Koedoe最新文献

{"title":"Erratum: Elephant population responses to increased density in Kruger National Park","authors":"Albertus S. Louw, S. MacFadyen, Sam M. Ferreira, Cang Hui","doi":"10.4102/koedoe.v63i1.1691","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4102/koedoe.v63i1.1691","url":null,"abstract":"No abstract available.","PeriodicalId":48892,"journal":{"name":"Koedoe","volume":"3 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2021-12-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"75246031","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A reclassification and description of the Waterberg Mountain vegetation of the Marakele National Park, Limpopo province, South Africa","authors":"Petrus J. Van Staden, G. Bredenkamp, H. Bezuidenhout, L. Brown","doi":"10.4102/koedoe.v63i1.1689","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4102/koedoe.v63i1.1689","url":null,"abstract":"The description and classification of vegetation are important for conservation and resource management. The aim of this study was to identify, reclassify and describe the plant communities present in the Waterberg Mountain vegetation of the Marakele National Park in the Limpopo province, South Africa. A phytosociological classification, mapping and description of sections of the Waterberg Mountain vegetation in the park were done in 1995. Since 1995, various farms adjacent to the park have been bought and incorporated into it. Little is known about the vegetation and habitat status of these newly acquired areas, which led to this study. The floristic data were analysed according to the Braun-Blanquet procedure using the Braun Blanquet Personal Computer (BBPC) suite as well as the JUICE software package, whilst the diversity of the plant communities was determined using the Shannon–Wiener and Gini–Simpson indices. A total of 12 plant communities were identified and are described according to their diagnostic, constant and dominant plant species as determined from the synoptic table analysis as well as their characteristic species as derived from the phytosociological table. Based on the topography and plant species composition, the vegetation can be grouped into five major groups, namely the: (1) lower midslope and plateau shrub- and woodlands, (2) high altitude midslope woodland, (3) high-lying plateau and midslope grass-, shrub- and woodlands, (4) ravine, footslope and drainage line forests and woodland, and (5) higher-lying plateau wetlands and forblands. The high altitude midslope grassland and shrubland and the lower midslope and plateau areas have the highest diversity. The high-lying vegetation has affinity with Bankenveld and Drakensberg vegetation, whilst the relatively low-lying plateaus and midslope vegetation are typical of the bushveld areas.Conservation implications: This reclassification, mapping and description of the Waterberg Mountain vegetation have been incorporated into the Management Plan for the park. It will enable managers to make scientifically based decisions on the management of the different ecosystems to ensure biodiversity conservation. This vegetation study also provides baseline information that allows for vegetation assessments to determine veld condition, carrying capacity and stocking density for the park.","PeriodicalId":48892,"journal":{"name":"Koedoe","volume":"21 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2021-12-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"87007113","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Distribution and diversity of entomopathogenic nematodes (Steinernematidae and Heterorhabditidae) in a South African nature reserve","authors":"Isiah Nthenga, R. Knoetze, A. Malan","doi":"10.4102/koedoe.v63i1.1661","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4102/koedoe.v63i1.1661","url":null,"abstract":"Entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs) are microscopic roundworms that are found in soil worldwide. They deliver an important ecosystem service through preventing natural flares in insect reproduction by means of utilising the soil stages of insects as a food source and by acting as natural biocontrol agents. A survey of EPNs was conducted in the JS Marais Nature Reserve, Stellenbosch, in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Soil samples were baited with the larvae of three susceptible hosts, codling moth (Cydia pomonella), wax moth (Galleria mellonella) and mealworm (Tenebrio molitor) to determine the presence of EPN. Of the 76 soil samples collected across the reserve, 39 were found to be positive for the presence of EPN (51.32%). Among the positive samples, 87% contained Steinernema isolates, 8% contained Heterorhabditis and 5% contained the Oscheius sp. Morphological and molecular studies were performed to characterise the isolates to species level. The Steinernema species were identified as Steinernema khoisanae in 34 samples, and as Steinernema nguyeni in five samples. The only species of Heterorhabditis found was H. safricana, which was