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Thesis (MA (Political Science. International Studies))--University of Stellenbosch, 2010. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Southern Africa as a region requires a rallying point from where they can integrate and mobilize their resources in order to create a security community, which acts both as a deterrent to the outbreak of conflict and regional bloc to protect local industries from global forces. The Southern African Development Community (SADC) does not have the strong relationship which usually exists between states that share a common goal or interest. The study argues that the lack of leadership within the region accounts for the weak cooperative relationship that presently exists in Southern Africa. This study argues that regionalization does not come about unless the states in a particular region want it. It may come about through spontaneous or unintended convergence in terms of political regime, economic policy or security, but often one can identify a triggering political event which sets the process in motion. The study argues that the Development Corridors apparent in Southern Africa can act as the triggering event and have the promise to forge the most feasible cooperation amongst regional states. The phenomenon of Peace Parks rooted in the Spatial Development Initiatives, offer a unique type of regional integration embedded on traditional focal areas and Southern African Identity. This study intends to analyze the potential ability of regional hegemony to foster peace through development. The primary objective of this study consequently is to examine the role of regional hegemonies as tools for peace; using South Africa’s hegemony in Southern Africa as a case study. This study describes the importance of South Africa as a regional hegemon to lead the process of creating a peaceful co-existence in SADC. To achieve the research objectives the following questions have been formulated: What is South Africa’s role as a development partner in Southern Africa? The second research question asks how the political economy of regionalism is apparent in the Spatial Development Indicators (Development Corridors). Specifically what contribution could Spatial Development Initiatives make towards SADC’s regional integration objectives? The research questions provide an impression of major socio-political developments looming in the region and also seek to provide the required tools to analyze and understand what is going on in Southern Africa today. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Suider-Afrikaanse streek het ’n definitiewe behoefte om ‘n sentrale punt te identifiseer waar beide integrasie kan plaasvind en hulpbronne gemobiliseer kan word om ’n veiligheids gemeenskap te skep. Dit kan as ’n definitiewe teenvoeter dien vir die onstaan van konflik en om plaaslike industrie te beskerm teen die soms negatiewe invloed van internasionale magte. Die Suider-Afrikaanse Ontwikkelings Gemeenskap (SAOG) het huidiglik nie ’n sterk verhouding wat tussen state met gemeenskaplike doelwitte en belange heers nie. Die kern argument van hierdie studie is dat die tekort aan leierskap binne die streek een van die hoofoorsake is vir die algemene swak samewerking wat tans bestaan in Suider-Afrika. Die studie argumenteer dat sogenaamde streeks/regionale integrasie nie tot stand kan kom tensy die state in ’n spesifieke streek ’n definitiewe behoefte daartoe het nie. Dit kan wel onstaan deur middel van ’n spontane samevloei van politieke regimes, ekonomiese beleid en veiligheid. Daar is soms egter ’n spesifieke gebeurtenis wat die proses laat onstaan. Die studie argumenteer dat die sogenaamde Ontwikkelings Deurgange (‘Development Corridors’) wat tans in Suider-Afrika ontwikkel as ’n moontlike vertrekpunt gesien kan word wat die beste kans bied om samewerking tussen state te bevorder. Die onstaan van Vredes Parke (‘Peace Parks’) gevestig binne die Ontwikkelings Deurgange, bied ’n unieke vorm van regionale integrasie in Suider-Afrika. Hierdie studie het ten doel om die potensiële moontlikheid van regionale hegemonie om vrede te bewerkstellig deur middel van ontwikkeling te ontleed. Die hoof doelwit van hierdie studie is om die rol van regionale hegemonie as instrument van vrede te ontleed. Die studie sal spesifiek die gevallestudie van Suid-Afrika se regionale hegemonie in Suider-Afrika ondersoek. Hierdie studie beskryf die belangrikheid van Suid-Afrika as ’n streeks moondheid om die leiding te neem om vreedsame samewerking binne die SAOG te bewerkstellig. Die volgende belangrike vrae is in hierdie studie gestel: Wat is Suid-Afrika se rol as ’n ontwikkelings-vennoot in Suider-Afrika? Die tweede vraag probeer vasstel tot watter mate die politieke ekonomie van regionale samewerking tans bestaan in die Omgewings Ontwikkelings Indikatore (die sogenaamde ‘Development Corridors’). Watter spesifieke bydraes kan hierdie inisiatiewe lewer om die SAOG se regionale integrasie doelwitte te bereik? Die vrae probeer ’n geheel indruk skep hoe die Omgewings-Ontwikkelings Inisiatiewe (‘Spatial Development Initiatives’) tans bydra om ’n beter begrip te skep van huidige verwikkelinge in Suider-Afrika.

