Our People

Susan Janse van Rensburg – MSc, Ecology, UCT – Node Coordinator

Sue joined SAEON, drawn by the prospects of learning more about how our world is changing and what these changes mean for our environment and the people it supports.

In laying the foundation for a robust mandate driven long term global change observation platform for the GFW node, she relishes her role in facilitating collaboration and soliciting inputs from scientists and stakeholders. Their inputs help to ensure that platform being developed not only extends long term data sets appropriately, but also addresses fundamental and rare parameter data needs to understand and reduce uncertainty.

Nothing gives her more pleasure then sharing the joys of the science adventure with students and learners, in the field. She is generally first into the mud and always comes home dirtiest.

Busii Mdunge – Node Administrator

I joined SAEON Grasslands Node team in January 2017. I enjoy working with people and meeting new challenges within the organisation.

My daily goal is making sure the office runs smoothly and with my years of experience as an administrator plays a key role in adding a value in the organisation. I am a hard worker and self-reliant individual, who is efficient in carrying out administrative tasks in pressured environments and competent to provide a good service.

Very well presented, diligent and a determined individual. Self-motivated with a very high level of commitment in any task undertaken. Works well on my own and I am a good team member.

Prof Timothy O’Connor – Hosted Observation Scientist

My work is concerned primarily with system and dynamics of savanna, grassland, and to a lesser extent of forest and Nama-Karoo, in response to climate, land use, land management, and herbivory.

I am hosted by the Grassland, Forest and Wetland Node but operate across the terrestrial areas of South Africa.

Dr Michele Warburton – Hydrologist – PDP Program

Michele joined the SAEON Grasslands node in July 2016 after 10 years as a lecturer in the Hydrology department at University of KwaZulu-Natal as a PDP Postdoc focussing on the interactions between climate, land and water.

Although there has been significant improvement in understanding the interactions of and impacts of climate and land use change on hydrological responses, there remains a significant degree of uncertainty. Given this uncertainty there is an imperative to improve our understanding of hydrological processes, of water distribution and movement within catchments and the effect of changes in the drivers of the hydrological system, with particular consideration given to hydrologically sensitive catchments.

My research focus is on using long term observation, monitoring and detection to improve process understanding, and process representation in hydrological models, as well as application of hydrological models, to allow for advances in the understanding of the complex interactions between land use change, climate change and water resources.

Kent Lawrence – MSc Aquatic Ecology, UZ – Field Technician

From a very young age growing up along the northern KZN coast, I have had the privilege of experiencing nature first hand. This interest grew into a passion for biology and the environment which ultimately lead me into following a career in the natural sciences and I have never looked back since.

My interests lie in the evaluation, monitoring and remediation of anthropogenic impacts to ecosystems and their environments, especially in a hydrological sense, as water is the most impacted and threatened resource in South Africa.

I obtained a first class MSc in aquatic ecology focussing specifically in estuarine ecology at the Department of Zoology, University of Zululand. My MSc project looked at the zooplankton community structures of polluted and unpolluted canalised estuary remnants in the Richards Bay Harbour, and their correlations with environmental variables such as physico-chemical, water nutrients and heavy metals.

Prior to joining SAEON GFW node, I was a research technician for the Coastal Research Unit of Zululand (CRUZ), University of Zululand. During this time I got to work on many coastal lakes, rivers and estuaries along the Zululand coast, collecting data on fish, invertebrates and environmental variables. To add, I have been involved in preliminary ecological studies for environmental consultancies within the Richards Bay Harbour looking at the impacts and rehabilitation of polluted estuarine systems. As a hobby,

I have over 15 years of experience with reptiles specifically snakes, and for many years I ran a reptile rescue service in Zululand

Paul Gordijn – MSc Ecology, UKZN – Field Technician

Being passionate about plants and their environment I took up the opportunity to work at SAEON as a field technician in July 2013.

I see plants as fascinating indicators of what is happening to the environment with interesting stories that we can learn from. Prior to my appointment with SAEON I worked for Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife in northern Maputaland, based at Tembe Elephant Park.

I have an MSc in Ecology in which was supervised by Prof. David Ward from the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

The topic of my MSc focused on fire and bush encroachment and demonstrated that among other factors, climate change (changes in rainfall patterns and increasing atmospheric CO2) have had huge images on vegetation communities in Ithala Game Reserve. These changes have cascading effects on the faunal and abiotic components of an ecosystem and can result in a large community shifts.

Along with other projects at SAEON, I currently I have the privilege of exploring possible changes in the grasslands of the Drakensberg.

Siphiwe Mfeka – Technical Assistant

I started my conservation career working for a research programme at St Lucia funded by the Water Research Commission in 2007.

