Dr Shaun H.P. Deyzel

Sentinel Site Research and Data Co-ordinator.

Tasked with the effective coordination of short- and long-term research in the Algoa Bay Sentinel Site, Shaun spearheaded the development and implementation of the Pelagic Ecosystem LTER Programme (PELTER), assisted with the expansion of the Sentinel Site into St Francis Bay and co-developed SAEON's Estuaries LTER programme (ELTER). Shaun also leads data management at the node. Research interests are broadly focused in coastal and estuarine plankton ecology, specifically community dynamics, productivity, phenology, bio-physical relationships, coastal oceanography, ecological theory, response to climate change linked phenomena and copepod taxonomy.

In 2007 Shaun Deyzel joined the newly established SAEON Elwandle Node on an internship.  In the first two years of employment he assisted with the design and development of SAEON's Parataxonomy Laboratory, co-developed Algoa Bay Sentinel Site LTER projects and a LTER framework for nearshore macrozoobenthos for which he was principle investigator.  In 2009, Shaun was promoted to project manager of an ongoing, nationwide biomonitoring programme involving seven commercial ports on behalf of Transnet National Ports Authority. He assumed his present portfolio of Sentinel Site Research and Data Co-ordinator in 2010. Tasked with the effective coordination of short and long-term research activities in SAEON's Algoa Bay Sentintel Site, Shaun spearheaded the development and implementation of the Pelagic Ecosystem Long-term Environmental Research Programme (PE-LTERP) in collaboration with SAIAB and NMMU, assisted with the expansion of the Sentinel Site into St Francis Bay and co-developed Elwandle Node's Estuaries Long-term Environmental Research Programme (E-LTERP). Shaun is also responsible for data management and assist SAEON's Information Management team with developing data products. Shaun is passionate about capacity building and has provided leadership and guidance as mentor (masters and doctoral level) and co-supervisor (honours level) to eight students of PDI demography, four DST/NRF interns and five Parataxonomy Laboratory assistants. Parataxonomy staff are recruited from the unemployed community of Grahamstown. He was instrumental in the development of and is still actively involved with the Phuhlisa Programme (ACEP, SAIAB). The core focus of this programme is centered on capacity building among PDI students from HBUs in several fields of marine science.  He was recently appointed Research Associate at the Coastal and Marine Research Institute at NMMU, after receiving his PhD from the same university in 2013.  Shaun's research focus is in coastal and estuarine plankton ecology with particular interests in zooplankton, community dynamics, copepoda taxonomy, -reproduction, -phenology, -trophodynamics, predator-prey interactions, bio-physical relationships, coastal oceanography, ecological theory, LTER and climate change.  Dividing his research focus between estuaries (PhD focus) and nearshore themes (SAEON research 2007 to present) helped him develop a wide conceptual understanding of the ecology of benthic and pelagic micro-invertebrates in these environments.  Shaun is also a Class IV commercial diver and coastal skipper (Cat. C, < 9m) with working knowledge of an array of scientific equipment gained over 19 years of fieldwork in estuaries and at sea.  Through his work, Shaun hopes to contribute to the collective effort of understanding our role as drivers of change in coastal ecosystems.