Holdfast Project

This project, led by Dr. Nasreen Peer at Stellenbosch University, has grown from a student pilot study into a collaborative, multi-year NRF-FBIP research and capacity-building programme. The project builds biodiversity knowledge, trains the next generation of marine scientists, and strengthens understanding of this extraordinary ecosystem, with the 1001 Seaforest Species initiative supporting and contributing to these efforts. We are proud to have played an important role in its journey.

When the 1001 Seaforest Species project began in 2022, Jannes met Nasreen, who was fascinated by the tiny animals living in kelp holdfasts (the root-like structures anchoring kelp to the seafloor). Their shared interest sparked a collaboration that has since brought together a diverse community of researchers and students.

In the first year, BSc. (Honours) student Chaitanya Kathorayan investigated how kelp holdfast communities differ between the West and South Coasts. The biodiversity she uncovered was so rich that numerous volunteers and researchers joined in to help process samples and identify species. In the following years, the project narrowed its focus to crustaceans in holdfasts at Miller’s Point, False Bay. This work began with Jean-Pierre Joubert, continued with Anna Roux, and expanded further when Zeané Nel, with Prof. Carol Simon, explored the polychaete worms living in the same holdfasts (all through BSc. Honours projects). Around the same time, MSc. student Jamie Caesar, supervised by Dr. Koebraa Peters and Jannes, added a new dimension by using settlement plates to investigate which species establish themselves near holdfasts.

Now in its fourth and fifth years and beyond, the project has come full circle, with Chaitanya returning to lead PhD research that builds on her and others’ early work. Together with Honours and MSc. student Daniel Retief, and more students joining, Nasreen’s team is extending the detailed findings from Miller’s Point to study kelp holdfast communities across the entire Great African Seaforest.

Although Jannes has not been as actively involved in the most recent expansion phase, we wholeheartedly support these important efforts. The project is one of South Africa’s most exciting grassroots research initiatives, advancing knowledge of seaforest biodiversity while training the next generation of marine scientists. It strengthens the scientific foundation of the Great African Seaforest while contributing species-level insights that enrich our baseline knowledge. The Holdfast Project and the 1001 Seaforest Species initiative are naturally aligned, sharing the same goals of documenting biodiversity and deepening understanding of this extraordinary ecosystem.