Physiology training workshop, 2026
MESCAL held a fieldwork and physiology training workshop for project members October 12-16, 2026 at Rhodes University in South Africa. Below is organizational information for the travel and accommodation arrangements for participants in the workshop, as well as a program for the workshop and a link to the workshop photo gallery.
Location
The workshop was based at the Department of Ichthyology & Fisheries Sciences (DIFS) of Rhodes University.
Getting to Makhanda
From overseas, it is easiest to fly into the Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth) Airport. Alternatively, one can also fly into the (smaller) KuGompo City (East London) Airport.
From these airports, the drive to Makhanda takes between 1.5 and 2 hours. Both airports offer car rental options, as well as taxi services (e.g., Uber and Bolt). Depending on arrival times and locations, we may organize group transfers to Makhanda for workshop participants.
Accommodation
A number of bed and breakfasts, AirBNBs and hotels are available in Makhanda, but we have asked Bartholomew’s Loft to block rooms for workshop participants.
Program
| Day | Time | Theme | Primary output |
|---|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | 08:30-17:00 | System & experimental design | Prepared systems, inventory and dry-run checks |
| Day 2 | 07:00-19:00 | Field collection & transport | Fish collected, assessed, transported and introduced to holding |
| Day 3 | 07:00-22:00 | CTmin | Cooling trial, OBR observations, CTmin endpoint and recovery |
| Day 4 | 07:00-22:00 | CTmax | Warming trial, OBR observations, CTmax endpoint, recovery, euthanasia |
| Day 5 | 08:30-17:00 | Data & site selection | Compiled datasets, breakpoint analysis, welfare review and planning |
Photo gallery
Photos and videos from the workshop can be viewed here.