Research Articles (Conservation Ecology and Entomology)
Recent Submissions
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Private rhino conservation : diverse strategies adopted in response to the poaching crisis
(Wiley Open Access, 2020)Private landowners in South Africa conserve roughly 40% of white rhinos globally. Given concerns that escalating poaching has caused private‐rhino owners to disinvest, we used a national survey to assess 171 private‐rhino ... -
Phylogeography, genetic diversity, and population structure of Nile crocodile populations at the fringes of the southern African distribution
(Public Library of Science, 2018)Nile crocodiles are apex predators widely distributed in sub-Saharan Africa that have been viewed and managed as a single species. A complex picture of broad and fine-scale phylogeographic patterns that includes the ... -
Repression of sex4 and like sex four2 orthologs in potato increases tuber starch bound phosphate with concomitant alterations in starch properties physical
(Frontiers Media, 2018-07-23)To examine the roles of starch phosphatases in potatoes, transgenic lines were produced where orthologs of SEX4 and LIKE SEX FOUR2 (LSF2) were repressed using RNAi constructs. Although repression of either SEX4 or LSF2 ... -
Geographic variation and plasticity in climate stress resistance among southern African populations of Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) (Diptera: Tephritidae)
(Nature Research, 2018-06-29)Traits of thermal sensitivity or performance are typically the focus of species distribution modelling. Among-population trait variation, trait plasticity, population connectedness and the possible climatic covariation ... -
Biocultural diversity : a Mongolian case study
(Resilience Alliance, 2019)Although conceptual frameworks describing biodiversity and cultural keystone species have been widely accepted over the past 15 years, there remains a need for an overarching framework that covers the various components ... -
Alien plants have greater impact than habitat fragmentation on native insect flower visitation networks
(Wiley, 2018)Aim: Habitat fragmentation and alien species are among the leading causes of biodiversity loss. In an attempt to reduce the impact of forestry on natural systems, networks of natural corridors and patches of natural habitat ... -
Moving from representation to persistence : the capacity of Australia’s National Reserve System to support viable populations of mammals
(Wiley, 2018)Aim: Species require sufficiently large and connected areas of suitable habitat to support populations that can persist through change. With extensive alteration of unprotected natural habitat, there is increasing risk ... -
Species turnover in plants does not predict turnover in flower-visiting insects
(PeerJ, 2018)Congruence between plant and insect diversity is considered possibly useful in conservation planning, as the better known plants could be surrogates for the lesser known insects. There has been little quantification of ... -
Range expansion of the economically important Asiatic blue tick, Rhipicephalus microplus, in South Africa
(AOSIS, 2017-12-08)The Asiatic blue tick, Rhipicephalus microplus, a known vector of bovine babesiosis and bovine anaplasmosis, is of great concern in the cattle industry. For this reason, detailed knowledge of the distribution of R. microplus ... -
Why do models of insect respiratory patterns fail?
(Company of Biologists, 2018)Insects exchange respiratory gases using an astonishing diversity of patterns. Of these, discontinuous gas exchange cycles (DGCs) have received the most study, but there are many other patterns exhibited intraspecifically ... -
Insect-flower interaction networks vary among endemic pollinator taxa over an elevation gradient
(Public Library of Science, 2018-11-29)Interaction networks are sensitive to elevation gradients through changes in local distribution of interacting partners. Here, we use plant-pollinator interaction network metrics to assess the effect of elevation on flowers ... -
Artificial reservoirs complement natural ponds to improve pondscape resilience in conservation corridors in a biodiversity hotspot
(Public Library of Science, 2018-09-20)Natural ponds are rich in biodiversity, contributing greatly to regional aquatic biodiversity. Artificial reservoirs used for irrigation can be significant additional features of the landscape. They infill the local natural ... -
Only multi-taxon studies show the full range of arthropod responses to fire
(Public Library of Science, 2018-04-03)Fire is a major driver in many ecosystems. Yet, little is known about how different ground-living arthropods survive fire. Using three sampling methods, and time-since-fire (last fire event: 3 months, 1 year, and 7 years), ... -
Plant functional trait data and reflectance spectra for 22 palmiet wetland species
(Elsevier, 2018)We provide reflectance spectra for 22 South African palmiet wetland species collected in spring 2015 from three wetlands throughout the Cape Floristic Region. In addition, we provide summarized plant functional trait data, ... -
New policy directions for global pond conservation
(Wiley Open Access, 2018)Despite the existence of well‐established international environmental and nature conservation policies (e.g., the Ramsar Convention and Convention on Biological Diversity) ponds are largely missing from national and ... -
Increase anti-poaching law-enforcement or reduce demand for wildlife products? A framework to guide strategic conservation investments
(Wiley Open Access, 2018)Donors, NGOs, and governments increasingly invest in campaigns to reduce con-sumer demand for wildlife products in an attempt to prevent the decline of overex-ploited and poached species. We provide a novel framework to ... -
Traditional medicinal animal use by Xhosa and Sotho communities in the Western Cape Province, South Africa
(BMC (part of Springer Nature), 2019-07-09)Background: The use of animals and animal-derived materials in traditional medicine constitutes an important part of the belief systems of indigenous African cultures. It is believed to be rapidly expanding in South Africa, ... -
Nine draft genome sequences of Claviceps purpurea s.lat., including C. arundinis, C. humidiphila, and C. cf. spartinae, pseudomolecules for the pitch canker pathogen Fusarium circinatum, draft genome of Davidsoniella eucalypti, Grosmannia galeiformis, Quambalaria eucalypti, and Teratosphaeria destructans
(International Mycological Association, 2018-12-01)This genome announcement includes draft genomes from Claviceps purpurea s.lat., including C. arundinis, C. humidiphila and C. cf. spartinae. The draft genomes of Davidsoniella eucalypti, Quambalaria eucalypti and Teratosphaeria ... -
Knoxdaviesia proteae is not the only Knoxdaviesia-symbiont of Protea repens
(International Mycological Association, 2015-11-10)Two polyphyletic genera of ophiostomatoid fungi are symbionts of Proteaceae in southern Africa. One of these, Knoxdaviesia, includes two closely related species, K. proteae and K. capensis, that have overlapping geographical ... -
Seed survival of Australian Acacia in the Western Cape of South Africa in the presence of biological control agents and given environmental variation
(PeerJ, 2019)Studies of invasive Australian Acacia have shown that many seeds are still produced and accumulate in soil stored seed banks regardless of the presence of seed-targeting biological control agents. This is despite claims ...
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