Oceanography

Dr David Walker, Acting HOD of Conservation and Marine Sciences at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT)

My broad research interests are marine and estuarine ecology, in particular the links between phytoplankton (plant plankton) growth and food webs. I have carried out this research off the west coast of South Africa, off Antarctica, around Marion Island and, more recently, in the Indian Ocean south of Madagascar.

I have also been involved in estuarine ecological research in the Eastern and Western Cape. This has focussed on the freshwater requirements of estuaries in relation to plant and algal growth. I apply this work as a member of the Zandvlei Trust and the Zandvlei Estuarine Management Forum.

Dr David Walker’s research focus includes but is not limited to:

• Phytoplankton production and community structure in Beguela and Agulhas Current systems and in the Southern Ocean
• Sea-ice algal dynamics in the Southern Ocean
• Estuarine ecology and management