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2008. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Within a highly regulated industry such as banking, learning takes place not only to better equip staff to deal with problems which may cross their paths, but to enable them to develop and grow into new roles within the bank. In addition to the regulation in the industry, there is also legislation goveming the learning providers within the industry. These learning providers have to abide by multiple rules and regulations set out by the Skills Development Act and the Banking Sector Training Authority, which grants accredited training-provider status to in-house learning departments of the various banks. With all the reports and returns that now have to be submitted to the Department of Labour, and the Skills Development levy that is paid to the South African Revenue Service, businesses are turning their attention to the amount of money actually being spent on training, and are starting to ask pertinent questions about the impact of learning. To answer these questions, the learning strategies that organisations adopt in order to become learning organisations need to be scrutinised and analysed, before moving on to how the measurement of retum on investment in learning can be determined and integrated into the balanced scorecard measurement for learning and growth. In the course of this study, the issues mentioned above will be discussed from a generic, theoretical point of view, before applying them specifically to the case of First National Bank. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: In 'n hoogs gereguleerde bedryf soos die bankwese, vind leer nie net plaas om personeel beter toe te rus om probleme te hanteer wat oor hulle pad kan kom nie, maar ook om personeel nuwe rolle binne die bank te laat ontwikkel en aanneem. Bo en behalwe die regulasies van die bedryf, is daar ook wetgewing ingevolge waarvan verskaffers van opleiding binne die bedryf moet optree. Hierdie opleidingsverskaffers moet aan verskeie reels en regulasies valdoen soos neergele deur die Wet op Vaardigheids-ontwikkeling en die sektorale onderwys- en opleidingsowerheid vir die bankwese (BANKS ETA), wat geakkrediteerde opleidingsverskafferstatus aan interne opleidingsdepartemente van die verskillende banke toestaan. Met al die verslae en opgawes wat deesdae aan die Departement van Arbeid verskaf moet word sowel as die vaardigheidsontwikkelingsheffing wat aan die Suid-Afrikaanse Inkomstediens betaal moet word, word ondernemings al hoe meer bewus van die hoeveelheid geld wat hulle aan opleiding bestee, en begin vra hulle al hoe meer tersaaklike vrae oor die impak van opleiding. Om hierdie vrae te beantwoord, moet 'n mens die leerstrategiee wat organisasies aanvaar ten einde leerorganisasies te word, onder die loep neem en ontleed. Hierna kan die aandag verskuif na die wyse waarop die meting van opbrengs op belegging in opleiding bereken en geintegreer kan word by die gebalanseerde-telkaartmeting van leer en groei. In hierdie studie word bogenoemde sake uit 'n generiese, teoretiese hoek bespreek voordat dit meer bepaald op Eerste Nasionale Bank toegepas word.

