Nicole Richoux

MSc Memorial University of Newfoundland (1999)
PhD Memorial University of Newfoundland (2004)

Senior Lecturer in Zoology

'phone +27 [0]46 603 8524
Fax +27 [0]46 622-8959
e-mail n.richoux@ru.ac.za

Research interests

Trophic relationships and energetics in aquatic ecosystems using fatty acid profiles. Opportunities are available for post doctoral and postgraduate projects, please contact me by email. 

Teaching interests

Ecology
Marine Biology

Professional memberships

The Zoological Society of Southern Africa, 2007 – present
American Society of Limnology and Oceanography, 1997 – present
The Society of Canadian Limnologists, 2005 – present

Fatty Acid Facility

Manager: Bernadette Hubbart

Post-graduate supervision ‌‌

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Current students and Post Docs

Dr Emily Antonio, Post doctoral researcher.

Elodie Heyns, PhD student.

Johannes A Iitembu, PhD student.

Dr Laure Carassou, Post doctoral researcher. 

Leandro Bergamino, PhD student. Effects of allochthonous organic matter input into an aquatic food web.

Jeffrey Hean, PhD student. Reciprocal aquatic/terestrial trophic subsidies through aquatic birds in a South African hydrological catchment.

Tatenda Dalu, PhD student. Plankton dynamics in a riverine/estuarine continuum

Sydney Moyo, PhD student. Trophic linkages in aquatic food webs: the role of insects

Lenin Chari, PhD student. Nutrient fluxes between water and aerial habitats: the roles of aerial predatory invertebrates in trophic cross-subsidisation.

Likho Sikutshwa, MSc student. Trophic linkages in aquatic food webs: the role of amphibians

Katherina Schoo, Post doctoral researcher.

Simphiwe Gininda, MSc student. The effects of stream pollution on the primary producers and macroinvertabrates of the Bloukrans River in Grahamstown

Past students and Post Docs

David Hasek (MSc). Fatty acid profiles of subtidal benthic communities in pristine and human-exploited marine environments.

Rachel Ndhlovu (MSc). Variations in diet quality and lipid condition of suspension-feeders and grazers in the rocky intertidal zone.

Louise Allan (PhD). Louise’s research focussed on the trophodynamics of benthic invertebrates in contrasting island systems - Marion Island (Southern Ocean), King George Island (Antarctica) and Bird Island (Algoa Bay).

Ilke Vermeulen (MSc). Ilke studied the contribution of terrestrial-derived carbon to the diets of benthic and epibenthic particle feeders adjacent to the Great Fish and Kariega Estuaries using fatty acid and stable isotope tracers.

Dr Gauthier Schaal (Post Doc). Trophic transfers between South African estuaries and coastal marine ecosystems: a coupled stable isotope ratio and fatty acid biomarker approach.

Some recent publications

Schaal G, Richoux NB, Hill JM, Riera P. (in revision) Trophic studies in estuarine, coastal and marine ecosystems: a synthesis and prospective on the combination fatty acid and stable isotope signature approach. Oecologia

Stead RA, Richoux NB, Pereda SV, Thompson RJ (submitted) Influence of an intermittent food supply on the energy storage of Yoldia hyperborea (Bivalvia: Nuculanidae). Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology

van der Bank MG, Utne-Palm AC, Pittman K, Sweetman AK, Richoux NB, Brüchert V, Gibbons MJ (2011) Dietary success of a "new" key fish in an overfished ecosystem: evidence from fatty acid and stable isotope signatures. Marine Ecology Progress Series 428:219-233

Richoux NB (2011) Trophic ecology of zooplankton at a frontal transition zone: fatty acid signatures at the subtropical convergence, Southern Ocean. Journal of Plankton Research 33:491-505

Richoux NB, Jaquemet S, Bonnevie BT, Cherel Y, McQuaid CD (2010) Trophic ecology of Grey-headed albatrosses from Marion Island, Southern Ocean: insights from stomach contents and diet tracers. Marine Biology 157:1755-1766

Allan EL, Ambrose ST, Richoux NB, Froneman PW (2010) Determining spatial changes in the diet of suspension-feeding mussels Perna perna in the nearshore environment along the eastern South African coastline using stable isotope and fatty acid signatures. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 87:463-471

Richoux NB, Froneman PW (2009) Plankton trophodynamics at the subtropical convergence, Southern Ocean. Journal of Plankton Research 31:1059-1073

Henninger TO, Froneman PW, Richoux NB, Hodgson AN (2009) The role of macrophytes as a refuge and/or food source for the isopod Exosphaeroma hylocoetes. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 82:285-293

Richoux NB, Froneman PW (2008) Trophic ecology of dominant zooplankton and macrofauna in a temperate and oligotrophic South African estuary: a fatty acid approach. /Marine Ecology Progress Series/ 357:121-137

Froneman PW, Ansorge IJ, Richoux NB and others (2007) Physical and biological processes at the Subtropical Convergence in the South-west Indian Ocean. /South African Journal of Science/ 103:193-195