Department of Conservation Ecology and Entomology
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A comparative analysis reveals weak relationships between ecological factors and beta diversity of stream insect metacommunities at two spatial levels
(John Wiley & Sons Ltd., 2015-02-23)The hypotheses that beta diversity should increase with decreasing latitude and increase with spatial extent of a region have rarely been tested based on a comparative analysis of multiple datasets, and no such study has ...
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From poachers to protectors : engaging local communities in solutions to illegal wildlife trade
(Wiley Online Library, 2016-09-26)Combating the surge of illegal wildlife trade (IWT) devastating wildlife populations is an urgent global priority for conservation. There are increasing policy commitments to take action at the local community level as ...
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The population status, habitat use and seasonal diet of African elephant (Loxodonta africana) in Majete Wildlife Reserve, Malawi
(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2017-03)ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The African elephant (Loxodonta africana) is classified as a keystone species as it is critical to the integrity of the ecosystems it occupies. It influences a variety of factors in these ecosystems that ...
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People and protected areas : natural resource harvesting as an approach to support rural communities surrounding Majete Wildlife Reserve, Southern Malawi : a case study
(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2017-03)ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Protected areas across the developing world are increasingly incorporating the needs of local rural communities into their management decisions. The African Parks managed Majete Wildlife Reserve (MWR) in ...
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An assessment of different beekeeping practices in South Africa based on their needs (bee forage use), services (pollination services) and threats (hive theft and vandalism)
(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2017-03)ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Two honey bee subspecies indigenous to South Africa, Apis mellifera capensis Escholtz (Cape honey bee) and Apis mellifera scutellata Lepeletier, are actively managed by beekeepers for honey production, ...
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Improving feeding efficiencies of black soldier fly larvae, Hermetia illucens (L., 1758) (Diptera : Stratiomyidae : Hermetiinae) through manipulation of feeding conditions for industrial mass rearing
(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2017-03)ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The human population is rapidly expanding and raises several concerns in terms of food security and waste management. To feed the human population, we need to start expanding our horizons in terms of what ...
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Assessing the chemical ecology and shelter-seaking behaviour of the grainchinch bug, Macchiademus diplopterus (hemiptera: lygaeidae) for optimisation of trapping during aestivation
(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2016-12)ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The grain chinch bug (GCB), Macchiademus diplopterus (Distant) (Hemiptera: Lygaeidae) is a key quarantine pest of South African export fruit and is endemic to the Western Cape Province. The pest is ...
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A quantitative model to fine-tune tourism as a black rhinoceros (diceros bicornis) conservation tool in North-West Namibia
(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2016-12)ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The conservation of valued species is challenging given the complexity, diversity and dynamism of the social-ecological systems (SES) within which conservation problems are situated. The dramatic escalation ...
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Response of grasshoppers to the agricultural mosaics of the Cape Floristic Region biodiversity hotspot in South Africa
(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2017-03)ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Agricultural production is one of the main drivers of the on-going biodiversity crisis. This has resulted in research on the impact of agriculture on biodiversity being at an all-time high. This is critical ...
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Status of the invasive wasp species, Vespula germanica and Polistes dominula in South Africa, and the feasibility of various management strategies
(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2016-12)ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The main objective of this study was to determine the current status of two invasive wasps, Vespula germanica and Polistes dominula, in South Africa and to explore the feasibility of implementing various ...
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The importance of renosterveld conservation based on insect diversity sampled in West Coast Renosterveld in the Western Cape of South Africa
(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2016-12)ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Research in the Fynbos Biome mainly focussed on the exceptional high plant diversity, especially of the Cape Floristic Region. However, there remains a poor understanding of the insect life found in this ...
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Applying a resilience approach to flood management in rapidly changing landscapes
(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2016-12)ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Human land use activities have significantly changed the capacity of ecosystems to deliver essential service. Additional stresses brought about by climate change will require a shift in how ecosystems are ...
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Investigating the potential of indigenous nematode isolates to control invasive molluscs in canola
(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2016-12)ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Terrestrial molluscs (Mollusca: Gastropoda) are important economic pests worldwide, causing extensive damage to a variety of crop types, and posing a health risk to both humans and wildlife. In South ...
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The use of fynbos fragments by birds : stepping-stone habitats and resource refugia
(AOSIS Publishing, 2016-03)Fynbos habitats are threatened by fragmentation through land use and anthropogenic changes in fire regimes, leading to a loss of suitable habitat for birds. We investigated the response of fynbos-typical avifauna to ...
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Diet and seasonal dispersal of extralimital giraffe at Sanbona Wildlife Reserve, Little Karoo, South Africa
(AOSIS Publishing, 2016-08)South African giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis giraffa) have been introduced as an extralimital species to private farms in the Little Karoo on the basis of economic sustainability, and the need to create a competitive ...
