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Clubs for Young People in Gqeberha – Eastern Cape

SANCCOB Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth) in the Eastern Cape offers conservation-focused educational meet ups for young people, which includes a chance to assist with kid-friendly and supervised tasks around the centre.

• The Little Blues Club (7–11 year olds) gathers on the second Saturday of every month from 09h00 to 12h00. Attendees receive a fun-filled lesson and participate in a related activity which could include beach clean-ups, assistance with small tasks in the Rehabilitation Department, nature walks artwork and loads more. The cost is R60 per child and includes a light lunch. Please contact taryn@sanccob.co.za for more information.
• The Penguin Protectors Club (12-17 year olds) members meets on the fourth Saturday of each month from 09h00 to 12h00 to enjoy a fun lesson to stimulate environmental interests, assist with tasks at the facility, as well as participate in activities such as beach clean-ups and nature walks. The cost is R60 per session and a light lunch will be included. Connect with taryn@sanccob.co.za for more information and to join the Penguin Protectors Club.

Research Library

Useful research publications compiled by SANCCOB’s Research Department

Health assessments, blood parasites and diseases

• A novel candidate species of Anaplasma that infects avian erythrocytes (Vanstreels
  RET, Yablsey MJ, Parsons NJ, Swanepoel L, Pistorius PA (2018). Parasites and
  Vectors
• Spread of H5N8 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in sub-Saharan Africa:
  epidemiological and ecological observations. Focus On. FAO No 12 (Khomenko S,
  Abolnik C, Roberts L, Waller L, Shaw K, Monne I, Taylor J, Dhingra M, Pittiglio C,
  Mugyeom M, Roche X, Frederick K, Kamata A, Okuthe S, Kone P, Wiersma L, von Dobschuetz S, Soumare B, Makonnen Y, Morzaria S, Lubroth J (2018) 2016-2018
• Molecular characterization of Babesia peircei and Babesia ugwidiensis provides insight into the ecolution and host specific of avian piroplasmids (Yabsley, MJ, Vanstreels, RET, Shock, BC, Purdee, M, Horne, EC, Peirce, MA & Parsons, NJ. 2017)
• Conservation implications of avian malaria exposure for African penguins during rehabilitation (Botes, A, Thiart, H, Parsons, NJ & Bellstedt, DU. 2017)
• Novel vagrant records and occurrence of vector-borne pathogens in king penguins (Aptenodytes patagonicus) in South Africa (Parsons, NJ, Gous, TA, Cranfield, MR, Cheng, LI, Schultz, A, Horne, E, Last, RP, Lampen, F, Ludynia, K, Bousfield, B, Strauss, V, Peirce, MA & Vanstreels, RET. 2017)
• Seabird disease surveillance guidelines (Nola Parsons)
• Southern African Seabird Colony Disease Risk Assessment (Nola Parsons)
• Occurrence of blood parasites in seabirds admitted for rehabilitation in the Western Cape, South Africa, 2001–2013 (Parsons, NJ, Voogt, NM, Schaefer, AM, Peirce, MA & Vanstreels, RET. 2017)
• Health evaluation of African penguins (Spheniscus demersus) in southern Africa (Parsons, NJ, Gous, TA, Schaefer, AM & Vanstreels, RET. 2016)
• Herpesvirus-like respiratory infection in African penguins Spheniscus demersus admitted to a rehabilitation centre (Parsons, NJ, Gous, TA, van Wilpe, E, Strauss, V & Vanstreels, RET. 2015)
• Establishment of baseline haematology and biochemistry parameters in wild adult African penguins (Parsons, NJ, Schaefer, AM, van der Spuy, SD & Gous, TA. 2015)
• Lead and Cadmium in the Blood of Nine Species of Seabirds, Marion Island, South Africa (Summers, CF, Bowerman, WW, Parsons, NJ, Chao, WY & Bridges, WC Jr. 2014)
• Babesia ugwidiensis, a new species of avian piroplasm from Phalacrocoracidae in South Africa. Parasite 19, 375–379 (Peirce, MA & Parsons, NJ. 2012)
• Novel relapsing fever Borrelia detected in African penguins (Spheniscus demersus) admitted to two rehabilitation centers in South Africa (Yabsley, MJ, Parsons, NJ, Horne, EC, Shock, BC & Purdee, M. 2012)
• New species of haematozoa in Phalacrocoracidae and Stercorariidae in South Africa (Parsons, NJ, Peirce, MA & Strauss, V. 2010)
• Plasmodium juxtanucleare causing mortality in black-footed penguins (Spheniscus demersus) at a rehabilitation center (Grim, KC, Van der Merwe, E, Sullivan, M, Parsons, NJ, McCutchan, TF & Cranfield, MR. 2003)

