Current literature suggests that little, if any, research has been conducted in South Africa to determine the impact of alien invasive trout on indigenous amphibian biodiversity. The primary aim of the research project was to establish whether waterfalls are seasonally important in protecting the indigenous Natal Cascade Frog Hadromophryne natalensis tadpole populations from predation by alien rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss and brown trout Salmo trutta at two sampling areas located at Injesuthi and Monk‟s Cowl Nature Reserve within the uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park World Heritage Site (UDPWHS). The dissertation argues in favour of a biotic rationale, namely trout predation, as being the primary cause for the decline of H. natalensis tadpoles below the waterfalls and systematically negates the influence of geo-physical (abiotic) environmental factors on tadpole abundance. Habitat isolation and fragmentation is identified as a latent threat to the continued persistence of H. natalensis populations in the UDPWHS. / Environmental Sciences / M. Sc. (Environmental Science)

Made available in DSpace on 2014-07-29T15:32:06Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao Elaine Lobo.pdf: 2203509 bytes, checksum: 002b8b5f5c3028ef8c8db22af5e716a3 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009-03-05 / Malgré l importance du secteur central pour une ville, il se remaque que celle-ci passe par une rédéfinition de ses utilisations, en faisant que certaines activités sophistiqués se déplacent pour autres points, en prenant avec eux la classe qui a le plus grand pouvoir acquisitif. Considérant que la ville contemporaine possède une centralité et plusieurs noyaux, où il n y a pas la prédominance d un seul secteur central, dans ce travail est fait une analyse de nouvelles places valorisées et ségréguées à Goiânia, à partir de cette décentralisation des activités commerciales et de services. Dans ce contexte, il se discute ici: la question de l utilisation du sol par rapport à la valeur de quelques espaces et la ségrégation des autres, en créant des locaux complexes et contradictoires à Goiânia; la production de l espace intra urbain, avec approche dans la région sud-ouest , la cible de l expansion urbaine et du capital immobilier; et le papier des agents sociaux dans ce procès. Il se part de la présupposition dont l État, atravérs son pouvoir de réglement, bénéficie certains secteurs en faveur des entrepreneurs immobiliers, en créant de vrais abris pour la classe fournie, en laissant les autres secteurs urbains totalement sans infrastructure, ségrégués du reste de la ville. En focalisant le régard dans la région sud-ouest de Goiânia, il se cherche : analyser la production du lotissement Celina Park, à partir des transformations socioespaciales produites avec l arrivée des copropriétés fermés Granville et Eldorado; comprendre les éléments qui contiennent la dynamique socioespacial du secteur constitué par les quartiers Celina Park, Residencial Eldorado et Residencial Granville; enquêter les changements dans le paysage urbain, ainsi que caractériser les activités economiques présentes dans le lotissement Celina Park. Pour cela, la dissertation a été fondée dans la recherche qualitative, du type étude de cas, avec les étapes méthodologiques suivantes: révision bibliographique théorique et téchnique concernant la tématique, recherche de champ pour élévation et caractérisation du secteur d étude, cartographie des principales activités commerciales et de services et élaboration / aplication des interviews. De cette manière, les questionnements qui ont guidés les recherches ont été: les copropriétés fermés Granville et Eldorado se constituem en élements stimulateurs de la valorisation socioespacial du Lotissement Celina Park? Quelles sont les transformations socioespciales produites juste après l implantation de ces copropriétés? Quelle est