Tuesday Rostrum featured a fascinating talk on marine biology (sex in the sea) by Dr Deborah Robertson-Andersson, a senior lecturer in the school of life sciences at UKZN.
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Dr Robertson-Andersson is warm and friendly, appearing rather shy and reserved until she talks about her work! She then transforms into a passionate scientist/conservationist whose enthusiasm makes one want to join her and jump into action to save a fish or stop plastic pollution in our oceans!
“Under the sea, a little sex swapping is part of the natural life cycle, from a whale to the shrimp in your shrimp cocktail. In fact, start naming all the sex-changing animals in the sea, and the list is endless, from mussels, clams, shrimp, and a whole array of fish. There are others, too, such as worms that exhibit some serious flex in their sex,” said Dr Robertson-Andersson.
She pointed out that her passion started at a young age when, during holidays, both her grandfathers would try to get her interested in their shell and rock collections.
“But it was marine biology that ultimately grabbed my total interest, at the age of eight, cleaning the outside of boat hulls to get out of tidying my room!” she laughed. “I wanted to learn about the things I was picking off the boats and my fascination with all things marine never stopped growing.”
Dr Robertson-Andersson feels it’s important for more women to become involved in science because they think differently and offer a different perspective. “We don’t need to replace men in science, we need to work together. We have different strengths and focuses so by working together we can create a better result for all.”
She has the same open-mindedness about science education in South Africa. “My job is to inspire greatness among my students. I believe by being the best version of myself I can inspire a passion for marine science within my students, especially when they are too hard on themselves.” Her students put it very plainly: “Our teacher grows seaweed in abalone poo and, for fun, she gets jellyfish to mate.
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