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Volume 3 - 4
| Contents | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
| 4. African Coelacanth Ecosystem Programme - A window to the
past, a door to the future By Dr Tony Ribbink   The coelacanth, once thought to be extinct,
has made a remarkable comeback, and now anchors a programme that is not
only researching this "living fossil" and its environment, but
contributing to the future of broader science, and benefiting South
Africa and several of its NEPAD partners.Following the recent discovery of a colony of coelacanths off South Africa, Latimeria chalumae, the African Coelacanth Ecosystem Programme, (ACEP), has adopted a multi-disciplinary approach. The discovery sparked a new wave of public interest that has resulted in a far-reaching programme embracing elements beyond science. Launched in April 2002 by Minister Ben Ngubane, ACEP integrates the physical and biological sciences with engineering and technology, capacitybuilding and environmental education. Key partner-countries in the programme, Mocambique, Tanzania, Kenya, Comoros and Madagascar have committed to this initiative to ensure that a critical mass of component marine scientists is developed in the region. International partners, including the German government, through the South African-German collaboration agreement, have ensured technologytransfer and sponsorship. And ACEP has become a beacon of the NEPAD vision, as the countries of the western Indian Ocean work together, taking long-term responsibility for their resources. Each country has its own ACEP management committee, with strong government and ministerial support. And young researchers from each partner country go to sea as trainees, where they receive formal tuition from established scientists and participate fully in research activities. The programme is also promoting accessibility of the sciences to women. During 2002, 20 of the 23 South African trainees on the ship were women. ACEP encourages the young multi-national scientists who share the experience on the ship to forge friendships and collaborate across borders.  Why all the fuss? Morphologically,
coelacanths have changed very little over a period of 70 million years,
and thus provide us with a unique window to the past.Following the discovery, in 1938, of a coelacanth off East London, coelacanths have been found elsewhere in the western Indian Ocean, mainly off the Comoros. In 2000 a population was discovered off South Africa when divers came across several individuals at a depth of about 105m. This population was immediately protected, and ACEP embarked in a study of the colony in the submarine canyons of the Greater St. Lucia Wetlands Park. Fortuitously these creatures were already being protected in the park and to date 18 coelacanths have been identified off South Africa – the world’s second-largest population. The implementation of the strategy will gain momentum this year with direct investment from DST, and additional funding made available through the Innovation Fund. The Unit: Manufacturing Technology Mission will continuously engage with other relevant government departments to ensure alignment and synergy with AMTS. The strategic model will be implemented principally through two channels – Innovation Centres and Innovation Networks. The latter will provide strategic linkages to nodes and/or centres to optimise synergies.  So what should South Africa’s innovative
technological leaders aim for? The field is wide open, the
possibilities immense. For example we could use our rich mineral
resources to display creative designs, supported by appropriate
technologies and domestic craftsmanship. We could look at manufacturing
a demonstration vehicle to showcase our capacity for innovation and
focus attention on the excellence of our automotive industry. Even the
name Selahla for a car will be more meaningful. Now isn’t that an
original concept!The first step in the ACEP study was to map the submarine canyons to guide the submersible in its search for coelacanths. By defining the essence of the structural habitat, relational data for each discipline of the programme are being built into a basal layer of a Geographic Information System (GIS) for the canyons, and for the Mocambique Channel. The caves in which the South African colony were found are from a quaternary ice-age when the sea level was much lower than at present, much shallower than the discoveries off the Comoros, where the coelacanths occupy caves at depths between 200 and 300m. Of the 23 canyons mapped that may be suitable for coelacanths, only nine have been explored so far, and just two were occupied. Investigations into the behavioural patterns of these creatures have indicated that coelacanths are slow-moving, quiescent animals that tend to conserve energy and ambush fish or squid rather than chase their prey. They avoid strong currents, and it seems anomalous that they make their home off South Africa where the Agulhas current roars southwards at high velocity. Oceanographic data, however, show that currents are virtually absent within the canyons. Comoran coelacanths seem unable to live in water warmer than about 21C, and do not readily enter water of less than 14C, while in South Africa the temperature range coincides with the depth of the caves. But as in the Comoros, coelacanths live in caves during the day, and come out at night, ostensibly to feed. Because of their inactivity during the day, and the fact that they cannot be followed by submersibles at night, direct observations of their interaction with other organisms in the ecosystem are impractical. An indirect approach is to survey the biodiversity in the canyons, and elsewhere in the western Indian Ocean, to establish which organisms are within the ecosystem. Relationships with coelacanths can be inferred by the position of each on the food chain and the resulting energy-flow established by the analysis of stable isotopes.  Two of the world’s most
famous marine scientists, Slyvia Earle, well-known for her pioneering
work of the deep sea and Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer for the 1938
coelacanth discovery. The genome resource group of ACEP is examining the RNA and DNA of coelacanths to probe ancient biological and evolutionary history. In order not to harm the rare and endangered fish, the German research team has developed an ingenious technique for collecting scales from living coelacanths. Using the submersible Jago, a compressed air gun darts the scales. The project researchers at Rhodes University have demonstrated that cells can be grown in culture from scales collected from more than 100m. Genetic studies are probing the more recent past. Early indications are that the South African population is genetically very similar to those of the Comoros, Madagascar, Mocambique and Kenya. Studies of genetic variability and kin relationship will provide information on conservation status and determine whether the population is derived from a single pregnant female that might have arrived in South Africa fairly recently. Sharing the unfolding mysteries of the coelacanth and the accompanying excitement of deep-sea research has enabled ACEP to capture the public imagination through a variety of public awareness and environmental education projects. The entrancement of ships, submersibles, sophisticated equipment and the challenge of discovery attracts schoolchildren to the marine sciences. Opening the research ship to scholars and teachers at every port during the expeditions again has a direct impact on schoolchildren as news of the exhilarating underwater frontier reaches the classrooms, where films and teaching materials assist teachers, particularly in disadvantaged schools, to raise interest in the study of science and the environment. ACEP has been the focus of significant media attention, and has created further channels to enhance awareness, including an environmental play. The nature of the research conducted by ACEP has relevance well beyond the coelacanth, which is the icon and emblem of the programme. Benefits will accrue to conservation and tourism, to fisheries, and to the overall development of knowledge. The quality and diversity of the science has been widely commended in Europe, Asia and North America, and partnerships with prominent scientists are developing.  Dr Tony Ribbink and Dr Ben Ngubane at the
Launch of the Coelacanth Research Programme.Since its discovery some 66 years ago, this "living fossil" has captured the hearts and imaginations of both the public and the scientific community. The ACEP, driven by a passion to learn more, has created a programme that will enrich lives and benefit communities in South Africa and neighbouring states for generations to come. The discovery of coelacanths protected in a national park is a stark reminder of how little is known about the ocean. If these large fish, which can measure up to 1.8 metres and weigh over 100kg can remain so long undetected, what other physical and biological marvels await discovery? Eminent marine scientists, particularly in the USA, argue that more is known about the surfaces of our nearest planets and the moon than of our ocean floor. The coelacanth provides a living example of the need to explore our seas’ deeper waters, which could provide discoveries of undreamt human value. |
Nominations of potential candidates for the Technology Innovation Agency (TIA) Board of Directors