la conception que les anciens habitants du Lotissement Celina Park ont, en corcernant les changements produits après la création de ces copropriétés? / Apesar da importância da área central para uma cidade, nota-se que esta passa por uma redefinição de seus usos, fazendo com que certas atividades sofisticadas se desloquem para outros pontos, levando consigo a classe de maior poder aquisitivo. Considerando que a cidade contemporânea possui uma centralidade múltipla e polinucleada, em que não há a predominância de uma única área central, neste trabalho é feita uma análise de novos lugares valorizados e segregados em Goiânia, a partir dessa descentralização das atividades comerciais e de serviços. Nesse contexto, discutem-se aqui: a questão do uso do solo, no que tange à valorização de alguns espaços e a segregação de outros, criando locais complexos e contraditórios em Goiânia; a produção do espaço intraurbano, com enfoque na região sudoeste, alvo da expansão urbana e do capital imobiliário; e o papel dos agentes sociais nesse processo. Parte-se do pressuposto de que o Estado, por meio do seu poder de regulação, beneficia determinadas áreas em favor de empreendedores imobiliários, criando verdadeiros redutos para a classe abastada, deixando outras áreas urbanas totalmente sem infraestrutura, segregadas do restante da cidade. Focando o olhar na região sudoeste de Goiânia, busca-se: analisar a produção do bairro Celina Park, a partir das transformações socioespaciais ocorridas com a chegada dos condomínios fechados Granville e Eldorado; compreender os elementos que compõem a dinâmica socioespacial da área constituída pelos bairros Celina Park, Residencial Eldorado e Residencial Granville; investigar as mudanças na paisagem urbana, bem como caracterizar as atividades econômicas presentes no bairro Celina Park. Para tanto, a dissertação foi fundamentada na pesquisa qualitativa, do tipo estudo de caso, com os seguintes passos metodológicos: revisão bibliográfica teórica e técnica acerca da temática, pesquisa de campo para levantamento e caracterização da área de estudo, mapeamento das principais atividades comerciais e de serviços e elaboração/aplicação de entrevistas. Desse modo, os questionamentos que nortearam a pesquisa foram: os condomínios fechados Granville e Eldorado se constituem em elementos impulsionadores da valorização socioespacial do bairro Celina Park? Quais as transformações socioespaciais ocorridas após a implantação desses condomínios? Qual a concepção que os antigos moradores do bairro Celina Park têm em relação às mudanças ocorridas após a criação dos referidos condomínios?

Shepherd's expansion into the Eastern Tatras valleys started latest in the 14th century. The peak of the pastoralism was Walachian colonization in the 16th century. Shephards usually used to drive out their herd (to pasture) to an altitude over 2000 meters above the sea level. The damage caused by grazing has grown to such proportions that pasturage was prohibited in some areas. After the establishment of the Tatra National Park the pastoralism in the High Tatras and Belianske Tatras in Slovakia was completely banned. In Poland shepherding was recovered in the form of cultural pasture, which is being regulated under strict conditions to prevent damage to the environment, after about 30 years long pause in the territory of Tatrzański Park Narodowy. The main objective of my thesis is to find out whether it would be possible to bring back the grazing to the territory of the Tatra National Park. If yes, then under what specific conditions, with what advantages or disadvantages, in its comprehensive perspective, not only natural but also socio-cultural. I took inspiration from the cultural pasture in Poland, and I was interested in the negatives of regulated grazing as well. I made my research in the form of semi-structured interviews with experts and with general public. The results of the empirical...

