Laurie becomes Dr. Araspin

Those of you who follow this blog will be very familiar with Laurie Araspin as she has been the subject of lots of posts over the years (for example, see here, here and here). 

It was a rainy day in Paris and the gig didn't start well with all the normal IT problems associated with trying to marry a live event with an online audience, but Laurie braved it out and presented her thesis work to a packed auditorium. 

Finally, after the presentation was done, the jury deliberated and pronounced Laurie to be Dr. Araspin. And then the party began. 

The jury consisted of some familiar faces to MeaseyLab members past and present.

Bottom right, Carlos Navas (on screen from Sao Paulo or perhaps on sabbatical in the USA) is having his audio checked by Anthony Herrel and Laurie. Bottom left, Raoul Van Damme admires Laurie's Kamasutra des grenouilles. Top right, Jean Secondi poses with a friend he found at the party. Top left, all jury members have lunch before the presentation (Sandrine Meylan, Laurent Coen) and online joined by Hannes van Wyk from South Africa. 

It was also fabulous to meet Lauries family and friends who supported her throughout her academic journey. 

The examination of a PhD is the end of a long journey and also a time to reflect on a set of great work accomplished by an individual working within a team. Laurie well deserves her new title, and we look forward to seeing what she will do with it.

Read the thesis:

Araspin, L. (2023) Thermal adaptation in an invasive frog (Xenopus laevis): impact of temperature on locomotion and physiology. PhD thesis. MNHN and Stellenbosch University

Great coverage for MeaseyLab amphibian conservation work

In a great article on African conservation research, Engla Duvenage laments on the paucity of African amphibian workers, together with some highlights of real conservation research that is being conducted on the continent. 

Read the article here: 

Duvenage, E. (2023) Measuring threats to Africa’s amphibians. Nature Africa doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d44148-023-00316-8

How do you control invasive species on private land?

Jonathan Bell is conducting field work for his MSc. In the first chapter, Jonathan is asking how it is possible to get access into private property in order to control invasive species. To do this, Jonanthan has been out and about asking people all over Cape Town to answer a questionnaire. 

In order to achieve a complete picture, Jonanthan is travelling to all areas of the city to ask everyone his questions.

It will be fascinating to find out how people from different areas of Cape Town feel about the control of invasive species on their private property. We are really looking forward to seeing the results.

In the second chapter, Jonathan is trying to find out the conditions under which contractors can maximise catching invasive species. In this chapter, he is interested in control of the invasive Guttural Toad. He has enlisted the help of contractors who are actively removing these animals from Cape Town properties. Jonathan has annual training sessions to have contractors collect data that he can use in his models. 

The toad team with their clipboards collecting toads and data for Jonathan's study.

The time to collection of each toad is noted together with the exact location and variables associated with the property on which the toads are found.

Using this data, Jonathan will be able to predict the exact conditions under which toads are most likely to be collected. This will maximize the value of the eradication campaign. 

Now a Zoology Section Editor at PeerJ

I've been an academic editor with PeerJ for 10 years, and I've handled over 70 papers in that time. Last month I was contacted by the PeerJ staff to ask whether I would join the team of Section Editors for Zoology at PeerJ. Each subject section has a small group of section editors who oversee the decisions made by the editorial board members. This ensures that there is some consistency and accountability for the decisions made by lots of independent editors. 

Far from being a passive role, the Section Editors engage in regular discussions about individual papers. It's a great opportunity to support the editorial board and authors alike. 

Now read the blog post or PeerJ.

GAA2 provides a whole lot of international and regional interest from the media

As might be expected from a global update published in Nature, results from the the GAA2 have produced a lot of media interest both nationally and internationally. Here are some of the ones from southern Africa.

Stellenbosch researcher contributes to critical global study on amphibians (capetownetc.com)

SU researcher part of global study on extinction of amphibians (iol.co.za)

I was also interviewed by eNCA on the results of the paper. Watch the full coverage below:

The eNCA, a TV broadcasting company that covers the African continent, has previously taken an interest in the work of the MeaseyLab when they interviewed Nitya Mohanty. You can watch the interview in full on YouTube. You can see the blog post here.