Arid Lands Node

The leopards are back on Piketberg, an article by SAEON research associate Dr Joh Henschel, former manager of the Arid Lands Node, was published in the Weslander newspaper of 3 April 2025. The article describes how, in 2019, after more than a decade of gaining insights into the leopard population growth, movements and range expansions in the Eastern Cape and the Western Cape, the Landmark Foundation was alerted by farmers to the return of leopards on the Piketberg Mountain after a century of absence. In several fieldwork campaigns between 2020 and 2023, over 120 camera traps were mounted in a network across Piketberg Mountain, which took over 500 useable photographs of leopards. By individually identifying leopards by their spots, the researchers estimated more than 40 leopards in the Piketberg.

Egagasini Node

Dr Lara Atkinson, a benthic ecologist at SAEON’s Egagasini Node, is cited in an article titled Africa’s oceans under spotlight as OceanX and OceanQuest conclude seminal ‘Around Africa Expedition’ published on the SocialTV website on May 8, South Africa Today and EnviroNews Nigeria on May 9, as well as News Wings and Realnews Magazine on May 10. The OceanX and OceanQuest Around Africa Expedition is officially endorsed by the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development for its contributions to capacity sharing and scientific understanding of the ocean, providing valuable data for science and science-based ocean governance.

As the current holder of the G20 Presidency, South Africa is leading global efforts on ocean sustainability, with a particular focus on advancing sustainable ocean actions in Africa. An article titled South Africa strengthens global climate leadership,  on the 14th International Conference on Southern Hemisphere Meteorology and Oceanography (ICSHMO) held in Cape Town from 31 March to 4 April, was published on the website of the South African Government on 1 April.

Another article on ICSHMO, titled Conference places the spotlight on ocean sustainability, was published on the SANews.gov.za website on 1 April.

Exceptional young innovator Salusiwe Mxayiya from Luhlaza High School in Khayelitsha, is set to represent South Africa at the prestigious Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF). Regeneron ISEF 2025, the world’s largest pre-college science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) competition, will take place in Columbus, Ohio in May this year. Salusiwe is mentored by Thomas Mtontsi, science engagement officer of SAEON’s Egagasini Node. An article on this achievement, titled Luhlaza High School learner nets global science competition spot, was posted on the websites of the South African Government and the Western Cape Government on 8 May. Further articles were published on Netwerk24 online on 12 May, as well as in Die Burger and Cape Times.

Elwandle Coastal Node 

Professor Tommy Bornman, manager of SAEON’s Elwandle Coastal Node, was cited in an article titled Red tide arrives in Algoa Bay in The Herald of 10 April 2025. The article announced the appearance of the first red tide of the season in Algoa Bay, threatening fish life and sending a reminder of the perils of establishing an offshore aquaculture industry in the area. Prof Bornman said the average measure of plant plankton in the ocean was 0.5-5 micrograms per litre (ug/L) of water and anything over 10ug/L was considered a bloom.

Gqeberha‘s distinctive coastal seeps are likely one of the reasons why the region became the global springboard for early modern humans, and 120 000 years later they have been flagged as the “canary in the coal mine” for critical groundwater resource in the area. In The Herald of 7 April 2025, an article titled Coastal seeps ‘çanary in the coal mine’ for groundwater, provides further details on a Water Research Commission-funded study undertaken by a Nelson Mandela University team in partnership with SAEON and the Council for Geoscience. The study established a baseline for a long-term monitoring programme that will track the effect of borehole extraction when the next drought hits, and any groundwater pollution as population and development expand.