As urban growth accelerates and the need to address environmental issues regardingtransportation is larger than ever and many policymakers have chosen to adapt park and rideas one of their methods to reduce car traffic. However, the effect from adapting the policy isnot very well understood and since the policy can directly conflict with other policies relatedto land use it is important to know which effects can be expected. By knowing which effectsto expect, policy makers can make more sustainable choices in their policy adaption.This study has been carried out using data from two different counties to find out if theeffects from park and ride differ depending on the type of environment it serves. Further, anadditional analysis has been done using temporal data to measure the effect of adapting orexpanding a park and ride facility at a public transport station or stop.It was found that in a rural setting, the relation between park and ride and the number ofpassengers at a public transport station is strong. Stations with more parking spaces hadhigher ridership. This was not the case for stations located in a suburban environment, someeffect was indicated but the relationship was not as strong. The analysis of the two countiesdata showed unreasonably high passenger increases from P&R, indicating that some otherfactor also influences the result in this analysis.From the analysis of the temporal dataset the result showed that stations which adapted parkand ride did have a higher average passenger increase than the general trend within thetransport system. This indicates that park and ride do in fact increase public transportridership. / Den accelererande urbaniseringen har gjort behovet av att hantera miljöpåverkan ifråntransportsystemet större än någonsin och många beslutsfattare har valt att förordapendlarparkering (park and ride) som en metod för att minska biltrafik. Effekterna av attanvända denna planeringsmetod är dock inte fullt kända och eftersom pendlarparkeringar kanhamna i konflikt med andra planeringsmetoder som berör markanvändning så är det viktigtatt veta vilka effekter som kan förväntas av att införa pendlarparkeringar. Genom att vetavilka effekter som kan förväntas så blir möjligheterna bättre för beslutsfattare att tavälgrundade beslut och införa hållbara direktiv kopplade till stads och trafikplaneringen.Den här studien har utförts med data från två olika regioner för att ta reda på om effekterna avpendlarparkeringar skiljer sig beroende på vilken typ av miljö den är implementerad i.Dessutom har ytterligare en analys gjorts baserad på historiska data över resande, detta för attkunna mäta den direkta effekten av att införa eller expandera pendlarparkering på en hållplatsinom kollektivtrafiken.Resultatet visade att i glesbebyggda områden så var sambandet mellan antalet platser påpendlarparkeringar och antalet passagerare starkt. Statiner med fler pendlarparkeringsplatserhade fler resande än de med färre. Sambandet var inte lika starkt för stationer i förortsmiljö,ett visst samband kunde uppmätas men det var inte lika starkt. Analysen av de två regionernavisade dock på orealistiskt höga förhållanden mellan antalet pendlarparkeringsplatser ochantalet passagerare vilket indikerar att någon annan faktor också påverkar resultatet.Från analysen av historiska data över antal resande så visade resultatet att införandet avpendlarparkeringar ökar resandet med kollektivtrafiken i genomsnitt mer på de stationer därde införs jämfört med den generella trenden i kollektivtrafiksystemet. Detta indikerar attpendlarparkeringar har en positiv effekt på antalet resande med kollektivtrafiken.

My intention is to examine the evolution of early Christian architecture and redefine the role of the building type today, proposing an alternative design for the setting of the liturgy in the Greek Orthodox tradition. / Master of Architecture

The objectives of this study were to determine the loading of dead and down forest fuels in 6 forest cover types on the upper Coastal Plain of Virginia, specifically in the Richmond National Battlefield Park, and to determine the relationships between the fuels and the vegetation. The forest fuels and vegetation were sampled in stands of the following cover types: pine, oak-pine, mixed hardwood-pine, oak, mixed hardwood, and oak-mixed hardwood. The planar intersect method was utilized to quantify the woody fuels. and the forest floor was sampled in fixed area plots. The weight. volume, depth. and species of fuel particles was determined for each stand sampled in the Park, and this information was combined for an estimate of fuel loading by cover type. The overstory trees were sampled within prism plots, and the understory was sampled in fixed area plots. Standard forestry information was collected for each sampled stand, and estimates of species dominance, density, frequency and importance were determined. In general, the fuel loading was not different between the six cover types as determined with ANOVA procedures. due to the large variation of loads within each. The loading of certain sizes of fuel particles were different between a few cover types, due to both the influence of the overstory species and the site they had occupied. For example, the 1-hr. time-lag branch fuel loading was significantly greater in the oak cover type than in the pine or mixed hardwood cover types. Another significant difference was in the forest floor loads: the mixed hardwood cover type had a lighter forest floor than the pine or oak-pine cover types. This was most likely due to