Mandela University Student Earns Best MSc Student Presentation Award at Southern African Wildlife Management Association Conference

Mandela University master’s student in Zoology Ryan Forbes was awarded the prize for the Best MSc Student presentation at the recent Southern African Wildlife Management Association Conference.

From left, Ryan Forbes, Kristen Davis, Nicky Dreyer and Prof Graham Kerley

Ryan, together with Kristen Davis and Nicky Dreyer, was also the best student team in the conference quiz, against 19 other teams of students and wildlife professionals.

The students, all from the University’s Centre for African Conservation Ecology, and under the leadership of its Director Professor Graham Kerley, presented part of their MSc research findings at the annual Southern African Wildlife Management Association Conference, held in the Golden Gate National Park earlier this month.

Ryan’s research focuses on the shift in carnivore diets in response to the depletion of wild prey and an abundance of livestock. Kristen explores the Camdeboo-Mountain Zebra Corridor as an opportunity to protect viable populations of medium- to large-sized mammals.

Nicky Dreyer works on the uncovering of seasonal patterns in the demographic-specific prey preferences of lions and cheetahs.