What happened at Dunefields?
This month we relocated the hive that was previously removed out of the wall in the shed. Bees should only be moved after sunset or before sunrise to ensure all the bees are within the box during the translocation. In daytime most bees are foraging, therefore if the box was to be moved during the day, many bees would be lost from the hive as they will return to the original location. Bees have a built-in GPS taking them back to their hive after a foraging trip.
The fence around the vegetable garden has been replaced with new canary mesh. This is used to keep out animals that will eat the crop, such as birds, porcupine or buck. The beds are resting, and we look forward to the new planting season ahead.
We have been rehabilitating areas where large stacks of branches were removed (from previous alien clearing sites). Here we are planting indigenous shrubs and trees of both fynbos and thicket species that occur naturally in this area. This allows for the stabilization of the soil in certain areas, especially steep slopes.
Tiaan and Zanri both presented some of their research findings at the Learn About Birds conference hosted by BirdLife South Africa. Tiaan spoke on the short-term response of coastal thicket birds to fire, a research article he published in 2019. Zanri spoke on her PhD results of female gannets being at an energetic disadvantage compared to males. Engagements like these are important to bridge the gap between scientists and the public, but also to learn from fellow conservationists and what is happening in the natural world around us.
At the abovementioned Learn About Birds conference, Dunefields sponsored three delegates (from left: CapeNature Senior Marine Ranger Chanel Visser, MSc student Tegan Walker, PhD candidate Benjamin Murphy) to attend the conference and present their valuable research. Two of the sponsored delegates received awards for the best presentation in the masters degree category (Tegan) and doctoral degree category (Benjamin). It was a great honour for each of these delegates to present their research at such a prestigious conference.
Tiaan, alongside his co-authors has published his fifth scientific article in the journal of Plant Ecology. This research improves the understanding of dune-thicket shrubs in the southeastern Cape Floristic Region. They investigated the effect of a short return-interval fire and browsing on the survival and resprouting of dune-thicket shrub species. They found thicket shrubs to be resilient to such disturbances through resprouting shortly after both fire and browsing.
Zanri has been awarded her PhD in Nature Conservation through the Nelson Mandela University. Through her research she has identified old female gannets to be struggling energetically compared to both the younger females and males. Zanri’s research showed that a proportion of the gannet population (older females) is extra vulnerable to environmental change. This understanding is useful for prioritizing conservation action for the endangered and endemic Cape gannets. Everyone at Dunefields is extremely proud to have a gannet specialist on the Dunefields team.
Another Cape gannet was stabilized at Dunefields this month. As First Responders for the Seabird and Penguin Rehabilitation Centre we are permitted to stabilize seabirds in need until we get a lift to the rehabilitation centre. At Dunefields the gannet was swum every hour in the outside enclosure to promote its waterproofing. It was heart-warming to see it splash in the pool, and drinking water from it. This gannet has subsequently been released back into the ocean after being successfully rehabilitated.
Who Calls Dunfields Home?
A Southern boubou was rescued from the vegetable garden after getting trapped inside. Naturally, this species is quick to shy away from people when encountered in the wild, therefore this sighting up close was a great treat for us.
Another Loggerhead sea turtle hatchling got washed out on the beach and was reported to us. This species of turtle is an endangered species floating at the mercy of the ocean currents. These hatchlings are small since they are a mere few months old, not strong enough to swim against the currents, and subsequently washes up on the beaches if the currents lead them there. We collected and stabilized the little turtle at Dunefields until we got it a lift to the Hartenbos Veterinary Clinic en-route to the Two Oceans Aquarium.
An Egyptian goose was rescued from the beach whereafter we stabilized this sweet individual. It was found in a soaking wet state after it was thrown around by the waves resulting in the bird’s total exhaustion. With our heat lamp (depicted by the red glare in the photograph), this bird was quickly dried and warmed up whereafter it spent time feeding in the garden. It is absolutely amazing to meet all our patients and to be part of their healing before leaving to a rehabilitation centre.
In our cave overlooking the ocean we have multiple species utilizing the cave every month ranging from reptiles to birds to mammals. Can you guess this species of predator that visited the cave? One clue is that the animal has a long tail. Find the answer at the end of this monthly report.
Dune crowberry (Searsia crenata) is a thicket shrub species that is endemic to the coastal dunes in the Cape. These shrubs can become large hedges allowing for other plant species to establish around it through seed dispersal from birds (from their droppings) that use these shrubs as perches and shelters.
Who Calls Dunefields Home?
A Golden orb spider. Recognizable by its colourful body and yellow/gold webs. Not all spiders weave webs, but those that do, use it to catch their prey, which is mostly any insect that finds itself stuck in the web. Spiders do not get stuck in their own webs as not all parts are sticky, and they avoid threading on the sticky parts of the web.
Dune sage (Salvia aurea) is a fynbos shrub that occurs along the coast of South Africa. These shrubs are characterized by their square stems and aromatic leaves with golden/orange flowers providing nectar to bees, moths and sunbirds. The Dune sage is an important plant in the dune system.
Camera traps are an important tool used to determine the diversity of animal life in an area, here at Dunefields we have several camera traps spread out across the reserve. Besides camera traps allowing us to determine habitat occupancy by different animal species, it can also be used to determine the abundance of certain individuals and help determine their population structure. After several weeks of not seeing any female bushbuck, we were thrilled when we saw a female on the camera trap this month. The sex is indicative of the lack of horns on this adult bushbuck.
The Bottlenose dolphins always give us great entertainment. With the perfect location of our research deck we are in a great position to observe several kinds of behaviour like jumping, surfing, mating and even aggressive behaviour like tail slapping – all of which we record as part of the marine survey data.
With the Cape gannet breeding season coming to an end in Algoa Bay, it is amazing to have counted 703 gannets in our bay in one survey this month, despite Dunefields being hundreds of kilometres away from that gannet colony. It is a privilege, but also of importance to do daily counts on these birds that come to feed and rest on the ocean waters in front of Dunefields. It is a great sight to see so many gannets (±150) in one raft (group) through the lens of the drone’s camera.
Caracal is the largest carnivore on Dunefields sighted by the team thus far, but there is the possibility of the Cape leopard also utilizing our reserve. Caracal is an acrobatic cat being able to catch flying birds mid-air by jumping straight up into the air. However, with Dunefields being on a unique fossilized vegetated sand dune on the coast, and dominated by a mosaic of thicket and fynbos vegetation harbouring different animal species we are not sure what these cats prey upon, and this renders investigation. We are excited to launch our research project of scat analysis in the new Dunefields Laboratory soon. Stay tuned for some exciting results.
**The predator in the cave is a Cape grey mongoose. They can grow up to 70 cm long and can weigh up to 1.2 kg. They predate on reptiles, birds and small mammals.