the higher quality of sites upon which the mixed hardwood stand were found, and the higher palatability of litter produced by these species, which would favor the decomposition of litter more than conditions found in the pine or oak-pine cover types. To quantify relationships between the fuel loads and forest vegetation and site characteristics, Spearman's rank correlation coefficients were calculated between all the variables. Many significant relationships were found, though all but one correlation coefficient was under 0.51: total forest floor load and forest floor depth had a correlation coefficient of 0.75. Forest and site variables significantly related to fuel loadings were tested for their predictive value with multiple regression statistics. The resulting set of regressions had low coefficients of determination and varying levels of precision; their usefulness would depend on the level of sampling intensity and precision one would want to expend to get an estimate of fuel loading in a stand. If a rough estimate requiring little time in the field is desirable, then these regressions would be useful. / Master of Science

Human-induced impacts associated with recreational use in wilderness areas have the potential to imperil the wilderness resource and the quality of visitor experiences. One approach to address this problem is the Limits of Acceptable Change System, which helps Protected-area managers determine acceptable levels of resource impacts and social conditions in wilderness areas. This study's objective was to determine the possible applicability of the Limits of Acceptable Change System to the overnight caves in the wilderness areas of the uKhahlamba-Drakensberg Park. Component A of the study discusses the ten steps of the Limits of Acceptable Change system and the management approaches for the wilderness areas and overnight caves in the uKhahlamba-Drakensberg Park. A product of Component A is a procedure manual for inventorying indicators of resource conditions in the overnight caves. During a brief period of field research this procedure manual was applied to four overnight caves in the Mlambonja Wilderness area. Component B of the study summarizes much of the information found in Component A and examines the results from the field research. Recommendations are made to improve the effectiveness of measuring the resource indicators for the overnight caves in the procedure manual. This study's conclusions indicate that the Limits of Acceptable Change System can be applied to the overnight caves and would provide a valid management framework to address visitor impacts / Thesis (M.Env.Dev.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2004.

The tourism industry is an extremely competitive industry which is mainly caused by the ever changing needs of tourists. However, despite the constant change in tourist behaviour, violent terrorist attacks on countries across the globe and the weakening of the world economies, the tourism industry showed significant growth over the last few decades. The fast growth rate of tourism has also lead to the tourist being more aware of ecotourism destinations and the key role these destinations play in conserving the natural and cultural environments in the midst of globalisation and urbanisation. The pressure on ecotourism destinations such as national parks is increasing as more and more natural land are being taken up for urban development. In the case of South African National Parks (SANParks), the decrease in government funding pressurizes the resources and national parks have to identify ways to generate their own income through tourism activities. SANParks manages 22 national parks across South Africa with the aim to conserve South Africa’s biodiversity, provide recreational activities for tourists and build long-term relationships with the local communities to enhance the communities’ quality of life. Hence, in order to remain competitive it is important to determine the parks' competitive advantages. Therefore the aim of this study was to develop a competitiveness model for SANParks by using the Kruger National Park as case study. The Kruger National Park is not only one of the largest and most recognised national parks in the world, but also boasts with a large variety of fauna and flora, variety of accommodation facilities such as bush lodges, chalets and camping facilities as well as various tourist activities. The literature review indicated that destinations differ from each other and therefore ecotourism destinations such as national parks would have a distinct set of competitive advantage factors. However, these factors can only be determined if the needs of tourists are anticipated and park specific products and services are developed to satisfy the needs of visitors to the park and ultimately lead to tourist loyalty. Once a competitive position has been established, a national park can obtain benefits such as an increase in tourist numbers and revenue delivery of high quality products and services at the park as well as trigger a higher quality of life for the local community. If managed accordingly, the park might experience sustainable growth as well as increased profit margins. The data for the study was collected by means of a questionnaire survey at four of the Kruger National Park's rest camps during the period 26 December 2013 and 4 January 2014 which is the festive season in South Africa. The rest camps that were included in this survey were Olifants (74 questionnaires); Skukuza (213 questionnaires); Lower Sabie (98 questionnaires) and Berg-&-Dal (51 questionnaires). A total of 436 completed questionnaires were administered and further analysed. Descriptive statistics were used to profile the respondents while two factor analyses were done on the competitive advantage factors and tourist motives for travelling to the Park. The factor analyses identified five competitive advantage factors of which Wildlife Experiences and Marketing and Branding were regarded as the most important factors. The other three competitive advantage factors were Accommodation and Retail, Visitor Management and Suprastructure and Amenities. Four motivational factors were identified namely Experience and Relaxation, Lifestyle, All-Inclusive Destination and Value. The identified factors were further used in an ANOVA analysis and the results showed that socio-demographic characteristics such as home language, province of residence, level of education and marital status have all significant differences based on the five competitive advantage factors as well as the four motivational factors The t-test analysis presented a few statistical significant differences between the independent variables or group of individuals. These differences were based on the respondents’ demographic and behaviour characteristics with regards to the competitive advantage and motivational factors. However, the strongest statistically significant differences were based on the behavioural characteristics of tourists travelling with children to the Park, Wild card holders, tourist reading magazines, previous visits to the Park and differences between tourists making use of chalets and camping facilities. A Structural Equation Model was applied to confirm the results that were obtained from the analyses. The SEM indicated that tourists’ motivations have a significant influence on the factors that tourists identified as competitive advantage factors for the Kruger National Park. This research made three distinct new contributions. Firstly, competitive advantage factors were specifically identified for ecotourism based destinations such as national parks from a demand side. Also, the tourists motivation for travelling proved to hugely influence these competitive advantage factors. Secondly, a competitiveness model was developed specifically for national parks within South Africa. The proposed model could assist national parks across South Africa to obtain a competitive advantage among its competitors based on park specific factors. Lastly, the concept of competitiveness has not yet been applied within the ecotourism and nature-based tourism destinations context. This study described the concept of competitiveness with the focus on national parks as ecotourism destinations and the aspects that need to be taken into consideration when analysing the concept in such a context. / PhD (Tourism Management), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

The tourism industry is an extremely competitive industry which is mainly caused by the ever changing needs of tourists. However, despite the constant change in tourist behaviour, violent terrorist attacks on countries across the globe and the weakening of the world economies, the tourism industry showed significant growth over the last few decades. The fast growth rate of tourism has also lead to the tourist being more aware of ecotourism destinations and the key role these destinations play in conserving the natural and cultural environments in the midst of globalisation and urbanisation. The pressure on ecotourism destinations such as national parks is increasing as more and more natural land are being taken up for urban development. In the case of South African National Parks (SANParks), the decrease in government funding pressurizes the resources and national parks have to identify ways to generate their own income through tourism activities. SANParks manages 22 national parks across South Africa with the aim to conserve South Africa’s biodiversity, provide recreational activities for tourists and build long-term relationships with the local communities to enhance the communities’ quality of life. Hence, in order to remain competitive it is important to determine the parks' competitive advantages. Therefore the aim of this study was to develop a competitiveness model for SANParks by using the Kruger National Park as case study. The Kruger National Park is not only one of the largest and most recognised national parks in the world, but also boasts with a large variety of fauna and flora, variety of accommodation facilities such as bush lodges, chalets and camping facilities as well as various tourist activities. The literature review indicated that destinations differ from each other and therefore ecotourism destinations such as national parks would have a distinct set of competitive advantage factors. However, these factors can only be determined if the needs of tourists are anticipated and park specific products and services are developed to satisfy the needs of visitors to the park and ultimately lead to tourist loyalty. Once a competitive position has been established, a national park can obtain benefits such as an increase in tourist numbers and revenue delivery of high quality products and services at the park as well as trigger a higher quality of life for the local community. If managed accordingly, the park might experience sustainable growth as well as increased profit margins. The data for the study was collected by means of a questionnaire survey at four of the Kruger National Park's rest