IDS report from the African Savanna

by Kálmán Tapolczai |

This year’s International Diatom Symposium (the 27th!) was held in one of the most exotic venues in the symposium’s history: Skukuza, Kruger National Park, organised by Prof. Jonathan Taylor and his team at North-West University. While travelling there required considerable time and effort for most participants, the experience proved to be absolutely rewarding. Sunday’s icebreaker provided an excellent opportunity for students and ECRs to meet and discuss ahead of the conference’s scientific programme.

The plenary speakers were outstanding, covering topics from palaeolimnology (Kelly L. Kirsten: Advancing palaeolimnology: The role of diatoms in bridging past environmental insights with sustainable management), diatoms in India (Karthick Balasubramanian: From Gandhi to Genomes: Mapping India’s diatom diversity and beyond), the evolution of diatoms in Africa (Elena Jovanovska: Evolution and diversity of diatoms in African biodiversity hotspots), to stream quality assessment in the tropics (Taurai Bere: Choice of biota in stream assessment and monitoring programs in tropical streams: a comparison of diatoms, macroinvertebrates and fish).

Ten student talks and four posters spanning taxonomy, ecology, molecular methods, and palaeolimnology were of exceptional scientific quality, assuring us of the promising future of diatom research. The organisers and sponsors recognised the two best oral and poster presentations with certificates, customised pens, and books from Koeltz Botanical Books – Congratulations!

Funding from the International Union of Biological Sciences (IUBS) was used to defray the cost of attendance at the symposium for members from lower income countries and to fully support three outstanding students. Two students from India were supported, Yogeshwaran Murugesan and Pratyasha Nayak, who also received the second prize for best student presentation. Purvance Shikwambana (South African) was supported and she was awarded the second prize for best student oral presentation. Without the generous support of the IUBS the attendance of these excellent candidates from lower income countries would not have been possible.

Best oral presentations:

  • 1st prize: Irene Llamas-Cano – Bridging the gap between surface and deep-sea diatoms in the Denmark Strait
  • 2nd prize: Purvance Shikwambana – Trajectories of change in Kruger Park Rivers: Using diatoms as ecological indicators

Best poster presentations:

  • 1st prize: Shajeda Khanom – The impact of changing environmental conditions on benthic diatoms in lake microbial mats on Signy Island, Antarctica
  • 2nd prize: Pratyasha Nayak – Diatom monitoring in the tropics: Is DNA metabarcoding ready?

A student and ECR get-together organised by Young ISDR at a local restaurant allowed informal discussions over delicious local meals and drinks. The mid-symposium excursion, including game drives across the Kruger National Park savanna, was a highlight for many participants. Observing lions, elephants, giraffes, hippos, crocodiles, and other wildlife in their natural habitat, and ending the day with a barbecue in the wild, was an unforgettable experience.

During the Young ISDR meeting, participants learned about the benefits of joining ISDR/Young ISDR, including networking opportunities, access to seminars/workshops, visibility, conference discounts, and Koeltz Botanical books discounts. We have also elected our new incoming ECR representative, Raquel Viso of whom you could already read on our site. Congratulations! 

Finally, participants could hear and ask about the currently open ECR grants; the Luc Ector and the Networking Grant. If you are interested in applying, do not hesitate to read about the call and save the date of the submission deadline: 1st October 2025. During this session, former awardees, Sulastri Arsad (University of Szczecin, Poland) and Xavier Benito (Institute for Agrifood and Technology Research, Spain) presented their awarded projects to help future applicants to write a winner proposal.

For those interested and like to dive into the abyss of taxonomy, a workshop targeting the morphological and taxonomic overview of the genus Pseudostaurosira was held by Bart Van de Vijver.

 

Finally, we extend our sincere thanks to Jonathan Taylor, his students, and the Local Organising Committee for hosting such a wonderful and successful symposium in South Africa.