Award for climate change biologist
- Wits University
Nearly 1 million species face extinction. The award to Dr Shannon Conradie by the Jennifer Ward Oppenheimer Research Grant boosts interventions.
Conradie, a lecturer in the School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences, has been named the 2024 recipient of this prestigious research grant valued at $150,000 (approximately R2.6 million).
Her research uses scenario modelling to understand and predict changes in desert birds’ behaviour as they respond to global temperature change.
This quest for understanding is urgent. By the end of this century, the maximum air temperatures in some desert zones will increase by up to 5°C, pushing way beyond the upper limits of tolerance of desert birds.
Reacting to this new opportunity, Conradie says: “Receiving the prestigious JWO Grant will empower me to keep building on the skills I have in biophysical ecology, and develop further expertise in remote sensing and thermal drone technology.”
“But more than that I hope this research will help further our collective work to understand how climate change is likely to impact biodiversity. This work can highlight vulnerable species and habitats, allowing us to implement conservation measures with precision. And crucially it can also highlight systems that are doing well and inform best practices - and with nearly 1 million species currently facing extinction globally, the need for research-driven interventions has never been higher. It really is an honour that the Oppenheimer family have seen the value of this research and will be supporting its continuation.”
Bird experiences
In an interview with the JWO Conradie explained some of the recent events that show biodiversity is under threat, especially birdlife.
“We’re seeing knock on effects, of birds stopping breeding because it’s too hot and their body condition is too compromised. We’ve seen in southern yellow-billed hornbills, for example, when average summer temperatures are above 35°C, there’s about a 50% drop off in breeding success, because of these heat related trade-offs that they have to make.”
In a heat wave, birds plummet from the skies, chicks jump out of nests in desperation, and the shock stunts biodiversity. A mass mortality of this nature occurred at the Pongolo Nature Reserve in KwaZulu-Natal in November 2020, when temperatures hit 45°C, killing 110 birds and fruit bats in a very small area searched by rangers. Although the only one recorded in South Africa, such events have been more extensively chronicled in Australia. Read the full interview.
网易体育 the JWO Research Grant
The Jennifer Ward Oppenheimer Research Grant is managed by Oppenheimer Generations Research and Conservation and Oppenheimer Generations Philanthropies and was established six years ago to help early-career scientists develop scientific solutions to African problems.
This year saw 697 proposal submissions from across 36 African countries. The grant is intended to encourage African-led research in the environmental and allied sciences, with an eye on tackling important real-world problems.