Dr Andrea Webster’s current research aims to establish a Kalahari specific stable isotope signature that facilitates examination of predator-prey interactions between brown hyaena and black backed jackal to better understand their influence on mesoherbivore recruitment rates in Tswalu Kalahari Reserve. The project will provide essential baseline data related to seasonal changes in diet of scavenging carnivores and will lay the foundation for future research related to the impact of other carnivore species on the property. The project Is a collaborative effort between the Mammal Research Institute, Stable Isotope Laboratory, University of Oxford, University of Northern Arizona, the Tswalu foundation and Oppenheimer Generations Research and Conservation.
Dr Elisa Seyboth is a postdoctoral researcher with the Mammal Research Institute Whale Unit. She is studying humpback whale distribution, population status, and feeding and reproductive aspects of the species in the Southern Hemisphere considering climate change effects on the marine ecosystem. Elisa is a member of the Brazilian High Latitudes Oceanography Group (GOAL- Federal University of Rio Grande), of the West Antarctic Peninsula and Scotia Arc (WASPA) - Southern Ocean Observing System (SOOS) and the national representative of Brazil in the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR). Her research at UP is funded by a grant to Griffith University from a private charitable trust as part of the Whales and Climate Research Program.
