Reginald Christiaan personal profile

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Reginald Christiaan

 

Contact details:

Email: Reginald.Christiaan@gmail.com
Mobile: +27 72 4829617


Where am I from

South Africa


Languages

Afrikaans 1st
English 2nd


I live in

Soebatsfontein & Springbok, Northern Cape Province, South Africa


Current activities

Environmental monitor at Namaqualand National Park, South Africa

Co-worker of the South African National Survey of Arachnida (SANSA)

Conducting of scorpion workshops (for more information see scorpion workshops website)

Collecting scorpions in Namaqualand for the scientific collection and research activities at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, USA

Assisting the Arachnida assessment as part of the Karoo BioGaps project run by SANBI

Assisting (since 2002 until today) in the ongoing long-term vegetation monitoring programme of BIOTA Southern Africa and SASSCAL


Organisations I worked for

SANParks

Oct.-Nov. 2014 and 2017: Kids in Parks Programme at Namaqua National Park

  • Offering activities for school children as part of the Kids in Parks programme

Aug.-Sept 2012: Namaqua National Park, Groenrivier, Coastal Section, Tourism Assistant

Aug.-Sept 2015: Namaqua National Park, Skilpad, Tourism Assistant

  • Assisting tourists
  • Issuing entry permits for tourists


Conservation South Africa (CSA)

2011-2012: Internship at Springbok office, South Africa

  • Scorpion workshops (for more information see scorpion workshops website)
  • Weather stations installations
  • Downloading of data from weather stations
  • Capturing climate data
  • Co-ordinate participatory research activities in the Namakwa District with 15 EcoRangers on at least 1 communal farm, 4 private farms, and 1 national park
  • Collect, capture and analyse EcoRanger data from 15 EcoRangers
  • Communicate outcomes of data analysis to all research participants; all relevant CSA staff members; 2 meetings with local stakeholders; in 3 Veepos articles; and 1 article in a local newspaper.


Ditsong National Museums of Natural History, Pretoria, South Africa

2011: Internship as paraecologist and trainee

  • Curation and rebottling of Buthidae scorpions of the Lower Invertebrate collection
  • Sorting of spiders


BIOTA Southern Africa, international research project

2002-2010: Employed as a paraecologist (Soebatsfontein / South Africa)

  • Documentation of biodiversity data (plants and arthropods)
  • Monitoring of plant phenology (monthly)
  • Downloading of data from automatic weather stations
  • Environmental awareness projects with school children


My skills and expertise

Computer skills: Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Word, Power Point, Internet Explorer, email

Entering phenological plant data into MS Excel database

G.P.S (Global Positioning System)

Installment and maintenance of automatic weather stations

Monitoring and collection of plants and insects

Use of digital photo and video cameras

Taking of plant pictures for scientific purposes

Identification of plants and plant names

Ecology of succulents on quartz fields

Facilitation of workshops

Conflict management


Awards

In 2019 I was nominated for the Website Community Choice Award for "Dedication, hard work and stellar service".

In November 2017, I won the Kudu Award "Youth in Conservation" from South African National Parks (SANParks) for my contribution to conservation through my scorpion project that raises awareness on the diversity and ecology of this understudied Arachnida fauna of the Namaqualand.
(Read more about the Kudu Awards 2017: Sanparks Kudu Awards2017)
Read article


Special interests

Habitat requirements of scorpions

Collecting and identifying scorpions

Habitat requirements of different plant species

Botany and photography


Ambitions and dreams

During my work in BIOTA as paraecologist my interest in nature and natural science has been strongly fostered. My particular interest lies in the collecting and identification of scorpions. I closely cooperate with Dr Lorenzo Prendini from the New York Museum of Natural History who kindly identifies the specimens for us and incorporated them into his scientific collection, and in the near future I want to specialize in the identification of Southern African scorpions. The experience gained during the internship with ARC/Ditsong has further increased my need to want to learn more about these creatures. I hope to continue to build my relationships with the researchers at these institutes. I feel the next step will be to be employed at one of these institutes in order to learn more and possible expand my knowledge into research.


Publications

For publications by and about Reginald Christiaan click here


Contact for references

Dr. Ute Schmiedel (paraecologist programme coordinator and supervisor from 2003 until 2010)
Biocentre Klein Flottbek & Botanical Garden
University of Hamburg
Ohnhorststrasse 18
D-22609 Hamburg
Tel. +49 - (0)40 - 42816-548
Fax +49 - (0)40 - 42816-539
Email: Ute.Schmiedel@uni-hamburg.de


Ronald Newman (Conservation South Africa, Manager, Namaqualand Green Economic Demonstration)
Conservation South Africa
Springbok
Tel: +27 27 718 1577
Email: r.newman@conservation.org


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Parabuthus capensis RC P7102297 Soebatsfontein 400.jpg
Photo: Reginald Christiaan

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Photo: Reginald Christiaan



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soil sampling

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Reginald Christiaan wins the Kudu Award "Youth in Conservation" from South African National Parks (SANParks), 2017. Read article

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Photo: Reginald Christiaan

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Photo: Reginald Christiaan


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Further activities by Reginald Christiaan: click here


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