Botany Honours
Disperis renibractea
This course offers students the opportunity to specialise in their areas of academic interest through theory modules and research projects. This diverse range of modules and projects are related to the academic strengths of the Botany department and taught by an expert in that field. In addition, students may include one of a selection of modules offered by other departments such as Entomology, Environmental Science and Zoology. While some modules and projects are applied and career-oriented, others are more academic in focus. Students are thus able to design their curriculum with a particular career and/or further study in mind. The course emphasises the development of skills required for designing, conducting and communicating research.
The Botany Honours degree is flexible, allowing students to tailor the degree according to their interests. Students may elect a research-focused degree which comprises of two research projects and two theory modules. Alternatively, students wishing to expose themselves to a broader range of topics may select four theory modules and only one project. For both options, the year begins with an introductory course and fieldtrip.
Theory module options*
- Climate Change – The effects of global climate change on plants and ecosystems.
- Pollination Services – What is the value of pollination to agriculture and conservation?
- Rehabilitation and Disturbance Ecology – Can natural ecosystems be restored and if so how?
- Ecology – Plants interact with other organisms and their environment – what are the outcomes and their management applications?
- Systematics and Biogeography – Who's related to whom, and why do they live where they do?
- Molecular Ecology and Conservation Genetics – Methods for understanding hidden evolutionary processes.
- Applied Evolutionary Plant Anatomy – Understanding the past helps understand the evolution of current transport systems in plants.
- Plant-Insect Feeding Interactions – The how, why and where of insect-plant feeding interactions.
- Plant Ecophysiology – Plant responses to environmental extremes such as water, light and temperature stress.
- Plant responses to herbivory – How plants sense and respond to herbivores.
- Diversity, rarity and endemism: theory and tools – What makes species rare or endemic, and how can we assess extinction risk?
- Systematic conservation planning – Prioritising the allocation of conservation resources in spatially-explicit ways.
Options from other life-science departments*
- Introduction to Environmental Impact Assessment (Environmental Science)
- Plant-Insect Co-evolution and Herbivory (Entomology)
- Insects in sustainable agricultural ecosystems (Entomology)
Examples of research projects*
- Aphid-plant interactions – resistance vs defense and the role of gene silencing.
- Exploring cell to cell transport – nanotech probes and fluorophore transport.
- Bees – nectar thieves or legitimate pollinators of “bird-pollinated” Aloes?
- Do South African Nymphaea water lilies kill their pollinators?
- East Cape Wetlands: floristics and conservation.
- Genetic diversity of Spekboom: ecotypes, subspecies or forms?
- Productivity and palatability of Spekboom: important considerations for carbon sequestration.
- What is the mechanism making C4 grasses susceptible to drought?
- Do C4 grasses recover more slowly from drought then C3 grasses? What are the ecological consequences?
- Plasticity of grass growth and allocation following 50 years of growth at elevated CO2, subject to frequent fire or not burnt.
- Do co-occurring closely related C3 and C4 grasses support different species of insects? (Co-supervised with Entomology).
- What influences the distribution of plant communities along a coastal environment gradient?
- Cultivation of medicinal plants – is it a viable alternative to harvesting, and what factors play a role?
- Looking back: using repeat photography to validate population viability analyses.
- Bush encroachment in relation to land- use and rainfall.
* The above lists of module and projects options are not exhaustive – they serve to give an idea of what is on offer and may vary from year to year.
Prerequisites: A Bachelor of Science degree with a major in Botany (or related biological disciplines such as ecology, physiology or grassland science where BSc degree structures do not include Botany per se) with a minimum of 60% is essential.
Application process
Applicants who meet the above criteria should submit the completed application form (available on-line at http://www2.ru.ac.za/studentzone/future_students/ along with other information) with academic transcripts and degree certificates before 1 November 2008.
Course content and workload
This is a full-time Honours course which starts in early February. Modules and projects are completed by the end of October and examinations are written in June and November. The course commences with a one-week introductory course, a field trip and a statistics course. In addition students take theory modules, produce a review paper and seminar on a conservation-related topic of their choice and carry out independent research project/s. Project
Bursaries and funding
There are some bursaries available for full-time Honours students at Rhodes University. Information can be found at http://www.ru.ac.za/research/postgrad.html.
A selection of Honours projects which are funded through the departments or project supervisors will be made available at the beginning of the year. Students are also encouraged to suggest projects that are of particular interest to them. Funding to cover such projects, especially if they involve substantial costs (e.g. field work travel and subsistence, laboratory analyses) will be considered but cannot be guaranteed. For all projects, budgeting is part of the proposal process and it is essential that students agree on the costs and funding with their supervisor before proceeding.
Part-time Honours
People who are employed and unable to register full-time for the year may apply to do the Honours course part-time over two years. It is, however, important to note that part-time students must be able to spend a total of 4-5 months each year in Grahamstown, which includes modules, courses and project work. Students must be present for the June and November examinations each year. As the coursework involves discussions, seminars and practical components, students need to be in Grahamstown during the modules. It is not possible to take modules long-distance.
For more information
If you are interested in the Biodiversity and Conservation Honours course and would like to learn more about this degree, please contact the head of department Prof. Brad Ripley (B.Ripley@ru.ac.za).