identified from three samples. An unknown Oscheius sp. was found in two samples. The reserve’s population of S. khoisanae showed interesting inter-individual variation (93%) early in the internal transcribe spacer (ITS) region, leading to short single-usable sequences, which, in most cases, included only the ITS1 or ITS2 region. However, using the D2D3 confirmed their identity as S. khoisanae, with such occurring in all areas and soil types of the reserve.Conservation implications: The undisturbed alluvial fynbos and renosterveld of the JS Marais Nature Reserve showed high EPN abundance and diversity in stark contrast to the agro-ecosystems present in the Cape floristic region. This finding, on a micro level, should be conserved for future bioprospecting in the fynbos for EPNs with potential as biocontrol agents.","PeriodicalId":48892,"journal":{"name":"Koedoe","volume":"2016 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2021-11-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"86513139","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The spatial distribution of the woodland communities and their associated environmental drivers in the Golden Gate Highlands National Park, South Africa","authors":"M. E. Daemane, A. Ramoelo, S. Adelabu","doi":"10.4102/koedoe.v63i1.1672","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4102/koedoe.v63i1.1672","url":null,"abstract":"The extreme variability in the topography, altitude and climatic conditions in the temperate Grassland Mountains of Southern Africa is associated with the complex mosaic of grassland communities with pockets of woodland patches. Understanding the relationships between plant communities and environmental parameters is essential in biodiversity conservation, especially for current and future climate change predictions. This article focused on the spatial distribution of woodland communities and their associated environmental drivers in the Golden Gate Highlands (GGHNP) National Park in South Africa. A generalized linear model (GLM) assuming a binomial distribution, was used to determine the optimal environmental variables influencing the spatial distribution of the woodland communities. The Coefficient of Variation (CV) was relatively higher for the topographic ruggedness index (68.78%), topographic roughness index (68.03), aspect (60.04%), coarse fragments (37.46%) and the topographic wetness index (31.33) whereas soil pH, bulk density, sandy and clay contents had relatively less variation (2.39%, 3.23%, 7.56% and 8.46% respectively). In determining the optimal number of environmental variables influencing the spatial distribution of woodland communities, roughness index, topographic wetness index, soil coarse fragments, soil organic carbon, soil cation exchange capacity and remote-sensing based vegetation condition index were significant (p 0.05) and positively correlated with the woodland communities. Soil nitrogen, clay content, soil pH, fire and elevation were also significant but negatively correlated with the woodland communities. The area under the curve (AUC) of the receiver operating characteristics (ROC) was 0.81. This was indicative of a Parsimonious Model with explanatory predictive power for determination of optimal environmental variables in vegetation ecology.Conservation implications: The isolated woodland communities are sources of floristic diversity and important biogeographical links between larger forest areas in the wider Drakensberg region. They provide suitable habitats for a larger number of forest species and harbour some of the endemic tree species of South Africa. They also provide watershed protection and other important ecosystem services. Understanding the drivers influencing the spatial distribution and persistence of these woodland communities is therefore key to conservation planning in the area.","PeriodicalId":48892,"journal":{"name":"Koedoe","volume":"4 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2021-09-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"82445425","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"First guidelines and suggested best protocol for surveying African elephants (Loxodonta africana) using a drone","authors":"Welsey L. Hartmann, Vicki Fishlock, A. Leslie","doi":"10.4102/koedoe.v63i1.1687","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4102/koedoe.v63i1.1687","url":null,"abstract":"Wildlife science usually focusses on the study, monitoring and management of animals and their habitats (Chabot & Bird 2015). Although these goals may be relatively simple, achieving them can be extremely challenging, particularly as resources are often limited and target species can be elusive, wide-ranging, sensitive to anthropogenic disturbances and/or dangerous to approach (Chabot & Bird 2015). Additionally, many target animals occupy habitats that are extensive, remote and often impossible to access at ground-level. New technologies have greatly aided accessing these difficult subjects in their challenging habitats. Examples