Professor James N. Blignaut, NRF-SAEON honorary research associate co-authored an article published in the South African Journal of Science on 29 January 2026.  With few publications on the economic value of estuaries, The economic value of nutrient cycling in the Swartkops and Sundays River estuaries article uses the two estuaries to as an example.

Ndlovu Node

With South Africa being one of the water scares countries, Dr. Retang Mokua PDP Postdoctoral fellow at SAEON Ndlovu Node detailed her research during an interview with  Lesedi FM on the 23 March 2026 at 08:30 PM. Dr. Retang’s work focuses on enhancing the fundamental understanding of complex water systems using geochemical techniques. Central to her discussion was a collaboration with the Federal Institute for Geoscience and Natural Resources (BGR) in Germany, using stable isotope analysis to investigate the hydrological interactions between riparian vegetation and river systems.

Arid Node

Dr Zanele Ntshidi was cited in  Precision irrigation: A key component of comprehensive precision in agriculture strategy (March 2026, Non Embargo), published in Farmers Review Africa  on the 19th of March 2026.

Egagasini Node

 Latrunculia (Latrunculia) atkinsonae, new species of sponge previously unknown to scientist and native to the Namaqua region has been named in honour of Dr Lara Artkinson. New sponge species named to honour pioneering marine scientist article was published by IOL in February 2026.

Yinhla Shihlomule, Top Predator Monitoring Coordinator at SAPRI, was interviewed on Lesedi FM on the 19th January 2026. Where he shared insight on the long -term monitoring of top predators on Marion Islands.