The brilliant pre-doctoral work done by Nasreen Peer has earned her the 2015 NRF Research Excellence Award for Outstanding Doctoral Candidates (Next Generation Researchers). Her research interest is focused on the diversity and ecology of true crabs (Crustacea: Brachyura) in the St Lucia Estuary.
Peer started her studies towards a BSc in marine biology in 2009 at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. During her first two years she was awarded a Dean’s Commendation based on good academic results.
Her third year research project, Flood Effects on Fish Diet in the St Lucia Estuary, South Africa, was published in the December 2013 issue of the African Journal of Aquatic Sciences. She also presented the paper at the 49th annual South African Society of Aquatic Scientists conference.
She completed her honours in marine biology in 2012 and graduated summa cum laude. It was during this time that she developed her research interest in the diversity and ecology of true crabs, initiating a project on this subject in the St Lucia Estuary. She presented the major findings at the Ezemvelo KZN Conservation Symposium, where she won an award for second best student presentation.
The crab biodiversity project was fully developed during her master’s at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University in 2013, where she began the completion of the species checklist and diversity survey under the supervision of the SARChI Chair in Shallow Water Ecosystems.
Her research on the freshwater and fiddler crabs of South Africa has been published in various national and international peer-reviewed journals.
On the basis of her outstanding performance, Peer was granted an upgrade from an MSc to a PhD. Her PhD thesis, which she plans on submitting by the end of 2015, is centred on environmental change (both anthropogenic and natural) in the iSimangaliso Wetland Park and the influence this has on crab dynamics.