No description available.

The permanent coresidence of males within a troop is unusual but occurs in vervet monkeys. Several hypotheses have been projected to explain the coexistence of male vervets (predation risk, breeding season length) but these hypotheses fall short in explaining the multimale nature of vervet monkeys. In order to determine the explanation for coresiding males, I collected male behavioural data from two troops over the course of nine months. My dataset was divided into two categories, male-male interactions and female-male interactions. The male-male data indicate that breeding season is the most active time for migration, aggressions and wounds. Coalitions were described for the first time, and affiliative interactions between males highlighted coping tactics of males in regards to their coexistence. The female-male data indicate there was little indication for distinct male or female choice for mating. Specifically, olfactory information appears to lower successful copulations of males, and female resistance also decreased successful copulations. Grooming was not a commodity traded for mating access. Male dominance was not correlated with mating success, and females seem to express their preference for sexual partners. The large cohort of males of my troops appears to alter behaviours observed at other sites. The maintenance of male-female associations after breeding season suggests that males may be preparing for next breeding season, and males may co-reside for breeding purposes. / xiii, 123 leaves : ill. maps ; 29 cm

This study explored the organizing principles of female sociality in free-ranging vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus aethiops) inhabiting the Klein Karoo, South Africa. Females groomed more than males, grooming peaked at the end of the day and less grooming occurred during the mating season. Although females competed over food, they did not compete over grooming partners, rarely formed coalitions and did not trade grooming against other activities. Instead, they maintained grooming whilst trading between feeding and resting and feeding and moving. Despite seasonal shifts in food competition, grooming was not traded for tolerance and there was an upper limit to cohort size before clique size declined. Inter-population comparisons revealed no troop size effects on clique size, aggression and competition over high-ranking grooming partners. The rarity of coalitions suggests coalitions are unlikely to be a central component of female relationships. / xiii, 162 leaves : ill., maps ; 29 cm

Anthropometry, dietary intakes and food preferences of Mohawk children in Kahnawake were studied. Overweight, defined by body mass index at and above the 85th percentile of United States all-race children was 29.6% in boys and 32.8% in girls aged 5 to 12 years; rates were generally lower than those reported for Native North American schoolchildren using same criterion. Compared with U.S. data, there were greater differences in subscapular than triceps skinfold thicknesses, suggesting a more central distribution of subcutaneous fat. Mean energy intakes of Grades 4 to 6 children were adequate to achieve normal growth, and height-for-age and weight-for-height showed no evidence of malnutrition. Mean fat intake as a percentage of total energy was lower than average seen in North American schoolchildren ($<$35% at p $<$ 0.001). Twenty percent of children reported consumption of traditional or cultural Mohawk food. Children had a high preference for most of 24 food items assessed.

Contemporary and historical studies of the flora of the Hluhluwe Game Reserve (HGR), have emphasised the woody component whilst little work has been performed on the herbaceous vegetation. This is particularly true with regard to the responses of grasses to historical fire and bush clearing. This study attempted to elucidate some of these responses. Of all the variables considered in this study, woody cover, altitude, the number of fire events, geological and soil parent material are the most important affecting the abundance of grasses in this reserve. Most of these variables are not independent in their effects on grass abundance, with varying degrees of correlation between each other. Certain species appear to be restricted to particular geological substrates. Along with successional changes in the composition and cover of the woody community, due to seemingly inevitable bush encroachment, there is a parallel change in grassland communities in this reserve. In the absence of clearing, numerous fires, higher altitudes, igneous geology and soils derived from igneous parent material delays this succession, whilst sedimentary geology at lower altitudes and fire frequencies accelerates the trend to high woody cover and associated grass species. The grass communities in HGR were shown to be significantly affected by bush clearing and fire. Specifically the number of clearings and fire events, physical bush clearing during 1957 - 1963 and chemical bush clearing during 1968 - 1978. From the responses of species in relation to the various key environmental variables, viz. geological substrate, woody cover and burning and clearing, a model of species response to these variables was developed. With increased fire and bush clearing frequency, the grass communities shift from closed woodland, shade tolerant species through to more open fire climax grassland. These are also more productive communities producing palatable grasses. Validation of aspects of the model were successful - the model having a relatively high predictive capability. Further testing of the model over different substrates and under different clearing regimes is necessary. With regular fires and re-clearing in some bush cleared areas, the vegetation of this reserve should be able to be maintained as productive and diverse grasslands. In the absence of this management, the grass communities will shift towards species associated with woodlands. Bush clearing activities would appear to be most effective over sites on igneous substrate, at higher altitudes, where successional rates are slowest. This is in comparison to sites at lower altitudes over sedimentary geology. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1992.

A population survey was conducted on Galago moholi along the road system at Loskop Dam Nature Reserve, Mpumalanga province, South Africa. The data were analyzed using the maximum perpendicular distance, mean perpendicular distance, and maximum reliable perpendicular distance methods. Vegetation sample plots were constructed at the location of each individual sighted in order to analyze the species’ habitat use. The results indicate that the species density of G. moholi is significantly lower at Loskop Dam Nature Reserve than previously reported at other sites within South Africa. G. moholi was found to prefer areas with high concentrations of Dichrostachys sp., Combretum sp., or Acacia sp. One individual was observed consuming vegetative matter, which may indicate that the population within the reserve is utilizing available resources in a different way than populations in other parts of southern Africa. / Department of Anthropology

No description available.