Thesis (MDF)--Stellenbosch University, 2015. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The research on this topic was motivated by the concern about the state of disarray in the public hospitals infrastructure and that due to budget constrain across the globe, the governments can no longer afford to provide public health services alone without the assistance of the private sector. South African public healthcare system continues to function in a state of disarray. Public hospitals serve the vast majority of the South African population, but are underfunded and in most cases these hospitals have ailing infrastructure. The study will look at the mechanism to fund public hospitals. This study examines the role that the Industrial Development Corporation and the Development Bank of Southern Africa can play in addressing the gap that exists in funding public hospitals. It will attempt to answer the following questions of concern, how is public healthcare financed in South Africa, what are the major challenges in financing public hospitals, what is the current role played by the Industrial Development Corporation and the Development Bank of Southern Africa in funding the public hospitals and what are the other possible solutions to address these challenges. The findings indicate that, despite the government funding the public hospitals there is a shortfall of funds for hospitals to complete the project that they are engage in. Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital and other five cases of hospitals in KwaZulu Natal were looked at and confirmed that there is definitely a gap in funding public hospitals

Thesis (PhD)--University of Stellenbosch, 2011. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The tuberculosis (TB) incidence has increased in Southern Africa and the situation is worsened by the emergence of drug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains. Molecular biological techniques have been used to understand the disease dynamics of TB. In a series of studies we describe the use of these techniques to understand the disease dynamics of TB in Southern Africa. Using spoligotyping and IS6110-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) to characterize M. tuberculosis strains from TB patients in Zimbabwe, we identified a genotype causing a disproportionate number of TB cases. The genotype belonged to the Latin American Mediterranean (LAM) lineage and we named it the Southern Africa1 (SAF1) family and later renamed it SAF1/RDRio, also reflecting its predominance in South America. To establish if this family of strains was predominant elsewhere in Southern Africa, genotypes were compared to those from Western Cape, South Africa and Zambia. The SAF1/RDRio strains were highly prevalent in Zambia but were only a minor fraction of the strains in South Africa. The geographical distribution of SAF1/RDRio strains was determined in Gweru, Zimbabwe, and was found to be spread in high incidence areas. From these two studies it was hypothesized that certain host and bacterial factors were associated with disease due to SAF1/RDRio. Subsequently potential risk factors and clinical outcomes of disease due to SAF1/RDRio strains were explored. An association was found with smoking and cavitary pulmonary disease suggesting that SAF1/RDRio caused a more severe and highly transmissible formof TB Using IS6110-RFLP, principal genetic grouping, spoligotyping, IS6110 insertion-site mapping and variable-number tandem repeats (VNTR) typing, low IS6110 copy clade (LCC) identified in Zimbabwe were characterized and compared to the strains from Cape Town, South Africa and other regions. The LCC strains from Cape Town, South Africa, were found to have close evolutionary relationship with strains from Zimbabwe and other regions and were widely distributed suggesting they play an important role in the global TB epidemic. Observations from these studies and those from other studies led to the hypothesis that specific genotypes of M. tuberculosis predominate in regions of Southern Africa. To gain an insight on the population structure of M. tuberculosis strains in Southern Africa, spoligotyping and/or IS6110-RFLP data from eight countries were compared. This is the first study to describe the M. tuberculosis population structure in Southern