Matthew Burnett

• Doctor of Philosophy
• University of KwaZulu-Natal

Various factors drive the decline of freshwater vertebrate biodiversity. These include changing landscape and urbanisation, introduced invasive species, altered habitat, water quality deterioration, instream barriers, and climate change. In the present study, we evaluated the impact of different habitat features on the fish assemblages in an urban...

Population data on the African Openbill (Anastomus lamelligerus, hereafter Openbill) are largely lacking. We surveyed Openbill colonies on the Barotse Floodplain of the Zambezi River in western Zambia, describing nest site characteristics, clutch size, and brood sex ratios. We also monitored the movements of a male with the first telemetry transmit...

In South Africa, fish kill events are increasing in frequency because of multiple stressors associated with managing natural resources. Despite the ecosystem services associated with fish, South Africa's progressive legislation towards environmental protection seems to negate the management of fish kills. In this study, we provide an overview of re...

Analyses for biodiversity monitoring based on passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) recordings is time-consuming and challenged by the presence of background noise in recordings. Existing models for sound event detection (SED) worked only on certain avian species and the development of further models required labeled data. The developed framework autom...

Knowledge of where species breed is important for understanding population trends, range shifts and conservation threats. During fieldwork in 2019-2023 in Western Province, Zambia, we recorded evidence of breeding of 21 waterbird species. According to known literature, these are considered the first breeding records for 14 species in this region of...

Analyses for biodiversity monitoring based on passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) recordings is time-consuming and challenged by the presence of background noise in recordings. Existing models worked only on certain avian species and the development of further models required labeled data. The developed framework automatically extracted labeled data...

Diadromous macrocrustaceans need connectivity between the ocean, estuary and river to complete their life cycle. Instream barriers in lower reaches of rivers threaten upstream migrations of diadromous macrocrustaceans. Varuna litterata migrate upstream after a spawning event out at sea. These migration events have been poorly documented. We documen...

Fish behaviour is one biological organisational level regularly used to assess the state of freshwater ecosystems and can be monitored using fish telemetry methods. The development of activity sensors incorporated into fish telemetered tags allows for non-spatial movement to be detected and is increasingly used to understand the energy budgets and...

Context Recreational angling has a history of species introductions causing significant loss of native biodiversity. Despite this, it represents a large economy supporting many livelihoods. The Mooi River, South Africa, supports trout fisheries in its upper reach. A weir was constructed to mitigate the loss of a natural barrier, now inundated by a...

Background and Aims For the first time in Africa, two freshwater turtle species (hereafter terrapin) presence and temporal activity in their habitats were investigated using radio telemetry. Methods Telemeter tags were attached to Pelusios sinuatus ( n = 10) at Ndumo Reserve and Pelomedusa galeata ( n = 10) at Tala Reserve. Pelusios sinuatus tagge...

Fisheries are highly complex social-ecological systems that often face ‘wicked’ problems from unsustainable resource management to climate change. Addressing these challenges requires transdisciplinary approaches that integrate perspectives across scientific disciplines and knowledge systems. Despite widespread calls for transdisciplinary fisheries...

The increase in anthropogenic stress on river ecosystems is of growing concern globally as demand for water increases and freshwater ecosystem degradation occurs. Understanding how the species respond to these stressors is important to manage ecosystem functioning, the conservation of species and the ecosystem services they provide. We used radio t...

The degradation of freshwater ecosystems can be attributed to stressors associated with the increased demand for water and other aquatic resources. Freshwater ecosystems face such challenges in supporting agriculture, industry, and high-density urban areas in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) province, South Africa. In this study, the presence of fish species an...

Understanding the biological response to increasing anthropogenic stressors is an important consideration to make when evaluating ecosystem well-being. Among aquatic ecological indicators, fish are effective as they are mobile and can be monitored relatively easily. The socio-economically important uMngeni River in South Africa is a highly regulate...

Fish telemetry is a widely established technique in developed countries. However, in underdeveloped regions, its use is generally lacking. We briefly present common fish telemetry methods used globally and then reviewed their use in African inland freshwater ecosystems. We highlight telemetry studies' progress in African inland waters and evaluate...

Using radio telemetry to determine the response of fish to environmental stressors

Increase in anthropogenic pressures on freshwater ecosystems, globally and locally in South Africa, has made it difficult to meet environmental flow requirements and maintain these systems. The Letaba-Olifants catchment is one such example, where the upstream water demands place pressure on the river downstream as it flows through the Kruger Nation...

Fishes are indicators of aquatic ecosystem wellbeing globally and used when understanding impacts from water resources. The behavioural ecology of fishes as a Line of Evidence (LoE) is between 10 and 100 times more responsive to changes in environmental variables, compared with traditional LoEs including standard mortality bioassay LoEs. Fish telem...

This 381-paged book covers the biology, ecology, impact and management of 34 common alien invasive species, with reviews on the history and context of avian introductions and invasions in five major regions (Oceania, Africa, Europe (including the Middle East, Asia and South America)), as well as management challenges and the potential of citizen sc...

People throughout the world depend on the services we derive from freshwater ecosystems. Human land-use activities often affect the quality, quantity and habitat of freshwater ecosystem, which need to be carefully managed to ensure their integrity and provision of services is sustainable. In South Africa, legislation has established resource-direct...

The spatial movement of Labeobarbus marequensis was evaluated by attaching radio transmitters to 16 adult fish and tracking them from August 2009 to July 2012 in the Crocodile River, Kruger National Park, South Africa. Monthly monitoring surveys acquired 1 620 manual and 64 499 remote observations. Results showed adult L. marequensis did not partic...