camps during the period 26 December 2013 and 4 January 2014 which is the festive season in South Africa. The rest camps that were included in this survey were Olifants (74 questionnaires); Skukuza (213 questionnaires); Lower Sabie (98 questionnaires) and Berg-&-Dal (51 questionnaires). A total of 436 completed questionnaires were administered and further analysed. Descriptive statistics were used to profile the respondents while two factor analyses were done on the competitive advantage factors and tourist motives for travelling to the Park. The factor analyses identified five competitive advantage factors of which Wildlife Experiences and Marketing and Branding were regarded as the most important factors. The other three competitive advantage factors were Accommodation and Retail, Visitor Management and Suprastructure and Amenities. Four motivational factors were identified namely Experience and Relaxation, Lifestyle, All-Inclusive Destination and Value. The identified factors were further used in an ANOVA analysis and the results showed that socio-demographic characteristics such as home language, province of residence, level of education and marital status have all significant differences based on the five competitive advantage factors as well as the four motivational factors The t-test analysis presented a few statistical significant differences between the independent variables or group of individuals. These differences were based on the respondents’ demographic and behaviour characteristics with regards to the competitive advantage and motivational factors. However, the strongest statistically significant differences were based on the behavioural characteristics of tourists travelling with children to the Park, Wild card holders, tourist reading magazines, previous visits to the Park and differences between tourists making use of chalets and camping facilities. A Structural Equation Model was applied to confirm the results that were obtained from the analyses. The SEM indicated that tourists’ motivations have a significant influence on the factors that tourists identified as competitive advantage factors for the Kruger National Park. This research made three distinct new contributions. Firstly, competitive advantage factors were specifically identified for ecotourism based destinations such as national parks from a demand side. Also, the tourists motivation for travelling proved to hugely influence these competitive advantage factors. Secondly, a competitiveness model was developed specifically for national parks within South Africa. The proposed model could assist national parks across South Africa to obtain a competitive advantage among its competitors based on park specific factors. Lastly, the concept of competitiveness has not yet been applied within the ecotourism and nature-based tourism destinations context. This study described the concept of competitiveness with the focus on national parks as ecotourism destinations and the aspects that need to be taken into consideration when analysing the concept in such a context. / PhD (Tourism Management), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

MaxEnt modelling uses only the known locations of a species to predict the overall distribution of a species. Large trees are important for the functioning of savanna ecosystems, bringing nutrients to the surface, providing shelter to animals and providing a number of ecological functions. Large trees have been identified as declining in density in many southern African reserves, making the conservation of large trees within reserves an issue in park management, such as in Kruger National Park (KNP) and Hluhluwe iMfolzi Parks (HiP). Two species of primary concern are Acacia nigrescens and Sclerocarya birrea, which have similar distributions in Southern Africa. Effective management of large trees requires understanding their distribution within reserves and any potential distribution changes. By determining the current locations of a species, and using GIS layers of environmental variables to predict the extent of habitats that could support the species, niche models can predict species distribution. Maximum Entropy techniques evaluate the probability of finding the species in raster squares, with values for environmental factors controlling distribution. For this study, the locations of A. nigrescens and S. birrea trees higher than 5 m were recorded in KNP and HiP, and were used in conjunction with MaxEnt to produce distribution probability maps for both species in each reserve. In HiP, the distribution map was compared with an independent existing data set to determine if the predicted distributions were accurate. The factors effecting their distribution were compared between HiP and KNP to determine why the species were found together in KNP but not in HiP. MaxEnt could predict the locations of the species within HiP, but predictions were better for A. nigrescens than S. birrea. In both Reserves, rainfall was the best predictor of tree location, along with elevation. The niche overlap was higher in KNP, where both species are well within their total species range, than in HiP where A. nigrescens was at the edge of its distribution. These variables that are limiting distribution at a reserve scale will have an influence on the overall distribution of the species. Niche models can be used to inform the establishment of botanical reserves or other management strategies that can help preserve large trees within reserves. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, 2011.