Africa. Distinct genotypes were associated with specific geographic regions. These findings have important implications for TB diagnostics, anti-TB drug and vaccine development. The population structure of multidrug-resistant (MDR), pre-extensively drug-resistant (pre-XDR) and extensively drug-resistant (XDR) M. tuberculosis isolates from provinces in South Africa was also determined. This is again the first study to describe the population structure of drug-resistant M. tuberculosis in South Africa. The results also showed geographic localization of genotypes and an association with resistance class. However, decreasing strain diversity was observed as the isolates evolved from MDR-TB to XDR-TB suggesting selection for the specific genotypes. These findings highlight the importance of identifying genetic markers in drug-resistant strains, to enhance early detection of those at risk of developing XDR-TB. / AFIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die voorkoms van tuberkulose (TB) in Suider Afrika word vererger deur stamme van Mycobacterium tuberculosis wat weerstandig is teen die beskikbare anti-tuberkulose middels. Molekulêre tegnieke word gebruik om in hierdie reeks studies die dinamika van TB in Suider Afrika te ondersoek Deur spoligotipering en IS6110 restriksie fragment lengte polimorfisme (RFLP) tegnieke te gebruik om M. tuberculosis stamme van pasiente in Zimbabwe te beskryf, het ons ‘n genotipe gevind wat ‘n buitengewone aantal TB gevalle veroorsaak het. Hierdie genotipe is deel van die internasionaal beskryfde Latyns Amerikaase en Meditereense (LAM) stam familie. Ons het dit die Suider Afrikaanse Familie1 (SAF1) genoem, maar later hernoem na SAF1/RDRio, omdat dieselfde genotipe in ook volop is in Suid Amerika. Om vas te stel of hierdie familie ook oorheesend is in die res van Suider Afrika, is dit vergelyk met beskikbare databasisse van die Wes-Kaap, Suid-Afrika en Zambië. Alhoewel SAF1/RDRio in die Wes-Kaap gevind is, dra dit slegs tot ‘n mindere mate by tot die plaaslike TB epidemie. Aan die anderkant kom SAF1/RDRio baie algemeen in Zambië voor. ‘n Verdere studie wys ook dat die SAF1/RDRio familie eweredig en wyd verspreid voorkom in hoë insidensie gebiede in Gweru, Zimbabwe. Vanuit die bevindings van hierdie 2 studies, kan ons aflei dat sekere gasheer- en bakteriële eienskappe geassosieer is met SAF1/RDRio-TB-infeksie. Hierna is potensiële risiko faktore en kliniese uitkomste van siekte as gevolg van infeksie met SAF1/RDRio ondersoek. ‘n Assosiasie met rook en kaviterende pulmonale infeksie is gevind,wat daarop dui dat SAF1/RDRio erger vorm van TB veroorsaak en hoogs oordraagbaar is. Deur gebruik te maak van IS6110- (RFLP), hoof groep groepering, spoligotipering, IS6110 invoegings kaartering en veranderlike getal tandem herhaling (VNTR) tipering kon lae IS6110 invoeginsgetal (LCC) stamme van Kaapstad, Zimbabwe en ander gebiede vergelyk word. Al die LCC stamme in die studie is evolusionêr naby verwant aan mekaar en is wyd verspreid, wat dui op hulle belangrike rol in die wêreldwye TB epidemie. Waarnemings in hierdie asook ander studies het tot die hipotese gely dat spesifieke genotipes van M. tuberculosis dominant is in verskillende gebiede van Suider Afrika. Om meer insig tot die populasie samestelling van M. tuberculosis stamme in Suider Afrika in te win is spoligotipes en RFLP-data van 8 lande vergelyk. Hierdie is die eerste studie om die populasie samestelling van M. tuberculosis in Suider Afrika te beskryf en is belangrike fir toekomstige ontwikkeling van nuwe TB diagnose tegnieke, anti-TB middels en TB entstowwe. Die populasie samestelling van multiweerstandige (MDR), pre-ekstreme weerstandige (pre-XDR) en ekstreme weerstandige (XDR) M. tuberculosis van verskillende provinsies in Suid-Afrika is ook bepaal. Hierdie studie is ook die eerste wat die populasie samestelling van weerstandige M. tuberculosis in Suid-Afrika beskryf. Die resultate wys geografiese lokalisering van genotipes en ‘n assosiasie met weerstandigheidsklas. ‘n Afname in stam diversiteit soos die isolate van MDR-TB tot XDR-TB ontwikkel, dui op seleksie van spesifieke genotipes. Hierdie bevinding lê die klem op die belangrikheid van die identifisering van genetiese merkers in weerstandige stamme om die risiko vir die ontwikkeling van XDR-TB te verminder deur vroë deteksie.

