Browsing Research Articles (Botany and Zoology) by Title
Now showing items 41-60 of 336
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Changes in the composition and distribution of alien plants in South Africa : an update from the Southern African Plant Invaders Atlas
(AOSIS Publishing, 2017)Background: Data on alien species status and occurrence are essential variables for the monitoring and reporting of biological invasions. The Southern African Plant Invaders Atlas (SAPIA) Project has, over the past 23 ... -
Chromosomal instability in Afrotheria : fragile sites, evolutionary breakpoints and phylogenetic inference from genome sequence assemblies
(BioMed Central, 2007-10)Background: Extant placental mammals are divided into four major clades (Laurasiatheria, Supraprimates, Xenarthra and Afrotheria). Given that Afrotheria is generally thought to root the eutherian tree in phylogenetic ... -
Chromosome painting among Proboscidea, Hyracoidea and Sirenia : support for Paenungulata (Afrotheria, Mammalia) but not Tethytheria
(2007-05)Despite marked improvements in the interpretation of systematic relationships within Eutheria, particular nodes, including Paenungulata (Hyracoidea, Sirenia and Proboscidea), remain ambiguous. The combination of a rapid ... -
Codivergence and multiple host species use by fig wasp populations of the Ficus pollination mutualism
(BioMed Central, 2012-01)Abstract Background The interaction between insects and plants takes myriad forms in the generation of spectacular diversity. In this association a species host range is fundamental and often measured using an ... -
Community harvesting of trees used as dens and for food by the tree hyrax (Dendrohyrax arboreus) in the Pirie forest, South Africa
(AOSIS Publishing, 2018-02-28)Forests in South Africa are harvested by local communities for multiple purposes and this affects the animals that inhabit them. The tree hyrax (Dendrohyrax arboreus) has a restricted distribution and utilises various tree ... -
Comparative cardio and developmental toxicity induced by the popular medicinal extract of Sutherlandia frutescens (L.) R.Br. detected using a zebrafish Tuebingen embryo model
(BMC (part of Springer Nature), 2018-10-05)Background: Sutherlandia frutescens is one of the most promising commercialized, indigenous and medicinal plants of South Africa that is used as an immune-booster, and a traditional treatment for cancer. However, few studies ... -
Comparative phylogeography between two generalist flea species reveal a complex interaction between parasite life history and host vicariance : parasite-host association matters
(BioMed Central, 2015-06)Background: In parasitic taxa, life history traits such as microhabitat preference and host specificity can result in differential evolutionary responses to similar abiotic events. The present study investigates the ... -
Comparative phylogeography of parasitic Laelaps mites contribute new insights into the specialist-generalist variation hypothesis (SGVH)
(BMC (part of Springer Nature), 2018-09-03)Background: The specialist-generalist variation hypothesis (SGVH) in parasites suggests that, due to patchiness in habitat (host availability), specialist species will show more subdivided population structure when compared ... -
Comparing determinants of alien bird impacts across two continents : implications for risk assessment and management
(John Wiley & Sons Ltd., 2014-06-22)Invasive alien species can have serious adverse impacts on both the environment and the economy. Being able to predict the impacts of an alien species could assist in preventing or reducing these impacts. This study aimed ... -
Competition and feeding ecology in two sympatric Xenopus species (Anura: Pipidae)
(PeerJ, 2017)The widespread African clawed frog (Xenopus laevis) occurs in sympatry with the IUCN Endangered Cape platanna (Xenopus gilli) throughout its entire range in the south-western Cape, South Africa. In order to investigate ... -
Complex signatures of genomic variation of two non-model marine species in a homogeneous environment
(BioMed Central, 2018-05-09)Background: Genomic tools are increasingly being used on non-model organisms to provide insights into population structure and variability, including signals of selection. However, most studies are carried out in regions ... -
Confronting the wicked problem of managing biological invasions
(Pensoft, 2016)The Anthropocene Epoch is characterized by novel and increasingly complex dependencies between the environment and human civilization, with many challenges of biodiversity management emerging as wicked problems. Problems ... -
Conservation during times of change : correlations between birds, climate and people in South Africa
(Academy of Science of South Africa, 2004)Few studies have investigated the ability of national conservation networks to adapt to changes in underlying environmental drivers (such as precipitation) and their consequences for factors such as human density and species ... -
Conservation of protists : the Krauthugel pond in Austria
(MDPI, 2013)Although constituting more than 100,000 described species, protists are virtually ignored within the arena of biodiversity conservation. One reason is the widespread belief that the majority of protists have cosmopolitan ... -
The conservation status of the Saldanha-Langebaan lizard fauna
(AOSIS, 1996)The conservation status of relic melanistic lizard species occurring in the Saldanha-Langebaan area has been investigated. A contact zone between one melanistic form and a closely related non-melanistic form has been ... -
Conservative management of breast cancer in the elderly in a developing country
(BioMed Central, 2007-10)Background: The cost effective treatment of cancer in developing countries remains challenging. In the elderly with possible limited life expectancy, the health expenditure associated with standard treatment regimes should ... -
Conserving and increasing biodiversity in the large-scale, intensive farming systems of the Western Cape, South Africa
(Academy of Science of South Africa, 2006)The Convention on Biological Diversity, adopted in 1992 in Nairobi and signed by many states, including South Africa, at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro later that year, urges ... -
Consistent phenological shifts in the making of a biodiversity hotspot : the Cape flora
(BioMed Central, 2011-02)ABSTRACT: Background: The best documented survival responses of organisms to past climate change on short (glacial-interglacial) timescales are distributional shifts. Despite ample evidence on such timescales for local ... -
Contributions to the National Status Report on biological invasions in South Africa
(AOSIS Publishing, 2017)South Africa has committed to producing a National Status Report on Biological Invasions by October 2017 and thereafter every three years. This will be the first status report at a national level specifically on biological ... -
Convergent evolution associated with habitat decouples phenotype from phylogeny in a clade of lizards
(Public Library of Science, 2012-12-12)Convergent evolution can explain similarity in morphology between species, due to selection on a fitness-enhancing phenotype in response to local environmental conditions. As selective pressures on body morphology may be ...
