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Alanna Rebelo

Postdoctoral researcher, Stellenbosch University
Alanna Rebelo studied Zoology and Ecology at the University of Cape Town where she became passionate about rivers and wetlands. She received the class medal for Inland Water Systems in 2008. She went on to do her Masters Research on wetlands in the Kromme River System, where she investigated the hydrological benefits of restoration. She recently completed her MSc cum laude in the Department of Conservation Ecology and Entomology at Stellenbosch University.

In 2011 she was awarded a prestigious Green Talent Award by the German Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). Through this award she was able to spend a fully-funded 3-month research stay at the German Aerospace Agency (DLR) in Munich in 2012. In April 2012 she was invited to attend the Stockholm +40 Conference in Sweden to help prepare for the Rio +20 Conference. She was also selected to attend the Young Researchers School in Sustainable Development in Indonesia in 2012 -an initiative of the United Nations University. She was awarded an Erasmus Mundus scholarship to study abroad in 2014, and chose to do her doctorate at Antwerp University (Belgium) on palmiet wetlands and the ecosystem services they provide mankind. She was based at the research group ECOBE (ecosystem management). In November 2017 she graduated with a joint degree at Stellenbosch and Antwerp Universities.

Alanna is now a postdoctoral researcher at Stellenbosch University.

Lost fynbos seeds from underground ‘time capsules’ in South Africa can grow again – new study

Mar 18, 2025 15:14 pm UTC| Insights & Views Business Economy

Underground seed banks in South Africa that date back over 130 years have been found to contain fynbos seeds that are alive. These seed banks are natural storage areas in the soil where certain plants preserve their seeds....

Financial incentives could spur cities and land owners to protect wetlands

Jun 07, 2019 16:04 pm UTC| Insights & Views Economy

New York City processes about 1 billion gallons of water every day. To do so, it doesnt rely on water filtration plants alone. It also depends on the natural filtration capacity of the upstream Catskill Catchment. The...

Economy

Greenland Tourism Booms After Trump Comments and New Airport Openings

Greenland is seeing a surge in tourism following U.S. President Donald Trumps renewed interest in the island and the opening of a new international airport in Nuuk. Boat tour operator Ivik Knudsen-Ostermann of Greenland...

China’s Copper Smelters Slash Output Amid Severe Concentrate Shortage and Record Losses

Chinas major copper smelters have begun widespread maintenance shutdowns in Marchan unusual move during peak demand seasondue to an escalating copper concentrate shortage and plunging treatment fees. The maintenance,...

Gold Glitters Near Record Highs Amid Fed Cuts and Global Tensions.

Gold prices hovered near record levels on Friday, poised for a third consecutive weekly gain, fueled by U.S. rate cut expectations and heightened geopolitical risks. Spot gold dipped 0.3% to $3,034.09 an ounce by 0235 GMT,...

India Ends $23B Manufacturing Push as Payout Delays and Red Tape Stall Progress

India is shutting down its ambitious $23 billion Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme aimed at boosting domestic manufacturing, just four years after launch. The plan, designed to shift global supply chains away from...

Dollar Strengthens as Fed Holds Rates and Market Eyes Trump Tariff Moves

The U.S. dollar stayed firm on Friday, extending gains after its strongest daily performance in three weeks. Markets reacted to the Federal Reserves steady interest rate stance and cautious outlook on future cuts. Fed...

Politics

Trump Revokes Security Clearances for Harris, Clinton, and Other Critics

U.S. President Donald Trump has revoked the security clearances of several high-profile Democratic figures, including former Vice President Kamala Harris, ex-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and former President Joe...

E3 Nations Urge Immediate Gaza Ceasefire, Call for Humanitarian Access and Hostage Release

Germany, France, and Britain jointly called for an immediate return to a ceasefire in Gaza, urging Israel to restore full humanitarian access and comply with international humanitarian law. In a statement released Friday,...

Columbia Bows to Trump Demands Amid Antisemitism Probe, Sparking Academic Freedom Debate

Columbia University has agreed to a series of demands from the Trump administration to begin negotiations on restoring federal funding suspended over claims the school tolerated antisemitism. The Ivy League universitys...

East Asia’s Top Diplomats Seek Unity Amid Global Uncertainty

Top diplomats from Japan, China, and South Korea met in Tokyo on Saturday, aiming to strengthen cooperation on regional security and economic challenges amid rising global tensions. The foreign ministers meetingJapans...

Costa Rica’s Presidential YouTube Hacked with Bitcoin Content in Cyberattack

Costa Ricas official presidential YouTube account was restored late Friday after suffering a cyberattack that disrupted the platform for several hours. According to a statement from President Rodrigo Chaves office,...

Science

What are the chances an asteroid will impact Earth in 2032?

For a few days in mid-February, headlines around the world buzzed about the potential for an asteroid to hit the Earth in 2032 specifically, asteroid 2024 YR4. The chance of this impact rose to a high of 3.1 per cent on...

A new study reveals the structure of violent winds 1,300 light years away

The planet WASP-121b is extreme. Its a gas giant almost twice as big as Jupiter orbiting extremely close to its star50 times closer than the Earth does around the Sun. WASP-121b is so close to its star that tidal forces...

What’s the shape of the universe? Mathematicians use topology to study the shape of the world and everything in it

When you look at your surrounding environment, it might seem like youre living on a flat plane. After all, this is why you can navigate a new city using a map: a flat piece of paper that represents all the places around...

Asteroid has a very small chance of hitting Earth in 2032, but a collision could devastate a city

In December 2024, astronomers in Chile spotted a new asteroid streaking through the sky, which they named 2024 YR4. Whats significant about this 100m-wide space rock is that it has a small chance of hitting Earth in 2023....

Leonardo da Vinci’s incredible studies of human anatomy still don’t get the recognition they deserve

Wikimedia, CC BY-SA The mere mention of Leonardo da Vinci evokes genius. We know him as a polymath whose interests spanned astronomy, geology, hydrology, engineering and physics. As a painter, his Mona Lisa and Last Supper...

Technology

China Backs Viral AI Startup Manus Amid Global Buzz and Domestic Rollout

Chinese AI startup Manus is gaining momentum after registering its AI assistant Monica for domestic release and receiving its first feature on state broadcaster CCTV. This signals growing support from Beijing as it looks...

Tesla to Produce 5,000 Optimus Robots in 2024 Amid EV Market Challenges

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) plans to manufacture 5,000 units of its Optimus humanoid robot this year, CEO Elon Musk revealed during a recent all-hands meeting. Despite Tesla shares plunging 41.5% year-to-date, Musk encouraged...

Instagram Experiences Widespread Outage, Thousands Affected in the U.S.

Instagram, owned by Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META), suffered a major outage on Thursday evening, leaving thousands of users in the U.S. unable to access the platform. According to Downdetector, a site that tracks service...

NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang Reconsiders Quantum Computing at GTC 2025

At NVIDIAs GTC 2025 conference, CEO Jensen Huang took a surprising turn on his earlier skepticism toward quantum computing. Hosting two panels with leaders from 12 top quantum companies, including IonQ and D-Wave Quantum...

Nvidia to Invest Hundreds of Billions in U.S. Chip Supply Chain

Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) plans to spend hundreds of billions of dollars on U.S.-made chips and electronics over the next four years, CEO Jensen Huang revealed in an interview with the Financial Times. The company expects to...