include motion-triggered camera traps (O’Connell, Nichols & Karanth 2011), aircraft (Fleming & Tracey 2008), remote sensing satellites (Kerr & Ostrovsky 2003), radar (Larkin 2005), thermal cameras (O’Neil et al. 2005), projectile-based animal-capturing devices and chemical immobilisation agents (Roffe, Sweeney & Aune 2005; Schemnitz 2005) and a vast array of electronic tracking devices and accompanying software (Thomas, Holland & Minot 2011). One technology that is rapidly gaining popularity are the aerial units known variously as unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), remotely piloted aircraft systems or (mostly popularly) drones. The popularity of drones amongst wildlife biologists, ecologists and conservationists is clear from the many review articles investigating the applications and proliferation of drone use in remote sensing, natural resource sciences and ecology (Allan et al. 2015; Anderson & Gaston 2013; Christie et al. 2016; Colomina & Molina 2014; Jones, Pearlstine & Percival 2006; Koh & Wich 2012; Pajares 2015; Shahbazi, Theau & Menard 2014; Watts, Ambrosia & Hinkley 2012; Whitehead & Hugenholtz 2014; Whitehead et al. 2014). Chabot and Bird (2015) conducted an extensive review of drone use in wildlife management in which they highlighted optical surveying and observation of animals, uses of drones in autonomous wildlife telemetry tracking, habitat research and monitoring and a review of the broader potential for UAVs. Although the capabilities and Unmanned aerial vehicles, commonly known as drones, are increasingly used in ecological management, conservation and research. Numerous reviews on drones tout almost unlimited potential within the wildlife sciences as they open up inaccessible habitats to observation. However, the influence of drones on the animals themselves is far less understood, and impact studies to construct protocols for best practices are urgently needed to minimise the potential for stress on target species. The impact of a quadcopter drone’s approach speed, angle of approach and initial starting altitude was tested on the behavioural responses of African elephants (Loxodonta africana), along with sustained speed and flight pattern. Seventy-nine approach flights and 70 presence flights were conducted. The speed and angle of approach significantly impacted the succ","PeriodicalId":48892,"journal":{"name":"Koedoe","volume":"30 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2021-09-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"73804129","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Is climate change a concern for the ownership of game within fenced wildlife areas?","authors":"Haemish Melville, Robyn S. Hetem, W. M. Strauss","doi":"10.4102/koedoe.v63i1.1673","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4102/koedoe.v63i1.1673","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":48892,"journal":{"name":"Koedoe","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2021-07-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"89844556","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Mammals in the mountains: An historical review and updated checklist of the mammals of the Mountain Zebra National Park","authors":"D. Parker","doi":"10.4102/KOEDOE.V63I1.1683","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4102/KOEDOE.V63I1.1683","url":null,"abstract":"South Africa boasts a network of 20 national parks that are situated across a range of vegetation biomes. The primary function of these national parks is to protect the ecological integrity of these various natural ecosystems for current and future generations (Bezuidenhout & Brown 2008). However, several national parks within this network were originally gazetted in an attempt to preserve a single species (often large mammals) because of pressure from over-hunting or poaching (e.g. Addo Elephant National Park and Bontebok National Park). The Mountain Zebra National Park (hereafter MZNP) is one such ‘single-species’ national park. The park was founded in 1937 to protect the endangered Cape mountain zebra (Equus zebra zebra). To sustain the viability of the mountain zebra population, the park was extended in 1964 and 1996 by incorporating various farms adjacent to the park (Bezuidenhout & Brown 2008). The park was expanded again in 2002, but by this stage, the conservation and management focus had shifted more towards the conservation of biodiversity as a whole, rather than just the viability of the mountain zebra population (SANParks 2016).","PeriodicalId":48892,"journal":{"name":"Koedoe","volume":"26 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2021-07-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"81949969","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Elephant population responses to increased density in Kruger National Park","authors":"Albertus S. Louw, S. MacFadyen, Sam M. Ferreira, Cang Hui","doi":"10.4102/KOEDOE.V63I1.1660","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4102/KOEDOE.V63I1.1660","url":null,"abstract":"Despite