Junior Researcher in the Aquatic Weeds Programme‌‌

Email: m.paper@ru.ac.za
Office: F11, First Floor, Life Science Building

BSc (Hons) Marine Biology, Rhodes University (2016) 

Matthew is a junior researcher with Prof. Julie Coetzee at the CBC working on the Aquatic Weeds Research Programme.  He completed his honours on the bioaccumlation of microplastics in sessile filter feeders along the coast of South Africa. Matthew has recently submitted his MSc and is waiting to hear from the examiners.His research looked at the impact of elevated CO2 on the efficacy of Cornops aquaticum (Orthoptera: Acridiae) and Megamelus scutellaris (Hemiptera: Delphacidae) which are biological control agents for Pontederia crassipes (Mart.) Solms-Laub (Pontederiaceae) (https://www.ru.ac.za/ruecf/researchprojects/invasiveplants). Matthew runs host specificity testing on Cyrtobagous salviniae (Salvinia weevil), as well as various other projects on the invasive aquatic fern Salvinia minima (Baker) (Salviniaceae). Matthew assists with various field work relating to the Aquatic Weeds Programme, providing support for MSc, PhD students and researchers by running logistics and data collection.

Research interests

• Climate change research
• Insect and plant mass rearing
• Plant-insect interactions
• Aquatic weeds

Last Modified: Fri, 21 Jan 2022 10:49:50 SAST