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Christian life today has been influenced by countless influences from the external world. Although these external factors have a significant bearing on the church of Christ, the greatest challenge however manifests itself from within the latter. Where the core doctrine of the church constitutes issues of theological and Christian importance, they seem to slowly dissipate and the practices of the secular world seem to take ownership of the church of Christ. The Reformed church has within its confines the three marks of the church whose sole purpose is to ensure that the church of God remains and continues to be the true church of Christ. These Three Marks are: (a) the proclamation of the Word; (b) the correct administration of the sacraments, and (c) the correct exercise of discipline. Among the three marks, discipline acts as a catalyst that enables the survival and proper continuance of the other two marks and thus the true church of Christ. These Three Marks prescribe the basic fundamentals of the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa (URCSA) as a Reformed Church and thereby serve as a primary tool for this church. Discipline, therefore, forms an intrinsic part of this church. However, as a controlling mechanism, its influence and/or instillation appears to be neglected. This quagmire may very well be attested to the overemphasis of democracy (of/or relating to majority rule doctrine) in preference to theocracy (God as the ultimate authority in our lives), where even matters of high religious stature are being compacted to human decision-making processes. These influences needless to say are key in the regression and/or progression of Christian life and life in general. However, their inclusion within the Christian doctrine should not be cumbersome to the latter. The Christian way of life and doctrines should be holistically adhered to without fear or favour. The main purpose behind the formation of these marks by the Reformed church was to sustain the true church of Christ and the only way to ensure this sustainability, was to be consistent in exercising these marks. The church therefore has an obligation towards God and its members to be consistent in carrying out its mandate from God through the scriptures as the creator and father of the church and the world at large. The premonition that forms the basis of this research is that within the three prevalent marks of the church, there appears to be certain discrepancies in that they are not all carried out in unison and are not consistent with each other. With the over-emphasis of one above the other, the church of God could be heading towards vanity, and all its efforts could be fruitless. It is also my conviction that the starting point for rolling out these three marks lie with the leadership of the church by the General Synod, Regional Synods, Presbyteries, Ministers and their church councils. If found that any of these key adherents are not protagonists of these marks, then they would have neglected their God-entrusted responsibilities and their accountability towards the entire community of believers. It is in this regard that this research seeks to implement a litmus test of where the URCSA stands in terms of executing its mandate with relation to the three marks of the church viz; proclaiming the word, administering the sacraments and more importantly, exercising exercising discipline as these marks form the sinew that binds the entire church together. The church of Christ as an entity is engaged in service, which is not to be haphazard in nature, but must be structured. This service begins with serving God, serving one another and finally serving the world at large. This will ensure that the church of God maintains its holiness. For this holiness to be ensured, the church of God has to be open to discernment and allow God take charge of His church. Such uncertainties can be verified only by looking into discipline as the sinew that brings these three marks together. The reason for this approach is that, the first two marks are prescriptive with more parameters than discipline has, whereas discipline can be easily influenced. It is to the benefit of this task that much attention be given to discipline as the last mark of the three, as it is prone to abuse, because it relies mainly on human behaviour, attitude and/or approach to the Christian life. Therefore, the purpose of this dissertation is to outline the possible disintegration of discipline as the sinew that binds the three marks of the Reformed Church in general and URCSA in particular within the Southern Synod. important to note that discipline in the lower strata of the church is carried out religiously without question. The notion that prompted this topic is that contrarily, those who occupy the highest echelons of the church (leadership in the church, ministers and evangelists) do not appear to be enjoying the same reception regarding discipline. The challenge that faces the URCSA is how to maintain equal treatment of the three marks of the true church in a democratic society in the light of the service of God, one another and the world. / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / M. Th.(Systematic Theology)