threats of poaching and habitat loss, trends in the numbers of African elephants (Loxodonta africana) in southern Africa contrast with their declining numbers in the rest of the continent (Chase et al. 2016). South Africa epitomises these trends with populations increasing in trans-frontier (Selier et al. 2016) and fence protected areas (Pretorius, Garaï & Bates 2019). Apart from being a key component of South Africa’s natural heritage, elephants are ecological engineers or habitat modifiers because of the substantial influence they exert on the habitats they share with other co-occurring species (Valeix et al. 2011). That is, elephants can change the structure of vegetation whilst browsing and can therefore become a catalyst for landscape state change (Eckhardt, Van Wilgen & Biggs 2000; Trollope et al. 1998). As a result, the influence of elephants on ecosystems has stimulated much debate (Van Aarde, Whyte & Pimm 1999; Van Wyk & Fairall 1969).","PeriodicalId":48892,"journal":{"name":"Koedoe","volume":"8 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2021-05-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"86049981","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Review of Bats of Southern and Central Africa, second edition","authors":"L. Richards","doi":"10.4102/KOEDOE.V63I1.1678","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4102/KOEDOE.V63I1.1678","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":48892,"journal":{"name":"Koedoe","volume":"3 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2021-04-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"91255324","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Adaptive and transformative learning in environmental water management: Implementing the Crocodile River’s Ecological Reserve in Kruger National Park, South Africa","authors":"C. McLoughlin, E. Riddell, R. Petersen, Jacques Venter","doi":"10.4102/KOEDOE.V63I1.1663","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4102/KOEDOE.V63I1.1663","url":null,"abstract":"The Anthropocene is characterised by ubiquitous loss of biodiversity at unprecedented rates and scales (Kingsford, Bino & Porter 2017a). Globally, this biodiversity loss is severest across the freshwater realm (Albert et al. 2021; Vorosmarty et al. 2010), which exhibits the highest species diversity per unit area (Pittock et al. 2015). Over the last half century, alteration to natural flows in rivers – from land-use change, water over-abstraction and building of dams – has contributed towards more than 80% reduction in the freshwater species population (Harwood et al. 2017; WWF 2020 – Freshwater Living Planet Index). Currently, one-third of the world’s river basins are severely water depleted (Harwood et al. 2017), thereby, rendering the quality and quantity of water to Freshwater biodiversity loss in the Anthropocene escalates the need for successful environmental water management to sustain human benefitting ecosystem services. Of the world’s river basins, one-third are now severely water depleted, rendering the quality and quantity of water to maintain or restore freshwater ecosystem integrity increasingly urgent. However, managing environmental water is intricate because of complexity and uncertainty in interacting social and biophysical system components, and trade-offs between costs and benefits of implementing environmental flows. Learning enabled adaptive management – embracing the uncertainty – is essential; however, practising adaptive management (worldwide) is challenging; single-, doubleand triple-loop learning is required, along with social learning, to tackle complex problems. There is progressive realisation of environmental flows (Ecological Reserve) in the Crocodile River, South Africa, linked to the Kruger National Park, using Strategic Adaptive Management (SAM). In this research article, we reflected on adaptive (singleand double-loop) learning and transformative (triple-loop) learning capacity emergent in SAM between 2009 and 2019 whilst also considering social learning potentials. We found evidence of preconditions (e.g. transparency) for social learning within a burgeoning stakeholder ‘community-of-practice’, likely fostering capacities (e.g. information sharing) for sustained social learning. Adaptive and transformative learning is enabled by social learning, underpinned by ongoing nested feedbacks supporting assessment and reflection, which facilitates single-, doubleand triple-loop learning. Champions exist and are vital for sustaining the adaptive management system. Executing adaptive and transformative learning aids in positive change across the range of ecological, social and economic outcomes that are essential for success in environmental water programmes, worldwide.","PeriodicalId":48892,"journal":{"name":"Koedoe","volume":"24 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2021-04-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"83225908","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}