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Assessing techniques to successfully monitor the oceanography of the complex uThukela Marine Protected Area

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are increasingly being established to restore and protect coastal and marine environments. The newly established uThukela Marine Protected Area (MPA), located on the central KwaZulu-Natal Bight along the northeast coast of South Africa, has been identified as a key ecol...

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Main Author: Ramsarup, Neha
Other Authors: Morris, Tamaryn
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: Department of Oceanography 2023
Subjects:
Applied Ocean Sciences
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access_status_str Open Access
author Ramsarup, Neha
author2 Morris, Tamaryn
author_browse Morris, Tamaryn
Ramsarup, Neha
author_facet Morris, Tamaryn
Ramsarup, Neha
author_sort Ramsarup, Neha
collection Thesis
description Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are increasingly being established to restore and protect coastal and marine environments. The newly established uThukela Marine Protected Area (MPA), located on the central KwaZulu-Natal Bight along the northeast coast of South Africa, has been identified as a key ecological region. The region provides recruitment and is a general nursery area for marine life on the Bight. Knowledge of the oceanographic dynamics in the region is essential for understanding the functioning of the ecosystem and the effectiveness of the MPA. This study analysed changes in ocean temperatures at 20 sites along the Bight over a 41-year period using in situ beach and UTR data, and satellite data. Significant warming of 0.03°C/year occurred at beach sites within and around the MPA. Beach temperatures increased at an average rate of 0.02°C/year across the Bight, during both summer and winter, whereas UTR temperatures warmed by 0.14°C/year during summer and 0.08°C/year during winter. At the event scale, a case study of a persistent decrease in in situ temperatures along the entire Bight during summer 2017/2018 was investigated. The decrease in temperatures was hypothesised to be as a result of the combined effects of a La Niña event and a Natal Pulse, which could have significant consequences for temperature-sensitive species. Temperature trends observed in beach temperatures over the 41 years were not reflected in beach temperatures over the past decade, highlighting the importance of large datasets when investigating climate change. Warm biases of up to 2°C observed in satellite-derived temperature measurements, and its failure to replicate trends seen in the beach data, suggests that in situ temperature measurements in MPAs are better suited for long-term monitoring efforts. These findings can help assess the success of MPAs and to guide monitoring and research activities within the region.
format Thesis
id oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/37791
institution University of Cape Town (South Africa)
language eng
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:45:41.121Z
license_str Not specified — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository
publishDate 2023
publishDateRange 2023
publishDateSort 2023
publisher Department of Oceanography
publisherStr Department of Oceanography
record_format dspace
source_str UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository
spelling oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/37791 Assessing techniques to successfully monitor the oceanography of the complex uThukela Marine Protected Area Ramsarup, Neha Morris, Tamaryn Hermes, Juliet Applied Ocean Sciences Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are increasingly being established to restore and protect coastal and marine environments. The newly established uThukela Marine Protected Area (MPA), located on the central KwaZulu-Natal Bight along the northeast coast of South Africa, has been identified as a key ecological region. The region provides recruitment and is a general nursery area for marine life on the Bight. Knowledge of the oceanographic dynamics in the region is essential for understanding the functioning of the ecosystem and the effectiveness of the MPA. This study analysed changes in ocean temperatures at 20 sites along the Bight over a 41-year period using in situ beach and UTR data, and satellite data. Significant warming of 0.03°C/year occurred at beach sites within and around the MPA. Beach temperatures increased at an average rate of 0.02°C/year across the Bight, during both summer and winter, whereas UTR temperatures warmed by 0.14°C/year during summer and 0.08°C/year during winter. At the event scale, a case study of a persistent decrease in in situ temperatures along the entire Bight during summer 2017/2018 was investigated. The decrease in temperatures was hypothesised to be as a result of the combined effects of a La Niña event and a Natal Pulse, which could have significant consequences for temperature-sensitive species. Temperature trends observed in beach temperatures over the 41 years were not reflected in beach temperatures over the past decade, highlighting the importance of large datasets when investigating climate change. Warm biases of up to 2°C observed in satellite-derived temperature measurements, and its failure to replicate trends seen in the beach data, suggests that in situ temperature measurements in MPAs are better suited for long-term monitoring efforts. These findings can help assess the success of MPAs and to guide monitoring and research activities within the region. 2023-04-20T11:14:48Z 2023-04-20T11:14:48Z 2022 2023-04-19T08:30:10Z Master Thesis Masters MSc http://hdl.handle.net/11427/37791 eng application/pdf Department of Oceanography Faculty of Science
spellingShingle Applied Ocean Sciences
Ramsarup, Neha
Assessing techniques to successfully monitor the oceanography of the complex uThukela Marine Protected Area
thesis_degree_str Master's
title Assessing techniques to successfully monitor the oceanography of the complex uThukela Marine Protected Area
title_full Assessing techniques to successfully monitor the oceanography of the complex uThukela Marine Protected Area
title_fullStr Assessing techniques to successfully monitor the oceanography of the complex uThukela Marine Protected Area
title_full_unstemmed Assessing techniques to successfully monitor the oceanography of the complex uThukela Marine Protected Area
title_short Assessing techniques to successfully monitor the oceanography of the complex uThukela Marine Protected Area
title_sort assessing techniques to successfully monitor the oceanography of the complex uthukela marine protected area
topic Applied Ocean Sciences
url http://hdl.handle.net/11427/37791
work_keys_str_mv AT ramsarupneha assessingtechniquestosuccessfullymonitortheoceanographyofthecomplexuthukelamarineprotectedarea

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