Blog

Shark Spotter

Can we use GIS to improve the Shark Spotters program?

Shark Spotters The Shark Spotters shark safety program began in 2004 as a Proudly South African solution to a surge in the number of shark sightings and shark bites that was occurring at the time. The program aims to provide environmentally friendly and socially responsible shark mitigation measures, one of which, as their name suggests, is a proactive shark spotting service. The service operates permanently at 4 Cape Town beaches, and seasonally at 4 more, Read more…

By dylan, ago

A deeper look at abalone poaching in South Africa

Abalone poaching is a hot topic in South Africa, but what is it all about? What are Abalone? Abalone are a large species of snail found in temperate water environments in several areas around the world. They occur in Kelp forests and rocky reefs and play a very important role in the marine ecosystem helping stabilize these marine habitats in terms of community structure. Large declines in Abalone populations are altering the coastlines around the Read more…

By Test Student, ago

NEW Behavioural Research Project!

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 RADD will be assisting with data collection for this fascinating fish behaviour study. Here’s some info about the research project: Background Despite the frequency with Read more…

By Test Guide, ago

Cape RADD Student Amanda Gardiner’s field course blog

This blog also appeared on the University of Washington’s Marine Biology Student Spotlight on 15 October, 2018. Hi everybody! I’m Amanda Gardiner, a junior here at UW pursuing a BS in Biochemistry and Biological Oceanography with minors in Marine Biology and Paleobiology, along with a BA in English – Creative Writing Emphasis. All of these academics mean that my summers are normally filled with classes. This past summer I discovered my new favorite classroom: Cape Read more…

By shop, ago

Mike’s Cape Town activity recommendations for Cape RADD students!

Mike’s Cape Town activity recommendations for students! When Cape RADD students aren’t diving or in class they can take advantage of being on the doorstep of Cape Town, one of the most vibrant and action-packed cities in the world. There is so much to do in Cape Town you will never want to leave. From relaxing strolls with penguins along beautiful beaches to extreme sports and adventure, Cape Town has it all. Here are a Read more…

By Test Student, ago

Plastic free July diary 2018  

Plastic free July    Week 1   The first few days had gone well. I continued to carry my reusable bottle with me and we had become much more strict during our food shops. We checked out our new mall in Simons Town where we have a new Woolworths and Pick n Pay. I was sad to see so much of the refrigerated space filled with plastic bottles full of so many different types of Read more…

By , ago

Have you heard about plastic free July? Its not too late to take part!

There are great initiatives, events, global days and challenges to get us all to think and reduce our plastic waste. One of these is plastic free July which myself and Cape RADD are going to take part in. Plastic free July first started in Western Australia in 2011 and now has spread all over the world. The idea is to avoid buying and using single-use plastics for the whole month, a way for us to Read more…

By , ago
Two Oceans Aquarium

NEW Nudibranch Range Extension in False Bay! Two Oceans Aquarium guest blog

This post originally appeared on the Two Oceans Aquarium blog, check it out here! Cape Research and Diver Development (RADD) is a local marine field station specialising in dive training and long-term biodiversity monitoring projects. The Two Oceans Aquarium is pleased to share the Cape ocean community with dedicated citizen scientists and marine conservationists like Cape RADD. Course Director Mike Barron is a marine biologist, conservationist and a PADI Master scuba diving instructor who has travelled the world diving, experiencing Read more…

By Test Student, ago
wavelet

Interpreting Shark Movement With Accelerometers

“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 were observed visually, with observations generated by interpreting accelerometer signals. “What’s an accelerometer” you ask? Well you’ve probably got one in your pocket. An accelerometer Read more…

By dylan, ago
LANDSAT8

Estimating Kelp cover from LANDSAT imagery

Monitoring the distribution of kelp We love kelp here at Cape RADD, if you haven’t gotten that by now then I don’t know what you’re reading. I try to use the word kelp in a sentence at least once a day and I am pretty sure I’ve seen Jessie feed some to Mike before. Any way, kelp was previously thought to be an important sentinel species whose decline would be the start of the bad Read more…

By dylan, ago