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The sublethal effects of a systemic insecticide on the vine mealybug parasitoids anagyrus sp. near pseudococci (girault) and coccidoxenoides perminutus (timberlake) (hymenoptera : encyrtidae)
(South African Society for Enology and Viticulture, 2015-12)Imidacloprid is a systemic insecticide used for the control of the vine mealybug Planococcus ficus. However, biological control of P. ficus is the primary alternate management method recommended for the integrated control ...
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Accelerated microbial degradation of nematicides in vineyard and orchard soils
(South African Society for Enology and Viticulture, 2014-03)Accelerated microbial degradation (AMD) of organophosphate and carbamate nematicides is a phenomenon whereby biodegradation in the soil is increased, leading to a dramatically shortened persistence of nematicides. More ...
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Prospects for using entomopathogenic nematodes to control the vine mealybug, planococcus ficus, in south african vineyards
(South African Society for Enology and Viticulture, 2015-07)In South Africa, the most common method of mealybug control has been the use of chemical insecticides. Entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs) of the of the families Heterorhabditidae and Steinernematidae potentially can be used ...
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Control potential of brassicaceae cover crops as green manure and their host status for meloidogyne javanica and criconemoides xenoplax
(South African Society for Enology and Viticulture, 2015-12)Laboratory bioassays were undertaken to determine the potential of Avena sativa cv. Pallinup (Pallinup oats), Sinapis alba cv. Braco (white mustard), Brassica napus cv. AV Jade (canola), Brassica juncea cv. Caliente 199 ...
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Effect of management practices applied to cover crops with biofumigation properties on cover crop performance and weed control in a vineyard
(South African Society for Enology and Viticulture, 2015)This five-year trial (2009 to 2013) was carried out in a full-bearing seven-year-old Shiraz/101-14 vineyard established on a sandy to sandy clay loam soil at Blaauwklippen farm (33°58’S, 18°50’E) near Stellenbosch, South ...
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A review of odonatology in freshwater applied ecology and conservation science
(Society for Freshwater Science, 2015-05)The academic study of dragonflies and damselflies (odonatology) is well established, but relatively limited attention has been given to odonates in the context of applied ecology and conservation science. We used the Web ...
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Conserving a geographically isolated Charaxes butterfly in response to habitat fragmentation and invasive alien plants
(AOSIS Publishing, 2015-08)In South Africa, much of the forest biome is vulnerable to human-induced disturbance. The forest-dwelling butterfly Charaxes xiphares occidentalis is naturally confined to a small forest region in the south-western Cape, ...
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A hierarchy of factors influence discontinuous gas exchange in the grasshopper Paracinema tricolor (Orthoptera: Acrididae)
(The Company of Biologists, 2014-07)The evolutionary origin and maintenance of discontinuous gas exchange (DGE) in tracheate arthropods are poorly understood and highly controversial. We investigated prioritization of abiotic factors in the gas exchange ...
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Effects of within-generation thermal history on the flight performance of Ceratitis capitata : colder is better
(The Company of Biologists, 2014-07)The influence of thermal history on temperature-dependent flight performance was investigated in an invasive agricultural pest insect, Ceratitis capitata (Diptera: Tephritidae). Flies were exposed to one of four developmental ...
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Oxygen safety margins set thermal limits in an insect model system
(The Company of Biologists, 2015-03)A mismatch between oxygen availability and metabolic demand may constrain thermal tolerance. While considerable support for this idea has been found in marine organisms, results from insects are equivocal and raise the ...
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Guiding classical biological control of an invasive mealybug using integrative taxonomy
(Public Library of Science, 2015)Delottococcus aberiae De Lotto (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) is a mealybug of Southern African origin that has recently been introduced into Eastern Spain. It causes severe distortions on young citrus fruits and represents ...
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Divergent thermal specialisation of two South African entomopathogenic nematodes
(PeerJ, 2015-07-02)Thermal physiology of entomopathogenic nematodes (EPN) is a critical aspect of field performance and fitness. Thermal limits for survival and activity, and the ability of these limits to adjust (i.e., show phenotypic ...
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Identifying challenges to building an evidence base for restoration practice
(MDPI, 2015-11-30)Global acknowledgement of ecological restoration, as an important tool to complement conservation efforts, requires an effort to increase the effectiveness of restoration interventions. Evidence-based practice is purported ...
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The ecology of spotted hyena,Crocuta crocuta, in Majete Wildlife Reserve, Malawi
(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2016-03)ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The management of predators plays an important role in conservation management today because of the intensive management requirement of small fenced off protected areas. Apex predators such as spotted ...
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Phylogeography of the rodent mites Laelaps giganteus and Laelaps muricola using mitochondrial and nuclear DNA markers: an evolutionary approach to host-parasite interactions
(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2016-03)ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Laelaps giganteus and Laelaps muricola (Mesostigmata; Laelapidae) are widespread and locally abundant mites on small mammals in southern Africa. The large host range and complex life history of these ...
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