Approximately 25% of bats globally are threatened, but limited data on African bats, which account for 20% of bat species, hinders our understanding of their conservation status across this ecologically diverse continent. This study combined: modelling techniques, to predict current species distributions for 58 southern African bat species and project past, current and future distributions of 22 endemic and near-endemic species; bat acoustic surveys, to assess landscape features influencing bat activity in arid and semi-arid regions; and conservation planning software to design a large-scale monitoring network for bats across this subcontinent. Species distribution models were employed using a robust and well established presence-only modelling technique (Maximum Entropy – Maxent) to model the current distributions of 58 species in southern Africa. Although the important eco-geographical variables were species- or in some cases family-specific, overall water availability (both temporary and permanent), seasonal precipitation, vegetation and karst (caves/limestone) areas were the most important factors associated with distribution patterns. These species distributions were then used to identify range-restricted and narrow niche breadth species, alongside other life-history strategies considered to put species at risk, such as Old World pteropodids and cave-dwelling bats to identify species most at risk. Nine of the 58 species in this study were identified as ‘at risk’. Considering range-restriction and endemism separately, the results showed that range-restricted species were a higher proportion (50%) of ‘at risk’ species than endemics (41%) but six of the nine identified species were endemic and range restricted (67%). If only areas of high species richness are prioritised, important areas with low species richness but rare, ‘at risk’ or endemic species would be excluded. Species distributions are not fixed but may shift due to changes in environmental conditions. Accurately predicting changes in species’ distributions due to anthropogenic climate change remains a fundamental challenge for conservation biologists, and this is amplified when dealing with taxa such as bats that are inherently difficult to study and in areas, such as Africa, with sparse ecological data. To better understand endemic bat species risk to climate change in southern Africa and to highlight historical and future likely refugia, Maxent was employed to forecast range-shifts for 22 southern African endemic or near-endemic species. Species distributions were projected during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM ~22,000 BP), present (1950-2000) and future (2070: averaged 2061-2080, using IPCC5 scenarios) climatic conditions. Climate change was predicted to change species composition extensively within a relatively short timescale (within 60 years). By 2070, 86% of species modelled are predicted to have range contractions and six species were highlighted to be most at risk, with range contractions of more than 20%. The majority of southern Africa is composed or arid or semi-arid regions. Generally arid and semi-arid areas are overlooked and understudied due to low species richness, yet these areas are known to have a high proportion of endemic species. As part of this study, driven transects were carried out across arid and semi-arid areas to assess bat activity in these areas. Bat activity was recorded at 94% of the acoustic surveys, demonstrating that driven transects are an effective method of surveying bats in southern Africa. Bat activity increased at lower altitudes and higher latitudes, which characteristically have more rainfall, permanent water and vegetation. Although water has been shown in other studies to be important for bats, temporary water was not shown to influence bat activity and permanent water was positively correlated with bat activity for hipposiderids and rhinolophids and FM bats, which may reflect the fact that water features important for bats at smaller scale. The same two vegetation types that were consistently negatively correlated with bat activity were drier vegetation types (Karoo-Namib shrubland) and high salinity halophytic vegetation. Finally, a systematic conservation planning software tool (Marxan) was used to design multi-species monitoring networks that incorporated all 58 target species across the 11 ecoregions found in southern Africa. To ensure rare, endemic and range-restricted species were monitored at the same level as widespread species, species distributions (mapped using Maxent) were extracted by ecoregion. Monitoring targets (i.e. a percentage of species distribution across ecoregions) were standardised to ensure the same percentage of predicted distribution was included across all species (rare and widespread). To account for different resources and capacity, three optimal monitoring networks (minimum monitoring stations to achieve the monitoring targets) were proposed to survey 1, 5 or 10% of all species distributions within each ecoregion. The optimal solution for monitoring 1% of species distributions within ecoregions was found by monitoring 1,699 stations (survey sites), or for 5% 8,486 stations and finally for 10% 17,867 stations would be needed. In conclusion, the findings presented in this thesis have important conservation implications and have the potential to inform the practical steps required towards the introduction of a bat monitoring programme in southern Africa. While this study has highlighted challenges to African bat conservation, it has also demonstrated that an integrated and multi-disciplinary approach, using emerging techniques and conservation tools (e.g. conservation planning and automated call analysis software) can be used to fill knowledge gaps and inform conservation priorities in the absence of systematically collected data.

