Gain hands-on expertise in operating the FISHTRAC system, a wireless telemetry network for real-time tracking of fish movement and behaviour. Developed by Rivers of Life Aquatic Health Services and Wireless Wildlife, FISHTRAC enables continuous monitoring of aquatic species as bio-indicators of ecosystem health.
What You Will Learn:
- FISHTRAC system architecture: tags, base stations, relay stations, and data management
- Tag types: motion, temperature, pressure, and environmental sensors
- Fish capture, anaesthesia, and surgical tag implantation procedures
- Base station deployment and network configuration
- Data retrieval and transmission to the Data Management System (DMS)
- Interpreting fish behaviour data: activity patterns, depth preferences, and movement
- System maintenance, troubleshooting, and battery management
Duration: 10–12 hours (includes practical field component)
Prerequisites: Species Identification & Monitoring (recommended)
Language: English (Portuguese translation available)
- Professor: Hugo Retief
Explore the science and application of fish telemetry for ecological research and conservation. This course covers study design, data analysis, and interpretation of fish movement patterns in relation to environmental variables, with case studies from the Inkomati Basin's Crocodile and Sabie Rivers.
What You Will Learn:
- Principles of biotelemetry: radio, acoustic, and PIT tag technologies
- Study design: research questions, species selection, sample sizes, and duration
- Understanding fish movement ecology: home range, migration, and habitat use
- Machine learning applications: EWMA algorithms for anomaly detection
- Linking fish behaviour to flow regime, water quality, and habitat variables
- Real-time alert systems for detecting ecological stress responses
- Reporting and communicating telemetry findings to managers
Duration: 8–10 hours
Prerequisites: FISHTRAC System Operation
Language: English (Portuguese translation available)
- Professor: Hugo Retief
Master the South African Scoring System version 5 (SASS5) and related protocols for sampling and assessing freshwater macroinvertebrates. Invertebrates are powerful indicators of water quality and ecosystem health, and this course provides the practical skills needed for biomonitoring programmes.
What You Will Learn:
- The SASS5 protocol: biotope sampling, kick-sampling, and stone turning
- Equipment requirements and field preparation
- On-site identification to family level using SASS5 scoring sheets
- Calculating SASS scores and Average Score Per Taxon (ASPT)
- Interpreting ecological categories and reference conditions
- Quality assurance and inter-operator consistency
- Integrating SASS data with FBIS and INWARDS
Duration: 8–10 hours (includes practical field component)
Prerequisites: Introduction to Freshwater Ecosystems
Language: English (Portuguese translation available)
- Professor: Hugo Retief
Learn to measure, interpret, and report water quality parameters critical for aquatic ecosystem health. This course covers field measurement techniques, laboratory analysis, and the use of water quality data within INWARDS for compliance monitoring and ecological assessment.
What You Will Learn:
- Key water quality parameters: temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, conductivity, turbidity
- Nutrient analysis: nitrogen and phosphorus species
- Toxicants and emerging contaminants: metals, pesticides, pharmaceuticals
- Field instruments: calibration, measurement protocols, and maintenance
- Sampling for laboratory analysis: bottles, preservation, and chain of custody
- Water quality guidelines and standards (South African, Mozambican, and international)
- Using the INWARDS Water Quality dashboard for trend analysis and compliance
Duration: 8–10 hours
Prerequisites: Introduction to Freshwater Ecosystems
Language: English (Portuguese translation available)
- Professor: Hugo Retief