Jannes Landschoff

I am a marine biologist, trained crustacean specialist, ecologist, and a naturalist of many kinds at Sea Change and Research Associate at SU's Department of Botany and Zoology.

I also lead Sea Change's 1001 Seaforest Species project which aims to document the distinctive species living in South Africa's kelp forests, dubbed the 'Great African Seaforest' by the organisation. Funded by the Save Our Seas Foundation, the 1001 project balances both scientific research and storytelling.

My biggest passion has always been the ocean. Born as the son of a biologist I spent my childhood exploring the fields and marshes of northern Germany looking for insects, frogs or birds, or spending my holidays with my dad kayaking and fishing on the Scandinavian lakes. I had my most influential time after high school volunteering in nature conservation, when I stayed for two years on a Wadden Sea Island in the North Sea. Here I lived extremely closely to nature and amongst a group of like-minded young people. Ten years later I graduated with a PhD in marine biology from the University of Cape Town and dedicated my passion to the unique marine ecosystems of South Africa.

I conduct my research into marine species at the tip of Southern Africa where the strong and fast Agulhas Current transports warm subtropical water down from the Indian Ocean and meets the mighty Benguela Upwelling System that provides cold and nutrient-rich water from the deep to the coastal zone. Water temperatures average around 15°C, can go beyond 20°C in summer, but can also easily drop below 10°C. Kelps, large and canopy-forming laminarian algae, prosper in these nutrient enriched waters and grow into a wild underwater forest. In order to create a local and global conservation framework for this magnificent ecosystem we named this underwater wild the ‘Great African Seaforest’.