UFS Master’s Student Awarded Prestigious Junior Captain Scott Memorial Medal
The Suid-Afrikaanse Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns (Council of the South African Academy for Science and Arts) recently announced the prestigious academy awards for 2024.
This year, the Junior Captain Scott Memorial Medal in Zoology was awarded to a postgraduate student at the University of the Free State (UFS), Runé van der Merwe. She received the medal for the best master’s degree dissertation at a South African university. The prizes will be presented to the winners during an award ceremony in Pretoria in September.
Van der Merwe says being recognised with this medal motivates and encourages her to continue striving for excellence in her academic career. “I am grateful for the support and belief extended to me by the researchers in the Department of Zoology and Entomology. Knowing they are behind me means everything,” she states.
A range of variation within each species
Her thesis is titled: The role of body size as a life-history trait influencing within population niche variation in mammals. Explaining this topic, she comments, “Classical theory – and most of us – presume different animal or plant species can be treated as a group of the same ‘thing’, but there is massive variation between individuals of any species. Individual niche variation happens when different individuals in a population use different resources in their environment. This variation significantly affects how species interact, live together, and change their populations and traits over time.”
One aspect that Van der Merwe explored was the diets of the various animals; investigating why wild animals have different dietary preferences. The thinking was that bigger animals, specifically, could not afford to be as picky, because then they might not meet their daily intake requirements. So, she studied the degree of variation in the diet of larger-bodies mammal herbivores by using stable isotope analysis of their dental and faecal records. Interestingly, Van der Merwe found that the size of the animal did not really predict how varied their diet was.
“The lack of an effect by body mass was surprising as the importance of body mass in determining diet, particularly among ruminants, is widely recognised,” she comments. She adds that some groups of animals had many differences in their diets, while others all ate the same food. This demonstrates the complexity of behavioural strategies even among non-human animals.
Regarding future studies on this topic, Van der Merwe believes that from a biodiversity conservation perspective, there is a need to rethink how important ecological and evolutionary factors are defined. According to her, instead of viewing species as having either high or low individual differences, it should be understood that there is a range of variation within each species. This suggests the need to look at factors such as habitat, competition, and predators to understand why animals differ in what they eat. Furthermore, she acknowledges that what drives these differences may vary for each species, even among plant-eating mammals.
Mentorship, guidance, and growth
Although passionate about this field, Van der Merwe never though that this is where she would find herself. Interest in this field was definitely there, but exposure to different modules, attending talks, and the enthusiasm of her supervisor contributed to her learning more about the different fields in zoology.
Van der Merwe is of the opinion that her academic journey at the UFS has equipped her with a solid foundation in the fields of Zoology and Genetics. “I have been presented with opportunities to enhance my research skills, including conference participation, practical assistance, and workshop attendance. Furthermore, interactions with fellow students and experts in the field provided invaluable opportunities for collaboration, mentorship, and knowledge exchange. These experiences have broadened my academic knowledge and fostered personal growth and professional development. The mentorship received during my master’s is particularly noteworthy and has significantly contributed to this achievement.”