South African
A celebration of our seas and shores
Contents
Part one
Hope Spots 15
Hope Spots: protection for earths blue heart 16
Algoa Bay: a Hope Spot in the Eastern Cape 20
New Hope Spots on the South African coastline 26
Part two
Coastal and ocean landscapes 69
There and back again: a trail-runners addiction to the Wild Coast 50
Part three
Marine life 77
Invertebrates and algae: a glimpse of their marine splendour 78
New species and novel observations 85
Save our seabirds 88
Fish, reptiles and mammals 90
Part four
Sport, recreation and fishing 119
Our oceans, our responsibility 120
Sea kayaking in South Africa 123
Part five
Culture and history 145
Maritime shipwreck history: how shipping
affected our coasts and marine life 146
My goat that produces white kids: biocultural narratives
of the sea and seashore in Xhosaland 152
Storm at sea with passing ship (LucHosten)
Marine life picture gallery
Part three
Marine life
INVERTEBRATES AND ALGAE
a glimpse of their marine splendour
It is easy for our minds to fixate on the big things in the sea fish,
dolphins, turtles and birds but underpinning their existence is
an amazing array of invertebrates and algae that are staggering
in their diversity, beauty and ecological importance.
Origins of diversity in the sea: why life is divided into seven kingdoms
There are many more species on land than in the sea, but in terms of major groups, life is far
richer in the sea. Entire phyla such as the sponges (Porifera), corals, jellyfish and hydroids
(Cnidaria), starfish, urchins and their kin (Echinodermata), and sea squirts (Urochordata), as well
as three fundamentally different groups of seaweeds, find no counterpart on land.
Exploring the origins of this huge variety of life leaves one in awe. Life almost certainly started
in the sea, but we remain largely ignorant about how that took place. The most ancient of bacteria,
the Archaea, are genetically so different from other bacteria (the Eubacteria) that most scientists
allocate them to a separate kingdom the highest rank in the scientific division of life. Archaea are
also unusual in that many species live in extreme environments, under enormous pressure at the
bottom of the sea, buried deep in the earths crust, or thriving at scalding temperatures. Indeed,
their preference for such conditions has given rise to speculation that hydrothermal vents on the
deep ocean floor might have been the most likely sites for the origin of life.
But lets move on to more established facts about the development of life. All types of
bacteria are grouped together as prokaryotes, which are single-celled and have a simple
thread of genetic material that floats freely in the cell. What we like to think of as higher
forms of life, such as animals, plants and fungi, all have much more complex cells with an
internal envelope around the double-stranded DNA, forming a nucleus, as well as other
organelles within the cell such as mitochondria that generate energy, and plastids controlling
photosynthesis. We term organisms with these advanced cells eukaryotes. Although many
eukaryotes are single-celled, the transition to multicellular bodies is limited to this group.
Without the development of the eukaryote grade of life, sexual reproduction as we know it
would not have originated. (Now theres a sobering thought!) And without sexual reproduction
evolution would have stalled at the bacterial grade as it was for about 2 billion years before
multicellular life took off and diversified at a remarkable rate about 530 million years ago.
36 South African coasts
George Branch
With a passion for sea
life, George Branch
describes himself as
a one-time choral
singer, photographer,
scuba diver, tennis
player of ill repute
and beach bum par
excellence. He and
his wife Margo have
devoted a lifetime
to studying and
communicating the
excitement of marine
science to both the public and to generations of
students at the University of Cape Town, and have
published over 250 scientific articles and 12 books.
Their award-winning books Two Oceans a Guide to
Marine Life of Southern Africa, and Living Shores of
Southern Africa are standard references on marine
life. George has been awarded the Gold Medal of the
Zoological Society, the Gilchrist Gold Medal and the
International Temperate Reef Award in recognition
of his contributions to marine science. His fervour
for teaching yielded a Distinguished Teachers Award
at the University of Cape Town. George cannot
believe the luck he had to be employed to indulge
in marine science, and the privilege of working with
a wonderful group of postgraduate students. He
and his wife are spending their retirement years
cherishing grandparental joys, and rewriting the
book Living Shores, to update it and convey the thrills
of discovery that have taken place in the 35 years
since they first wrote that book.
