Dr Jordaan retrieving nets while sampling the fish community on a field survey.
A dedicated South African scientist has received the ultimate biological accolade after a newly discovered freshwater parasite was named in her honour, sparking a fresh debate over the vital role these misunderstood organisms play in our ecosystems.
Dr Martine Jordaan, a fauna ecologist with conservation body CapeNature, is the namesake behind Paradiplozoon jordaanae, a rare ectoparasitic flatworm found clinging to the gills of two near-threatened fish species endemic to the Western Cape. The breakthrough is the culmination of a six-year scientific detective story that began when Dr Jordaan spotted an unusual organism during routine fieldwork in the Cape Fold Ecoregion.
The discovery was made possible through a rigorous collaboration between field-based conservationists and academics from the Water Research Group at North-West University (NWU). While Dr Jordaan provided the vital field expertise, navigating local river systems to conduct extensive fish surveys, the university team deployed advanced laboratory research and genetic analysis to officially identify the creature.
"For me, the specialness of it is seeing how your little bit feeds into something bigger," Dr Jordaan said, reflecting on the milestone. "It really shows the value of collaboration and what can be achieved when people with different expertise work towards the same goal. In the case of fish parasites, there is this whole undiscovered world that you can basically only access under a microscope. As conservation is such an applied and practical field, we do not always have time to investigate these specialist disciplines."