Norrvatten producerar dricksvatten i sitt vattenverk, Görvälnverket, som distribueras till 700 000 människor i norra Stockholm. Om problem uppstår med den ordinarie dricksvattenförsörjningen kan leveranserna säkras upp genom en reservvattenförsörjning. Norrvattens nuvarande reservvattenförsörjning klarar dock inte av att leverera tillräcklig kapacitet och kvalitet totalt sett och behöver därför förstärkas. För att utgöra underlag för vidarearbete med att förstärka Norrvattens reservvattenförsörjning genomförs en multikriterieanalys där sju olika reservvattenalternativ analyseras med avseende på ett antal kriterier. MKA-verktyget Water Investments for Sustainability Enhancement and Reliability (WISER) tillämpas som är utvecklat för att studera dricksvattenåtgärder. Även fyra olika känslighetsanalyser utförs för att se hur resultatet påverkas av val av viktning och hur osäkerheter i använd data bidrar till osäkerheten i resultatet.  Resultatet visade att alla reservvattenalternativ förutom ett är fördelaktiga jämfört med Norrvattens nuvarande reservvattenförsörjning. Det vore mest fördelaktigt att etablera en ny grundvattentäkt eller förstärka de befintliga grundvattentäkterna. Etablering av ett nytt råvattenintag till Görvälnverket bedöms ofördelaktigt jämfört med de andra alternativen. Om Norrvatten inte skulle begränsas av ekonomiska tillgångar visar resultatet istället att alla alternativ är fördelaktiga och rangordningen av alternativen ändras. Rangordning ändras även om analysen enbart beaktar alternativens kapacitet och dricksvattenkvalitet. För att uppnå Norrvattens målproduktion av reservvatten behöver fler av alternativen etableras, eller bara ett nytt råvattenintag till Görvälnverket. De kriterier som bidrar med störst osäkerhet i resultatet är investeringskostnader samt drift- och underhållskostnader följt av genomförbarhet, rådighet och dricksvattenkvalitet. Resultatet påverkas mer av osäkerheterna i kriterierna investeringskostnader, drift- och underhållskostnader, dricksvattenkvalitet och tillförlitlighet än de övriga kriterierna. / Norrvatten produces drinking water in its Water Treatment Plant, Görvälnverket, which is distributed to 700,000 people in northern Stockholm. If problems arise with the ordinary drinking water supply, the deliveries can be secured through a reserve water supply. However, Norrvatten's current reserve water supply is not able to deliver sufficient capacity and quality overall and therefore needs to be strengthened. To form a basis for further work to strengthen Norrvatten's reserve water supply, a Multi Criteria Analysis is carried out in which seven different reserve water alternatives are evaluated regarding several criteria. The MCA tool Water Investments for Sustainability Enhancement and Reliability (WISER) is applied, which has been developed to study drinking water measures. Four different sensitivity analyzes are also performed to see how the result is affected by the choice of weighting and how uncertainties in the data used contribute to the uncertainty in the result.  The result showed that all reserve water alternatives except one are favorable compared with Norrvatten's current reserve water supply. It would be most favorable to establish a new groundwater source or to strengthen the existing groundwater sources. Establishment of a new raw water intake to Görvälnverket is considered unfavorable compared with the other alternatives. If Norrvatten wouldn’t be limited by financial assets, the result instead show that all alternatives are favorable and the ranking of the alternatives changes. The ranking of the alternatives also changes if the analysis only considers the alternatives' capacity and drinking water quality. To achieve Norrvatten's goal production of reserve water, several of the alternatives need to be established, or only a new raw water intake to Görvälnverket. The criteria that contribute to the greatest uncertainty in the result are investment costs as well as operating and maintenance costs followed by feasibility, availability and drinking water quality. The result is affected more by the criteria investment costs, operating and maintenance costs, drinking water quality and reliability than the other criteria.

No description available.

Shamwari Game Reserve was the first enclosed conservation area in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa to reintroduce free ranging lions, cheetahs, leopards and wild dogs back into their historic range. At that time (2000 – 2001), little information was available on the ecology and behaviour of these predators in the habitats of the Eastern Cape, and management decisions were based on assumptions and unfounded comparisons with extant populations but from quite different habitats. The aim of this study was therefore to obtain a better understanding of the feeding ecology and space use of the predator guild, and the carrying capacity of Shamwari Game Reserve to enable more informed management decisions. In addition, the reserve is a photographic based tourism venture and understanding both the ecological and financial sustainability of the predator guild was important. The diets of the predators were similar to those reported in other studies; larger predators killed a greater range of prey species than did smaller predators and a small number of prey species made up the majority of the kills. The larger predators had a higher mean kill mass than the smaller species and prey selection was influenced by prey size, prey abundance and prey habitat preference, and risk associated with hunting the species. Diet was flexible and responded to natural and management induced changes in prey abundance. There was a considerable overlap in space use by the lions, cheetahs and leopards with their core areas being centred on and around the Bushmans River. Space use was driven by resource distribution and landscape attributes, and by the presence of other predators of the same or different species. The long term viability of wild dog within the reserve was explored and the results confirmed that there was neither the required space nor the ecological processes and the wild dogs were removed from the reserve. A carrying capacity of the reserve for the predator guild was determined using the Maximum Sustainable Yield method to assess the potential prey species off take and a resultant density of 3.3 to 6.6 lion female equivalent units per 10 000 ha was established. The natural carrying capacity of the reserve with respect to predators will not sustain the tourism objectives and consequently prey supplementation was necessary to maintain predator density at levels high enough to sustain tourism. Under these conditions the large predator guild is still sustainable financially although careful, responsible management is needed to provide ecological sustainability.