Scientist to talk at Croc World
THE Crocworld Conservation Centre looks forward to hosting a talk by scientist Yvette Ehlers Smith on KwaZulu-Natal’s amazingly biodiverse coastal forests, as part of its series of monthly environmental talks.
Yvette’s talk, ‘Wildlife of the Southern Indian Ocean Coastal Forest Belt,’ will take place at the centre on Saturday, August 8, at 9am. A PhD student at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Yvette is in the process of conducting extensive wildlife surveys in the forests of the South Coast as part of her doctoral thesis. Those who attend her talk will be given a fascinating insight into her work, including the methods used to monitor wildlife species and an idea of the preliminary results that the research has yielded so far.
The forests of the South Coast provide a unique habitat for a wealth of rare and endangered species. By using infrared motion-sensor activated cameras to collect images of these animals in their natural environment, Yvette hopes to improve the understanding of residents of this incredible ecosystem and in so doing promote its conservation.
In her talk, she will introduce the project’s target species, which include the vulnerable blue duiker, the endemic samango monkey and the recently reintroduced red duiker. She will talk about the camera-trapping techniques that have allowed her to capture more than 43 000 photographs of the forest’s inhabitants and she will touch on the ways in which human activity affects the forest’s wildlife.
Her passion for conservation is deep-rooted and something that she attributes to her wildlife-loving father. Born and raised in Africa, she moved to England when she was 19 and from there she travelled extensively throughout Europe, Asia and the South Pacific. She studied ecology at Oxford Brookes University and has a masters degree in biodiversity and conservation from the University of Exeter. During her time abroad, she spent two years in the swamp forests of Indonesia researching Sabangau’s red langur populations and worked as a field ecologist in the British midlands.
Eventually Yvette found herself back in Africa studying avian diversity in the Kruger to Canyons biosphere, and subsequently decided to embark on a PhD in zoology and wildlife conservation through the University of KwaZulu-Natal.
Her talk will last for approximately one hour – after which there will be time for questions while tea, coffee and scones are served. Tickets are R70 per adult and with specially priced R30 tickets for students and pensioners. Book well in advance. Contact Nolean Allun at 039 976 1103 or 078 484 1859.