I took every opportunity to learn about climate change and quickly advanced from being the labourer who collects water samples to being a research assistant at the Centre for Water Resources Research in School of Agriculture Earth and Environmental Hydrology at University of KZN, Pietermaritzburg Campus.

I have experience in
Preparing and running Isotope test, Nitrate and Phosphate Tests, Sediment Analysis, Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity test, installing piezometers in the field, collecting water samples, Installing suction cups in the soil, downloading data on Isco water sampler, downloading data from Hobo instruments and weather station, download data from Campbell loggers, servicing instruments, setting up weather stations, do various of test in water samples, Installing soil moisture sensors, Installing run off plots, Rainfall simulation, Electrical Resistivity Tomography tests with ABEM TERRAMETER SYSTEM, managing casual labours in the field, and other hydrological related work.

I have acquired lot of skills and knowledge working in various climate change research projects in the past eight years and which arose interest in having input in fighting climate change. Currently I am a Technical Assistant in Grassland-Wetland-Forest Node. I joined the node in July 2015.

Byron Gray – Hosted PhD Student

I joined the SAEON Grasslands Node in January of 2017 as a data and instruments intern.

My main objective was to collect, organise and compile the historical and current Cathedral Peak rainfall and streamflow data. I have a BSc in Hydrology and Geography and an Honours and Master’s degree in Hydrology, all completed at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

My relationship with the Grasslands Node started back in January of 2014 when I started my Honours degree, where I investigated the influences of raingauge design and location on rainfall measurements within the Cathedral Peak research catchments. Following my internship, I began my PhD journey in October of 2017 under the supervision of Dr Michele Toucher.

My PhD is on understanding the dynamics between land cover change and water supply in a strategic water source area of South Africa. My research site is the Cathedral Peak research catchments and the larger Thukela catchment. My research interests are around Environmental change and how it will affect hydrological processes. Within Environmental Change, I have a particular interest in climate change.

When I am not working on my PhD, I enjoy being outdoors, racing down single track on my mountain bike.

Lindokhule X Dlamini – Hosted PhD Candidate

My interests are broad but mainly to understand drivers of ecosystems change, biodiversity management, restoration ecology principles, soil carbon dynamics (i.e. soil respiration & soil carbon fractionations), & the contribution of pyrogenic organic carbon to carbon sequestration. I hold a BSc Environmental Sciences (2012-2014), BSc (Hons) Ecological sciences (2015), & MSc Ecological sciences (2016-2017) from the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

Supervised by Prof. David Ward, my honours project aimed to understand how South African savanna trees (broad- and fine-leaved) response to herbivory pressure. My MSc emerged from my background in Soil sciences, Geomorphology, and Vetiver Grass Technology.

Fascinated by the usefulness of vetiver (alien grass from India) in soil and water conservation, I, therefore, wanted to understand its competitive effect on native grasses. This was with a broad aim to understand if native grasses can successfully recruit in areas rehabilitated using vetiver? I was supervised by Dr. Michelle Tedder and Prof. Kevin Kirkman.

After my MSc, I joined SAEON, the Grassland Forest and Wetland node as an EFTEON Intern. During this time, I improved my field experience, gained immense knowledge on carbon-vegetation dynamics, and learnt more about in-situ monitoring instrumentation. However, I started working with SAEON as an ad hoc field assistant in 2017 (Paul Gordijn and Tamanna Patel).

Currently, I am a PhD student registered at the University of Free State (UFS) in collaboration with the University of Burgundy (UB), Dijon, France. My PhD project focuses on soil carbon dynamics of a montane species-rich fire climax grassland, cathedral peak, Drakensberg, South Africa. The general aim is to investigates the effect of fire, vegetation heterogeneity, and climate variability on soil carbon dynamics at a catchment scale, through examining subsoil horizon carbon pools, soil respiration, soil carbon fractions (stable/active), δ13C isotopic signatures, and contribution of pyrogenic organic carbon (ash and charcoal) on carbon sequestration.

I am under the supervision of Dr. Elmarie Kotze (UFS), Dr. Gregor Feig (SEAON &University of Pretoria), and Prof Jean Leveque (UB-France).

I firmly believe that through scientific research in ecology and environmental sciences, new strategies for conservation and management of our natural resources will be developed and those will cater for estimated climate change impact. My side interest is photography.

Tammana Patel – SAEON PhD Student

I have always been a nature-lover and had a passion for the outdoors. It is for this reason that I chose to pursue a career in Ecology and the Environment.

As Confucius says, and one of my favourite quotes, “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.”
I completed an MSc at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, supervised by Dr. Adrian Shrader, Dr. Keenan Stears, and Dr. Ian Little (Endangered Wildlife Trust), examining the population dynamics and relocation success of oribi antelope in KwaZulu-Natal.