Captions to pages 7677
The origin of eukaryotes is in itself an amazing
1. Anemone fish (Tristan Silver)
2. Loggerhead turtle (BartLukasik)
3. Otter sunrise, Jeffreys Bay
(DeonLategan)
4. Crowned nudibranch, False Bay,
Cape Town (Geo Cloete)
5. Branching soft coral, Sodwana Bay
(Peter Timm)
6. Gorgons head (Guido Zsilavecz)
7. Harlequin shrimp and its favourite
food starfish, Sodwana (Jacques
and algae. But wait there is more. Engulfment of one
story, which borders on the realms of science fiction.
eukaryotic cell by another seems to have given rise to
It is highly probable that they arose when one
what we call the brown algae (including kelp), which
bacterium engulfed another kind of bacterium, to
are so different from other algae that they are placed
establish what is called endosymbiosis the existence
in a kingdom of their own (Chromista).
of the remnants of one cell and its genetic material
If we piece this tree of life together, seven kingdoms
within another. The introduced genetic material is
can be distinguished in the sea: the Archaea and
still evident in organelles within the cell, such as the
Eubacteria; the single-celled eukaryotes that might once
mitochondria. The host cell developed a protective
have been called Protozoa (meaning first animals),
membrane around its own genetic material the
but are now grouped as Protoctista (in recognition of
origin of the nucleus. The story doesnt end there
the fact that some have animal-like features and others
either, for it appears that a second such engulfment,
plant-like characteristics); the multicellular Animalia
of a photosynthetic bacterium in this case, led to the
and Fungi (both of which possess mitochondria); the
formation of plastids, which are the cell organelles
Plantae that have added photosynthetic plastids; and
responsible for the photosynthetic abilities of plants
the chimeras that led to the Chromista.
vanJaarsveld)
Once abundant on the Cape west
and south coasts, abalone have
been badly depleted by poaching.
Increasingly, supplies are being met
by aquaculture ventures, and the
juveniles shown here were grown in
an abalone farm near Hermanus.
Their two-tone shells reflect a change
in diet from initially being fed
bacteria and microalgae, to eating
kelp at a later stage. (GeorgeBranch)
Marine life 37
Left: Elephant seal at
Schoenmakerskop, Port Elizabeth
(Luc Hosten)
Right: Great White grin, Kleinbaai,
Western Cape (Kerry Moss)
48 South African coasts
Marine life picture gallery
49
Culture and history
picture gallery
Left: Fisherman, Wild Coast
(RobTarr)
60 South African coasts
Above: Belverdere Jetty, Knysna
Lagoon (Mike Ehrman)
Snoek run, Millers Point, False Bay,
Cape Town (Rob Tarr)
Culture and history picture gallery
61
Presentation not actual size
NEW TITLE
THE BOOK
This book showcases the very best of the photography as judged in the
Sustainable Seas Trust 2013/14 competition. The extraordinary, prizewinning photographs are accompanied by illuminating essays from
leading scientists, sports people and others whose lives are intimately
connected with the seas. It also serves as a call to create a South African
network of Hope Spots, which are special, people-orientated marine
conservation areas. The hope is that, with the close involvement of the
communities that live near and depend on the seas, we can safeguard
our natural resources.
South African
A celebration of our seas and shores
Splendours of our coasts cover.indd 24
2014/07/01 3:02 PM
Pub. date:
December 2014
ISBN:
978 1 77584 211 8
RRP:
R230.00
Format:
210 x 265 mm
Extent:
176 pages
Text:
22 000 words
Images:
300 photos
Language:
English
Covers:
Softcover with flaps
Classification + BIC codes:
WN (Natural history);
WNC (Wildlife: general interest),
WNCS (Wildlife: aquatic creatures);
AJC (Photographs: collections)
Imprint:
Struik Nature
THE AUTHORS
The foreword is written by Sylvia Earle, renowned marine scientist and
conservationist. There are also essays by eminent scientists, conservationists,
ocean explorers and journalists whose lives or work are in various ways
closely connected with the sea, among them professors George Branch
and Charles Griffiths.
SALES POINTS
Specta
ct
photog ular
raphy
A visual feast of full-colour photographs
Chosen from more than 5,000 amateur and professional submissions
Fascinating essays reflecting on the significance of the ocean
Variety of contributors conservationists, sportspeople, scientists, etc.
www.randomstruik.co.za
Struik Nature is an imprint of Random House Struik (PTY) LTD Reg No 1966/003153/07
The Estuaries No. 4, Century Avenue (Oxbow Crescent), Century City, 7441 PO Box 1144, Cape Town, 8000 South Africa
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