2010 Zoology Award Winners

Citation for Susan Wendy Nicolson 

Susan Wendy Nicolson obtained her Bachelors degree at the University of Auckland in New Zealand and her doctoral degree at the University of Cambridge, U.K. after which she migrated to the warmer shores of South Africa. She went on to spend twenty-three years at the University of Cape Town, initially as a junior lecturer, then as a research associate to Professor Gideon Louw. In 1990 she was appointed as a Senior lecturer in Zoology, and ascended to the rank of Associate Professor in 1998. In 2001 she was appointed as a Full Professor in the Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, and in 2003 was appointed Head of Department, the position she currently holds. Sue has been a visiting scientist to a number of international institutions including the Cornell University, University of Western Ontario, several Universities in the UK (including Bath, Bristol and Cambridge), the University of Western Australia and the University of Siena in Italy.

Sue Nicolson has built up an enviable reputation over the years for her contributions in two major disciplines of the biological sciences, namely excretory physiology of insects and the physiological mechanisms underlying avian nectarivory. Her publication record is outstanding. She has published two books, five book chapters and some 123 research articles, most of which feature in international peer-reviewed journals, including PNAS, Biology Letters, Journal of Experimental Biology and Functional Ecology. Her endeavors have increased our knowledge on Malpighian tubule physiology and sugar feeding in birds as a whole in three ways. First, through her cutting-edge research and meticulous mentorship, Sue has trained numerous students who have become experts in their own right Second, she has fostered inter-disciplinary and inter-institutional collaboration, and has collaborated with foremost international experts. Finally, Sue has been a forerunner in the development and promotion of the study of animal physiology in South Africa. Her impact on the field of animal physiology can be attested to by the large number of invited lectures she has been requested to present all over the globe.

As well as one of South Africa’s leading zoologists, Sue is also a great teacher and has played an exemplary role in the training of students She is a strongly principled and precise scientist who has given much of her life to the interests of research and her students. Twenty M.Sc or Ph.D students have graduated under her supervision, some of whom have gone on to secure academic positions at top South African institutions. Sue has also served as external examiner to a number of Universities, and is a popular examiner for M.Sc and PhD theses.

Sue has served the Zoological Society for many years as both Editor for the old South African Journal of Zoology (now African Zoology) and also as a committee member. During her tenure as Editor she unselfishly championed the journal and managed to increase the impact factor by ensuring quality control. It is fitting that the Zoological Society should award the Gold Medal to Sue in recognition of her exceptional roles in research, education and loyal service to the zoological community and Society.

Citation for Dane McDonald

Dane McDonald is a postgraduate (MSc) student at the University of Stellenbosch. His research deals with cryptic speciation in two velvet worm species complexes in the Western and Northern provinces, Peripatopsis balfouri and P. capensis.

Formally known as onychophorans; velvet worms are soft-bodied terrestrial invertebrates. They are vulnerable to desiccation and typically inhabit moist, humid, microhabitats (e.g. inside rotting logs, under stones, in leaf litter, caves and in soil). Peripatopsis balfouri and P. capensis are limited to disjunct afrotemperate forests in fynbos and forest biomes. Due to their habitat distribution they exist in widespread allopatric and sympatric populations, further making them prone to cryptic speciation.

Dane’s research addresses a paucity of systematic data on the onychophorans in South Africa. Specifically; the evolutionary relationships within P. balfouri and P. capensis remain unquantified, and species boundaries ill-defined. This poses a challenge to conservation authorities when conservation resources need to be allocated to management units. In response to this challenge, his research comprises the application of a phylogenetic diversity index to the tree topology to assess the conservation status of South African Peripatopsis species. Based on this data a management plan will be proposed for Peripatopsis.

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