our students on the internaonalstage.The commiee has set up a Facebook group(“MA‐RE UCT Students”) and a twier feed(“@MARE_UCT”) and will be hosng alaunch in mid‐September. Later in the yearwe have plans to organize themac workshopsand other acvies dependent onstudent requests. Students and academicsinvolved in marine science across disciplinesare encouraged to find us on Facebook andfollow us on Twier to keep up to date withthe latest student news and take part inlively discussions.Please contact us through facebook/twieror via ma‐re@uct.ac.za if you would like tojoin our student network – you do not needto be a UCT student/academic to join, shareand contribute to the network!Applications now open!This Masters degree is offered bythe Marine Research Instute at theUniversity of Cape Town. The programme,consisng of courseworkand dissertaon, provides studentsand professional researchers with amul‐disciplinary and integratedoverview of marine science in Africa.Closing dates forSouth African applicants:30 September 2012More informaon available here
Page 1 and 2: SANCOR’S CURRENCY AND STRENGTH IS
Page 6 and 7: Page 6SANCOR NEWSLETTER #200The Afr
Page 8 and 9: Page 8SANCOR NEWSLETTER #200Monitor
Page 10 and 11: Page 10SANCOR NEWSLETTER #200ences
Page 12 and 13: Page 12SANCOR NEWSLETTER #200Isabel
Page 16 and 17: Page 16SANCOR NEWSLETTER #200A diff
Page 18 and 19: Page 18SANCOR NEWSLETTER #200Sustai
Page 20 and 21: Page 20SANCOR NEWSLETTER #200A fond
Page 22 and 23: Page 22SANCOR NEWSLETTER #200Prof R

SANCOR Newsletter -200 - Sancor home page - National Research ...

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?