La distribution d'espèces benthiques intertidales est contrainte par l'océanographie côtière. On connaît moins les effets sur l'écologie des prédateurs. Les côtes sud de l'Afrique sont caractérisées par des contrastes de production primaire et d'assemblages intertidaux dus aux deux courants majeurs qui les longent. Le prédateur apical de ces côtes est un oiseau limicole endémique, l'huîtrier noir africain (Haematopus moquini), qui présente un polymorphisme favorable à la spécialisation alimentaire. Ces travaux ont étudié l'effet des variations spatiales de structure de communautés benthiques sur l'écologie alimentaire de l'huîtrier à l'aide des isotopes stables. Les oiseaux répondent aux fluctuations qualitative et quantitative des communautés de proies à plusieurs échelles. A large échelle ils montrent de forts contrastes entre les côtes ouest et sud-ouest où le régime alimentaire est dominé par les moules, notamment l'espèce invasive Mytilus galloprovincialis et le sud-est où un mélange de moules et patelles est consommé. Localement les individus montrent des différences faibles d'alimentation liées à l'abondance relative des moules et patelles. Cela s'explique par le caractère généraliste de l'espèce et le relâchement de compétition intra-spécifique pour les ressources. La transition alimentaire d'H. moquini vers une consommation quasi-exclusive à l'ouest d'une moule introduite et la multitude de comportements alimentaires ailleurs indiquent un fort potentiel d'adaptation aux modifications de son habitat d'alimentation. En revanche la dégradation des plages par l'Homme augmente la compétition pour l'espace et affecterait aujourd'hui le succès reproducteur de l'espèce. / The distribution of intertidal benthic species is constrained by coastal oceanography. Less is known about the effects on the ecology of predators. Along the southern coasts of Africa the two main currents constraint both the patterns of primary production and the structure of benthic communities. The top predator on these coasts is an endemic shorebird, the African Black Oystercatcher (Haematopus moquini), which exhibits a polymorphism favourable for food specialization. This study investigates the effect of spatial variations in benthic community structure on the feeding ecology of oystercatchers using stable isotopes. Birds respond to changes in quality and quantity of prey at multiple scales. At large scale they show strong contrasts between west and southwest coasts where the diet is dominated by mussels, including the invasive species Mytilus galloprovincialis, and south-east shores where a mixture of mussels and limpets is consumed. Locally individuals show weak dietary differences related to relative abundances of mussels and limpets. This reflects the generalist foraging behaviour of the species and the release of intra-specific competition for resources. The dietary shift of H. moquini on the west coast toward the invasive mussel and the multiplicity of foraging behaviours elsewhere reveal strong capacities to face changes in its foraging habitat. On the other hand the degradation of beaches by humans increases the competition for space and today affects the reproductive success of the species

A travers l'analyse de matériel macrobotanique (charbon et graines / fruits) issus de trois sites majeurs du Later Stone Age (LSA) d'Afrique australe, cette étude s'intéresse à reconstituer les conditions environnementales durant l'Holocène dans la région, en particulier au cours des deux à trois derniers millénaires. L'étude de ce matériel, accompagné de la constitution d'une collection moderne de références de la végétation du bassin Kgalagadi, vise à mieux cerner l'impact quel'environnement a pu avoir sur les sociétés humaines (subsistance, peuplements, etc.) à une période-clé du (LSA), qui marque l'émergence des pratiques pastorales dans la région. L'étude des environnements est ici primordiale pour interpréter les conditions qui ont pu favoriser l'arrivée de ces premiers éleveurs et leurs lieux d'installation. En complément, une approche ethnographique a été menée, en travaillant avec les communautés locales dans la région de l'Erongo en Namibie, qui peuvent aider à comprendre et reconstituer les pratiques passées d'utilisation de la végétation. / Through macrobotanical (wood charcoal and seeds / fruit) analysis from three major Later Stone Age (LSA) sites located in the Kgalagadi Basin in southern Africa, this study is interested in reconstructing the environmental conditions during the Holocene in the region, in particular in the last two to three millennia. Initially this work couples archaeological macrobotanical analysis with the construction of modern reference material in an effort to trace the environmental / vegetal evolution as well as to comprehend socio-ecological and socio-environmental dynamics in Southern Africa during the late Holocene. The scope of this study covers the period spanning the last 3000-2000 years, with the main objective of understanding what relationships humans had with their environment at a time linked with the arrival or the appearance of the first herding practices in that part of Africa. These herding practices are believed to be accompanied by significant human movement from eastern or central Africa southwards. Favourable environmental conditions may have influenced their routes as well as settlement choices, and these are aspects that this archaeobotanical study aims to address. This study also employed an ethnographic approach, working with local communities in the Erongo region of Namibia, so as to make inferences to past vegetation utilisation practices while at the same time discerning and reconstituting past human activities.