As oribi are threatened, it is important to understand their population dynamics for effective management of the species. This spurred my interest in mammal population dynamics and their interactions with ecosystems.
I then went on to do an Internship with the Grasslands Node under the supervision of Professor Tim O’Connor during which I conducted a foundation study on the population dynamics of eland in the Drakensberg using a long-term population database maintained by Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife.

This baseline project led to my PhD research, of which I am currently in my final year.

I am based at the Grasslands Node and registered at the University of the Witwatersrand, supervised by Professor Tim O’Connor and Professor Francesca Parrini. I am fortunate to be funded through the NRF’s Professional Development Programme.

My PhD project is focused around maintaining plant diversity in a montane environment in the face of global change.

The general aim is to determine the spatio-temporal patterns of herbivory in relation to the environmental domain of the Drakensberg system.

Thami Shezi – SAEON MSc Graduate

My interests are mountains, this started back from my first hike visit at the Sentinel Peak in 2010. Then I did not realize and had no clue that this one day would be my study area.

When I finished my undergraduate studies at the University of the Free State (QwaQwa campus). I went on to do a project under the Maloti Drakensberg Transfontier Park (MDTP).

This was a BSc. Honours project supervised Dr Erwin Sieben, which looked at the classification, description and ordination of plant communities in the proposed Witsieshoek protected Conservation Area (WPCA), in the Northern Drakensberg Eastern Free State.

I would like to say thank you to the GFW-SAEON node for giving me a platform to engage and learn with some of the top scientists in the field and in the country. This is a perfect setting for me because of the nodes recently resurrected research programme in the uKhahlamba Drakensberg Cathedral Peak Mountain range, looking at long-term change in the face of the changing climate.

This exposure will go a long way for me in further understanding the mechanisms, drivers and ecosystem properties affecting the vegetation of this montane grasslands of South Africa.

I recently finished my MSc with Wits university under Prof Tim O’ Connor, Prof Ed Witkowski and Dr Erwin Sieben. The project was about the impacts of intense livestock grazing and fence-line contrasts on species richness and diversity on rich-montane grasslands, northern Drakensberg, South Africa.

The project was a great steep learning curve and gained a lot. I have been exposed to different skill sets beyond my comfort zone.

I am currently a Biodiversity Technical Assistant at SAEON-GFW node. I am also part of the SAEON’s Graduate Student Network (GSN) committee, serving as an internal liaison.

The graduate network has taught me a great deal in terms of planning, time management and coordinating events. My hobby these days is running marathons.

Thigesh Vather – PDP PhD Student

Prior to starting my PhD, as a SAEON PDP in June 2016, I completed a BSc in Hydrology and Soil Science, an Honours degree in Hydrology and most recently a Masters in Hydrology at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

The field of hydrology interests me and my main focus has been on the remote sensing of soil moisture. This specific focus has allowed me to learn and experience many aspects of the science, such as field work, lab work and modelling.

My Master degree investigated the use of the Cosmic ray probe to provide spatial estimates of soil moisture and validate satellite-based soil moisture estimates. The Cosmic ray probe is an innovative instrument that is not only new to South Africa, but fairly new to the world, such that its secondary applications are still being investigated.

My PhD will focus on the use of the Cosmic ray technology for hydrological applications. This will involve the use of the cosmic ray probe and the cosmic ray rover, which is a mobile device used for soil moisture mapping of large areas.

My PhD supervisors are Prof Colin Everson and Dr Michele Toucher.

Tiffany Aldworth – Hosted PhD Student

Growing up in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands, I often went hiking with my family in the Drakensberg mountains and I have since had a passion for the outdoors.

I chose to study Hydrology in particular as I have always been concerned about the future sustainability of our natural resources, particularly water, as South Africa is a water scarce country.

I completed a BSc in Hydrology and Soil Science as well as an Honours and Master’s degree in Hydrology through the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

After completing my Master’s degree at the end of 2016, I went to the United States where I au paired and travelled for 2 years. In August 2019 I returned to KwaZulu-Natal to join the SAEON Grasslands, Forests and Wetlands Node to do a PhD under the supervision of Dr Michele Toucher and Dr Alistair Clulow.

My research focus is on the impacts of woody plant encroachment on hydrological processes and how this affects freshwater resources in the savanna biome. My study site is a private game reserve situated in the Phalaborwa area in the Limpopo province and I am using a combination of field work and remote sensing to conduct my research.

In my free time I enjoy road and trail running, hiking, hanging out with friends and cooking.

SAEON Grasslands Node