Seabird Rehabilitation

• First report of a hatched, hand-reared, and released African oystercatcher. Zoo Biology.
  (Klusener R, Hurtado R, Stander N, Parsons NJ (2018)
• Hand-rearing, release and survival of African penguin chicks abandoned before independence by moulting parents (Sherley, RB, Waller, LJ, Strauss, V, Geldenhuys, D, Underhill, LG & Parsons, NJ. 2014)
• Female-biased mortality of African penguins admitted to a rehabilitation facility (Pichegru, L & Parsons, NJ. 2014)
• Feather-loss Disorder in African and Magellanic Penguins (Kane, OJ, Smith, JR, Boersma, PD, Parsons, NJ, Strauss, V, Garcia-Borboroglu, P & Villanueva, C. 2010)
• The rehabilitation of Swift Terns Sterna bergii incapacitated by marine foam on Robben Island, South Africa (Parsons, NJ, Tjørve, KMC, Underhill, LG & Strauss, V. 2006)
• The conservation status and impact of oiling on the African Penguin In: Nel, DC & Whittington, PA (eds). Rehabilitation of oiled African Penguins: a conservation success story. BirdLife South Africa and the Avian demography Unit, Cape Town, South Africa. pp. 1–7 (Nel, DC, Crawford, RJM & Parsons, NJ. 2003)

African penguins in the wild

• A three-legged African penguin Spheniscus demersus. Marine Ornithology 46: 23-26 (Vanstreels RET, Parsons NJ, Pistorius PA. 2018)
• Nasal mites (Mesostigmata: Rhinonyssidae) in African penguins (Spheniscus demersus).
  Parasitology. (Vanstreels RET, Proctor H, Snyman A, Hurtado R, Ludynia K, Parsons NJ, Pistorius PA. 2018)
• Prognostic indicators of rehabilitation outcomes for adult African penguins (Parsons, N.J., Vanstreels, R.E.T., Schaefer, A.M. 2018)
• Tangled and drowned: A global review of penguin bycatch in fisheries. Endangered
  Species Research 34:373-396 (Crawford R, Ellenberg U, Frere E, Hagen C, Baird K, Brewin P, Crofts S, Glass J, Mattern T, Pompert J, Ross K, Kemper J, Ludynia K, Sherley RB, Steinfurth A, Suazo C, Yorio P, Tamini L, Mangel J, Bugoni L, Jimenez-Uzcategui G, Simeone A, Luna-Jorquera G, Gandini P, Woehler E, Pütz K, Dann P, Chiaradia A, Small C. 2017)
• Metapopulation tracking juvenile penguins reveals an ecosystem-wide ecological trap (Sherley, RB, Ludynia, K, Dyer, B, Makhado, A, Lamont, T, Makhado, AB, Roux, JP, Scales, KL, Underhill, LG & Votier, SC. 2017)
• Sex determination of African penguins Spheniscus demersus using bill measurements: method comparisons and implications for use (Robinson, KJ, Farah, D, Collins, S & Parsons, NJ. 2016)
• Penguins’ perilous conservation status calls for complementary approach based on sound ecological principles: reply to Butterworth et al. (2015) (Weller, F, Sherley, RB, Shannon, LJ, Jarre, A, Stewart, T, Scott, L, Cecchini, LA, Crawford, RJM, Geldenhuys, D, Ludynia, K & Waller, LJ. 2016)
• System dynamics modelling of the Endangered African penguin populations on Robben and Dyer islands, South Africa (Weller, F, Sherley, RB, Waller, LJ, Ludynia, K, Geldenhuys, D, Shannon, LJ & Jarre, A. 2016)
• Processes influencing the population dynamics and conservation of African penguins at Dyer Island, South Africa (Ludynia, K, Waller, L, Sherley, R, Abadi, F, Galada, Y, Geldenhuys, D, Crawford, RJM, Shannon, LJ & Jarre A. 2014)
• Age-specific survival and movement among major African penguin colonies (Sherley, RB, Abadi, F, Ludynia, K, Barham, BJ, Clark, AE & Altwegg, R. 2014)
• The initial journey of an endangered penguin: implications for seabird conservation (Sherley, R, Ludynia, K, Lamont, T, Roux, J-P, Crawford, RJM & Underhill LG. 2013)
• The Namibian Islands’ Marine Protected Area: using seabird tracking data to define boundaries and assess their adequacy (Ludynia, K, Kemper, J & Roux, J-P. 2012)
• Surviving off junk: Low-energy prey dominates the diet of African penguins Spheniscus demersus at Mercury Island, Namibia, between 1996 and 2009 (Ludynia, K, Roux, J-P, Jones, R, Kemper, J & Underhill, LG. 2010)

Other seabirds (and coastal birds) in southern Africa

• Storms and heat limit the nest success of Bank Cormorants: implications of future climate change for a surface-nesting seabird in southern Africa (Sherley, R, Ludynia, K, Underhill, LG, Jones, R & Kemper, J. 2012)
• Geographic variation in the trophic ecology of an avian rocky shore predator, the African Black Oystercatcher along the southern African coastline (Kohler, SA, Connan, M, Hill, JM, Mablouké, C, Bonnevie, B, Ludynia, K, Kemper, J, Huisamen, J, Underhill, LG, Cherel, Y, McQuaid, CD & Jaquemet, S. 2011)
• Foraging behaviour of bank cormorants in Namibia: implications for conservation (Ludynia, K, Jones, R, Kemper, J, Garthe, S & Underhill, LG. 2010)
• Monitoring seabirds in the BCLME – Data collection manual. In: SP Kirkman (ed.) Final Report of the BCLME (Benguela Current Large Marine Ecosystem) Project on Top Predators as Biological Indicators of Ecosystem Change in the BCLME (Kemper, J, Braby, J, Dyer, B, James, J, Jones, R, Ludynia, K, Mullers, R, Roux, J.-P, Underhill, L & Wolfaardt, A. 2007)