Natural view
Eleonora Puccinelli- Marine Ecologist
SEAmesterII: first South African floating University
August 07, 2017 by Eleonora Puccinelli in Research
This is SEAmester!! First South African floating University!
I just got back on land after two weeks well spent at sea together with some of the top-experts in the country, teaching Ocean Science to 48 students from South African Universities and Institutions. Find out more about this unique initiative!
SEAmester 2017 invited 48 marine science students from 14 different institutes across South Africa to board the SA Agulhas II for 12 days at sea. The students embarked on a life changing adventure where they leant from lecturers from a broad range of marine disciplines, made lasting friendships, and were exposed to life at sea.
August 07, 2017 /Eleonora Puccinelli
Marine Biology, Teaching, SEAmester, South African research, South Africa, SAMBA Line
A year of conferences and cruises
December 14, 2016 by Eleonora Puccinelli
At the end of a working year it is common to evaluate achievements and assess things that could have been done better over the time past. Here is my small summary of a year full of travel, collaborations, conferences and research.
My year started with my second trip down to the Prince Edward Islands. This archipelago, composed of Marion and Prince Edward Islands, offered me again the possibility to conduct some research on benthic deep sea communities. The expedition was composed of a wide range of scientists with all sort of expertise, from zooplankton to oceanography and microbiology. This team worked together for approximately 40 days at sea in order to collect as many samples as possible.
My second highlight of this year was definitely my participation in the 11th Temperate Reef Symposium that was held in Pisa in June, in my homeland. During this conference I had the chance to present some work that I am doing in collaboration with Universities in Oman and Brazil. These kind of events are always a nice opportunity to meet old friends and new people, to chat with them about new research and possible future innovative projects.
Another good scientific event that I attended was the Benguela Symposium, held in Cape Town in October. This conference was a very well organised occasion to get to know more about the Benguela ecosystem, covering diverse topics including geology, fisheries, conservation and biology.
Next year?! A couple of cruises are already planned but more experiences are yet to come!
December 14, 2016 /Eleonora Puccinelli
Prince Edward Islands, Research, ITRS, Marine Biology
Successful and productive trip to the Prince Edward Islands! 40 days at sea
May 17, 2016 by Eleonora Puccinelli
As mentioned in the previous post, I had the chance to take part in the annual relief voyage to the Prince Edward Islands (PEIs) during the last couple of months. This trip brings the new over-wintering team that will spend a year on Marion Island and returns the outgoing team to South Africa. At the same time, scientists of both terrestrial and marine disciplines had the opportunity over the takeover period to conduct different kinds of research.
We were 17 people as ship based scientist with very distinct projects. I was leading the benthic marine survey looking at variation in biodiversity and trophic dynamics around the islands. I managed to collect samples from different areas, encountering some very unfamiliar species! Another student was looking at forams, which are small animals that can be used as a proxy for paleontological studies, while other projects investigated fluctuation in water temperature and velocity , microbial activity and biodiversity around the islands, and more generally, in the Southern Ocean. We also helped in collecting data for the monitoring line of the Department of Environment Affair and for the Crossroads line, which consists of collecting data via a CTD transect between the PEIs and South Africa. We were coming from different universities and institutions, including the University of Cape Town, Stellenbosch University, University of Pretoria, Department of Environmental Affairs and the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, but all worked together as team for 40 days!
We had the chance to spend two days on Marion Island itself, where we were able to get right up close to some very interesting animals such as orcas, fur seals, elephant seals, penguins and albatrosses... an amazing unforgettable experience!
South African research in the Southern Ocean and Antarctica has really developed in the last few decades and more and more research is conducted in this area. A place difficult to access but that at the same time offers so much to discover and explore!
More to discover on the next trip!!!
Southern Ocean, South African research, Marine Biology, Benthic ecology, Prince Edward Islands, Wildlife
Prince Edward Islands Voyage 2016
April 05, 2016 by Eleonora Puccinelli
Here we are again, that time of year dedicated to the Prince Edward Islands voyage!
The Prince Edward Islands are a South African archipelago composed of Prince Edward and Marion Island located in the Southern Ocean, approximately 2000 km south-east of Cape Town.
These islands represent a very pristine and wild environment. South Africa has a permanent base on Marion Island that hosts for one year a group of 20 people, composed of researchers in many fields, from marine biology to botany and geology, as well as a medic, weather service or environmental staff.
