Ecological research, monitoring & assessment

Our projects include development and execution of freshwater, estuarine and marine water quality guidelines and monitoring systems, dispersion modelling and management of effluent disposal into the inshore marine environment. We offer Whole Effluent Toxicity (WET) tests, both chronic and acute, using standard methods and guidelines such as those stipulated by the US-EPA, OECD, ISO, NIWA and ASTM.

We undertake risk assessment studies of potential introductions of alien species in freshwater and marine environments, and we undertake surveys of marine alien species in ports and bays, ballast water surveys, assess hull fouling problems. We also assess the socio-economic implications of invasive and problem species in both aquatic and terrestrial habitats and advise on policy and approaches to deal with them.

We offer monitoring and measurement of various in-situ physical and chemical oceanographic parameters in coastal, estuarine and the deep-sea environments. Our met-ocean services include the measurement of conductivity/salinity, currents and waves, temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH and turbidity.

Our services range from specialist input on biodiversity, ecological, and socio-economic impacts to the running of entire EIA or ESIA projects. We also assess applications for prospecting, ranching and other operational rights, environmental licenses and environmental authorisations; baseline studies; environmental monitoring of important conservation and disturbed habitats; and monitoring environmental compliance of various operations.

We prepare management plans for estuaries, coastal systems, protected areas and range lands, starting from a situation assessment and consultation with stakeholders to devising ecologically, socially and economically sound strategies for achieving the desired objectives. We devise workable action plans. We also produce environmental management and monitoring plans and programmes (EMPr) to assist industry in mitigating the potential impacts of development and in meeting their environmental policy objectives.

We offer specialist expertise for classifying and determining the freshwater requirements of rivers and estuaries, including socioeconomic components. We also offer the design and use of analytical tools for integrated river basin management, including DRIFT, systems modelling and classification.

We describe the status and functioning of ecosystems based on historical data, field studies and remote sensing data analysis, using state of the art methods, models and technologies. We undertake specialist marine, estuarine wetland and terrestrial field studies on invertebrates (including SASS5), fish and birds (taxonomic, behavioural and ecological). We model hydrological, hydrodynamic and ecological processes in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems in order to analyse the potential consequences of future management options.