Philile Mvula joins Ocean Womxn’s 2021 cohort

Marine scientist Philile Mvula is the latest fellow to join Ocean Womxn in 2021. A MSc graduate in marine ecology from the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), her work examined seasonal changes among rocky shore species groups, including mussels, barnacles, limpets, sea anemones and predatory sea stars.

With her discovery of the excitement, and challenges, of using R in her masters, she’s building on that research in her PhD studies. The goal is to develop a modelling system that compares historical models of systems changes to improve ocean tracking capabilities.

With Ocean Womxn, she’ll work to develop that with supervisor and programme principal investigator, Dr Juliet Hermes.

“Philile brings a multi-disciplinary approach to the Ocean Womxn programme but, more than that, she brings massive amounts of enthusiasm, curiosity and an attitude which is wonderful to work with,” says Hermes.

Mvula speaks to us about her research background, her work with R, and how she hopes to contribute to Ocean Womxn in broadening the opportunities available to young Black womxn in oceanography.

“I want to build a new model for monitoring biodiversity changes in the south coast of South Africa so that others can build upon it.”

Welcome, Philile. We are thrilled to have you join the Ocean Womxn team!

Thank you, I’m honoured to be part of the team. I had the pleasure of meeting some of the other fellows the day I picked up my student card. I was impressed by their levels of confidence and what they shared about the programme, the way it helps you grow your research, but also, how to share it.

What attracted you to Ocean Womxn?

Heading into my PhD I wanted to change my institution, find a good mentor, and a good research group. Ocean Womxn offered all this and more. When I learned that one of its PI’s, Dr Juliet Hermes, specialised in numerical modelling, that resonated with my area of study. From the moment Juliet and I met, we had a good feeling about building a project together.

Describe your research journey?

My honours project focused on biodiversity on the intertidal rocky shores of KwaZulu-Natal. I looked at specific species and their changes across seasons. During my masters, I expanded on this research by increasing the number of sites monitored to 14 and examining the entire coastline’s community structure. Due to the size of the data, there was a need to use a programming language called “R” for analyses.

More recently, I have enjoyed working with big data and I am exploring programming using a programming language called ‘Python’ which I find challenging but exciting.

How does this translate into your PhD studies?

‘R’ is used to generate statistics and sometimes create models. There are varying packages on the programme that are intended for different kinds of data, but they need to be adjusted to your particular field. Python is a more advanced program where one can create environmental models as a basis to add any other data and learn more about how a system changes without having to start from scratch. The focus of my PhD is to use Python to build a new model for monitoring biodiversity changes in the south coast of South Africa so that others can build upon it.

How does it feel to be a role model for other young, Black womxn in ocean science?

Excited! I’ve always wanted to be part of preparing the next generation to come into their own. It’s the small things that matter, like simply encouraging someone to start pursuing what they want to do. Also, sharing what you have learned and being honest about what you don’t know.

What’s next for you?

Ideally, I would like to have a job in a government department, but also lecture at a university part-time. I hope to be able to generate research that can influence vital policy that is required in our country. This will help in making the correct decision in protecting our oceans.