Every year the Department of Environment Affair in collaboration with many partners organize a dedicated voyage to the Prince Edward Islands for approximately five weeks, as part of the South African National Antarctic Programme (SANAP). This provides the opportunity to exchange the old and new team, but at the same time many researchers, such as myself, use this occasion to conduct some quality research in the surrounding of the islands. I am mainly interested in marine benthic fauna, but there are many other people involved in both terrestrial and marine life, including birds, ocean biogeochemistry and plant invasion.
Why are these islands so special?! These islands represent a very unique and special environment, which support a high abundance and diversity of marine life, from small benthic organisms up to top predators. In fact both islands support birds, seal and penguin colonies.
I had the fortune to visit Marion Island for the first time in 2015. As part of the ship-based scientists, we were allowed to visit the island for only one day, and it was completely worth it! We had the chance to visit Ship’s Cove beach, one of the beaches on the island that has a penguin colony. We saw King, Gentoo and Rockhopper penguins, albatross, fur seals and elephant seals. It was really an amazing experience!
I will be lucky enough to go to the Prince Edward Islands again this year on board of the SA Agulhas II. This time I will be going as a group leader for the ship-based University of Cape Town team. I feel really fortunate and I am really looking forward to this new amazing experience! We will be out at the sea for approximately 40 days!
The SkiMonkey is an interesting tool that researchers at the South African Environmental Observation Network (SAEON) are using to explore deep-sea benthic fauna. It is an underwater camera, which, thanks to a special housing, can reach 800m depth. The camera has full lighting and lasers for size calibration, and is designed to ski on the soft sediment seafloor. As it is towed by the research ship it records amazing interesting video and photographs. The footage it records can be used to identify the different species present at several depth and to quantify them as well.
Invertebrate of the Prince Edward Island
Over the last few years SAEON has started to do some research along the South African coast and in the Southern Ocean with the use of this camera. They use this tool for several projects but the main point is to look at long-term population changes of the sea floor. Some of the projects are related to marine protected areas, as for example the Prince Edward Islands, others are looking at the effect of trawling on the sea floor.
Invertebrates of the Prince Edward Island
Dr Charles von der Meden is a post-doc fellow and one of the main researchers using this camera system in South Africa. Here are some of the still images Charles and MSc student, Robyn Adams have taken in the proximity of the Prince Edward Islands during the annual relief voyager on board of the SA Agulhas II in April 2013 and May 2015.
SkiMonkey, deepsea, Southern Ocean, Prince Edward Island, SAEON
Seminar at the South African Network for Coastal and Oceanic Research
October 07, 2015 by Eleonora Puccinelli
The South African Network for Coastal and Oceanic Research (SANCOR) is a non-statutory body that generates and communicates knowledge and advice in order to promote the wise and informed use and management of marine and coastal resources and environments.
SANCOR is an active organization that provides several services for the Southern Africa scientific community, including opportunities to meet, and interact with experts in the marine and coastal science community; information on recent research developments in the region; stimulating inter-disciplinary and inter-institutional collaboration and contributing pro-actively to policy development. At the same time, it is a useful tool to find jobs, postgraduate opportunities, forthcoming conferences or information about funding.
I had the opportunity in the month of September to present my work in one of the SANCOR seminars, which was held at the University of Cape Town. Professionally, this was a great opportunity as I could talk about my work in front a knowledgeable group of expert Biologists and Oceanographers from South Africa. With their in-depth knowledge of the local environment, they provided some excellent comments and discussion around my research.
I will definitely encourage other researchers to join SANCOR and to take the opportunity to present in one of these seminars.
You can join SANCOR free!
More information about SANCOR and how to join it is available on this website 
October 07, 2015 /Eleonora Puccinelli
Aquatic Biodiversity and Ecosystems Conference- Liverpool 30 August- 4 September 2015
September 17, 2015 by Eleonora Puccinelli
Fantastic and enthusiastic experience at the Aquatic Biodiversity and Ecosystems conference that was held in Liverpool at the beginning of September. People come from all over the world just to attend for few days this special event. That is what it’s all about: in a very short time you get to know more people, hear about exciting projects and your mind gets completely refreshed by just being surrounded by so many talented researchers.
This was my second international meeting, after the last International Reef Symposium (ITRS) in Perth. It was very nice to see again people that I met in Australia, to meet new ones and at the same time to present my work in front of such an important and experienced audience. Receiving feedback (especially when they are positive :) ) really gives you the energy to carry on with your work with more excitement than before.
Another special aspect is that after reading papers and papers of several authors, during these meetings you get to know some of them and you can finally associate a name with a face. It seems a small, stupid thing, but trust me, it really changes your perspective. You realize that in the end of the day, most of these successful researchers are just normal people with which is very nice to talk about any sort of topic.