https://natural-sciences.nwu.ac.za/zoology/community-engagement
Community Engagement
World Water Week World Water Week is an annual global event focused on addressing water-related challenges and solutions. It is typically held in the last week of August, and in 2024 the Water Research Group (WRG) decided to acknowledge it in three different events. The first event was a collaborative effort initiated and organised by the WRG…https://natural-sciences.nwu.ac.za/water-research-group-postdocs
Postdoctoral fellows
Dr Anja Erasmus Email address: 23599235@mynwu.ac.za Field of expertise: Gnathiidae, Integrated Taxonomy, Scientific Illustration, Environmental parasitology Overview: Anja is currently serving as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the North-West…https://natural-sciences.nwu.ac.za/water-research-group-support-staff
Support staff
Makolobe Mabotja Senior Laboratory Technician: NABF Bianca van der Linde Laboratory Technician: NABF Last updated: February 2025 Comments on the content and accessibility, please contact: Anja Erasmushttps://natural-sciences.nwu.ac.za/water-research-group/latest-news
Latest News
2025 news coming soon! Archive: (Full articles below) Research Excellence Award granted to WRG PhD candidate The annual NRF Awards recognise and celebrate South African research excellence. This year, the ceremony took place on 26th September in Port Elizabeth. The awards presented to researchers are in two categories, the ratings linked…https://natural-sciences.nwu.ac.za/water-research-group/facilities
Facilities
National Aquatic Bioassay Facility (NABF) Collaborators Prof. Victor Wepener (NWU-WRG), Prof. Nico J. Smit (NWU-WRG), Dr Tarryn Lee Botha (UNISA), Dr Anja Erasmus (NWU-WRG), and the Zebrafish Interest Group of South Africa Funders National Research Foundation (NRF) South Africa, National Nanotechnology Equipment…https://natural-sciences.nwu.ac.za/WRG
Home page
The Water Research Group celebrated 10-years of research in 2022! International Collaborators …https://natural-sciences.nwu.ac.za/water-research-group/ecotoxicology
Ecotoxicology
Ecotoxicology is a scientific discipline which studies the effects of stressors on biological organisms. It integrates toxicology and ecology, predicting the effects of stressors across all levels of biological organisation from molecular level to whole communities and ecosystems. The current techniques, services, and organisms shown below are…https://natural-sciences.nwu.ac.za/water-research-group/about-us
About us
Background The Water Research Group forms part of the Unit for Environmental Sciences and Management (UESM) and the School of Biological Sciences at the North-West University (NWU), Potchefstroom Campus. The areas of specialisation that the members of the group have include aquatic ecology, aquatic ecotoxicology, aquatic ecosystem conservation…https://natural-sciences.nwu.ac.za/water-research-group/parasitology
Parasitology
Parasitology can be defined as the study of parasites and their hosts, as well as the interactions between the two. Parasites are a crucial part of a functional and healthy ecosystem, particularly within the natural environment. The biodiversity of an ecosystem is profoundly impacted by parasite diversity with parasites influencing aspects such…https://natural-sciences.nwu.ac.za/water-research-group/ecology
Ecology
WRG Ecology studies estuarine, wetland and river ecosystems with the aim to determine the interactions and/or relationships between the different organisms and their responses to their environment. This research aims to contribute towards local, regional and national knowledge of the southern African aquatic biodiversity through high-…https://natural-sciences.nwu.ac.za/water-research-group/PGE-collab
PGE Collaboration
In collaboration with: Short video footage German bilateral collaboration: platinum group elements in the Hex River system The collaboration between the Water Research Group (WRG), North-West University, and the Aquatische Ökologie (Aquatic Ecology) Group, Universität Duisburg-Essen, was funded by the National…https://natural-sciences.nwu.ac.za/water-research-group/tsitsikamma-living-lab
Tsitsikamma Living Lab
Full documentary Overview The Tsitsikamma Living Lab is the opportunity where we bring the theory and the practice together. It is an collaborative module with the North-West University, University of Johannesburg and University of Hong Kong. The students in class learn about theoretical aspects related to the intertidal…https://natural-sciences.nwu.ac.za/water-research-group/marine-hidden-diversity
Marine Hidden Diversity
The main aim of this project is to determine the role of MPAs in the conservation of parasite and symbiont biodiversity. This is a huge additional benefit of MPAs that has not been previously recognised as current formal conservation only applies for species at higher trophic levels, while their parasites, forming the majority of biodiversity…https://natural-sciences.nwu.ac.za/water-research-group-msc
Master's Students
Angela Minnie Email address: 30488222@mynwu.ac.za Current research focus: Acanthocephala, Taxonomy, Marine environmental parasitology, Biological indicators. Overview: Angela Minnie graduated with a B.Sc. in Microbiology and Botany. Thereafter, she…https://natural-sciences.nwu.ac.za/water-research-group-extraordinary
Extraordinary Appointments
Professor Bernd Sures bernd.sures@uni-due.de; Bernd.Sures@nwu.ac.za The research of Bernd Sures is of immense societal relevance. At its core, it focuses on understanding the occurrence and effects of multiple stressors in aquatic ecosystems, which is essential for comprehending healthy ecosystems.…https://natural-sciences.nwu.ac.za/water-research-group/research-projects
Research Projects
The WRG is involved in various research projects which span across all three legs: Ecology, Ecotoxicology, and Parasitology 2025 project updates coming soon! For more information on our ongoing projects, please click on the links below: Tsitsikamma Living Lab Marine Hidden Diversity For more information on completed…https://natural-sciences.nwu.ac.za/water-research-group-research-team
Research team
Please click on any of the research team groups for more information on the members Last updated: February 2025 Comments on the content and accessibility, please contact: Anja Erasmushttps://natural-sciences.nwu.ac.za/water-research-group/publications-2011-date
Publications 2011 to date
2025 publication list and other scientific outputs coming soon! Archive: 2019 Publications Please click here to download a PDF version of this list Anastasiou, A., Jones, T.W., Mullan, P., Ross, E.Z., and Howatson, G. (2019). Descriptive Analysis of Olympic Class Windsurfing Competition during the 2017-2018 Regatta Season.…https://natural-sciences.nwu.ac.za/water-research-group/alumni
Alumni
Dr Chinemerem Ohoro Email address: 49889648@mynwu.ac.za Field of expertise: Environmental/Analytical Chemistry, Ecotoxicology, Risk assessment, Organic pollutants, Emerging contaminants, Aquatic ecotoxicology Overview: Dr Chinemerem…https://natural-sciences.nwu.ac.za/water-research-group/qa-wrg-authors