Prof Albert Chakona

Position: Chief Scientist, South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity; Honorary Research Associate, Rhodes University

Professor Albert Chakona’s research focuses on taxonomy, systematics, biogeography, species environmental relationships and understanding key threats to freshwater fishes. Prof Chakona undertakes extensive surveys targeting poorly explored regions in southern Africa and integrates multiple approaches such as molecular techniques, morphology, osteology, physiology, histology and ecology to identify and describe new species and study their evolutionary relationships. Over the past decade, Prof Chakona’s research team has contributed to taxonomic revisions of several groups of freshwater fishes including the Amphillidae, Anabantidae, Cyprinidae, Galaxiidae, Mormyridae and Procatopodidae.

His research team contributes extensively to collection building by depositing voucher specimens into the NRF-SAIAB National Fish Collection Facility and tissue samples into the National Aquatic Biomaterial Bank, as well as capacity development through training postgraduate students and interns. The information generated helps with policy formulation, assessment of extinction risk, and guides conservation prioritisation and management to promote sustainable socio-economic development while maintaining healthy freshwater ecosystems.  

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