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Thesis (Ph.D. (Zoology and Entomology)) - Rhodes University, 2007.

The overabundant proliferation of aquatic weeds in South African water conveyance systems cause a series of operational problems. Filamentous algae, such as Cladophora glomerata and pondweeds impede flow and reduce the capacity of irrigation canals to a significant extent. In worst case scenarios, irrigation scheme managers are faced with situations where they are unable to deliver water at the downstream ends of canal systems. This situation also contributes to water losses, crop losses and structural damage to concrete-lined canals. This dissertation is the product of a research project funded by the Water Research Commission to investigate the possible application of sterile (triploid) grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) as biological control agent on aquatic weeds in concrete-lined irrigation canals. The aims of the project were firstly to investigate the suitability of a concrete-lined irrigation canal as grass carp habitat; secondly to test the efficacy of sterile grass carp as bio-control agent on filamentous algae; thirdly to evaluate the economic feasibility of this biological approach against the current chemical, physical and mechanical control methods; and fourthly to propose a management plan for the operational application of triploid grass carp as bio-control agent in irrigation canals. To achieve the goals set for the project, the Ramah-3 Canal near the town of Orania, was selected to serve as experimental canal. This canal can be regarded as a typical South African concrete-lined canal, and is located in the Orange-Riet River Canal System, downstream of the Vanderkloof Dam. As the majority of local irrigation canals are concrete-lined, skepticism existed amongst local scientists if the fish will be able survive in canals with a presumed high constant flow and low diversity of hydraulic biotopes. It was therefore a priority to establish the suitability of concrete-lined canals as habitat for this herbivorous fish specie. The study found that flow velocities in the Ramah Canal System never exceeded 1 m/s, even under high flow conditions (full capacity and 110% plus conditions) of more than 5 m3/s. It was found that grass carp thrived at flow rates ranging from 0.48 to 0.80 m/s, moving with ease upstream and downstream in a 16 km long experimental section of the Ramah-3 Canal. The sterile grass carp controlled the algal biomass in the Ramah Canal to significant levels. Cladophora was efficiently controlled at stocking rates of 3 to 7 fish per km canal. Triploid grass carp retrieved from the canal system after a six-month experimental period were found to be in an excellent physiological condition and displayed a mean weight increase of more than 300%. An ideal stocking protocol will probably be 10 individuals of 20 – 30 cm in length per kilometer canal, with a 10-15% annual supplementation figure. Civil structures, such as culverts, super-elevated canals and bridges will provide the fish with sufficient protection against possible predators. A few possible adaptations to the existing canal operation regimes should ensure that triploid grass carp could be managed as an effective biological control agent. This should be determined on a site-specific basis and could include additional civil structures such as sanctuary dams and small in-line fishways to ensure free migration throughout the target system. An attempt was made to conduct a brief economic analysis, based on information on expenditures of local irrigation schemes on aquatic weed control in their canals. The outcome of this brief investigation was in line with overseas findings in that biological control with sterile grass carp will be more economical than the currently applied control methods of herbicidal and mechanical or physical control. It can be concluded that the fish adapted to the artificial conditions experienced in a concrete-lined canal and perform their task as bio-control agent with ease. The author is of the opinion that this bio-control technique will contribute to the current Integrated Aquatic Weed Management Programmes (IAWMPs) of the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry. Site-specific conditions for each irrigation scheme will however, dictate a different approach to the aquatic weed problem. It is therefore strongly recommended that suitable qualified specialists should develop all aquatic weed management programmes on a site-specific basis. / Prof. G.J. Steyn

Please read the abstract on p1 of the document 00dissertation / Dissertation (M Inst Agrar (Sustainable Insect Management))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Zoology and Entomology / M Inst Agrar / unrestricted

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences, Johannesburg, 2014 / Water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) is one of the most notorious aquatic weeds in the world. Its management, despite the release of seven biocontrol agents since 1974, remains a problem in South Africa. This is often attributed to the high level of eutrophication. However, information on the effect of heavy metals or AMD on Neochetina eichhorniae and N. bruchi, which are the common and most widely established biocontrol agents in the country, is limited. In addition integrated management, which combines herbicides with biological control methods, is the current water hyacinth control method, and requires regular monitoring of the weed’s health status. This can be assessed via the canopy chlorophyll and water content, and can facilitate the decision when to intervene and what intervention measures are appropriate and timely. Hyperspectral Remote sensing (HRS) has the potential to be that monitoring tool. This thesis investigates the physiological status of water hyacinth grown with eight different heavy metals in a single-metal tub trial, three different simulated acid mine drainage (AMD) treatments in a pool trial under the influence of biocontrol agent from Neochetina spp., and in the Vaal River at the inlets of its tributaries, the Koekemoerspruit and the Schoonspruit. A hand-held spectrometer, the analytic spectral device (ASD), was used to measure reflectance. The hypothesis that HRS can detect the response of the plant to both the heavy metals and the biocontrol-induced stresses and their interactions was tested. Different spectral indices associated with the canopy chlorophyll and water content of water hyacinth were evaluated. Among these the modified normalized difference vegetation index (mNDVI) and those associated with the red edge position (the linear extrapolation and the maximum first derivative indices) were able to detect the metal, or AMD or weevil-induced plant health stresses and showed a strong positive correlation with the actual leaf chlorophyll content, measured by a SPAD-502 chlorophyll meter. Among the contaminants Cu, Hg, and Zn treatments from the single-metal tub trial and sulphate concentrations exceeding 700 mg/L in the AMD pool trial were detected by the RS as stressful to the plants. The RS also indicated that the water contamination level was greater downstream at the inlet of the Schoonspruit into the Vaal River, compared to the other sites after rainfall. These results were also consistent with actual measurements of the different plant growth parameters in all the trials and the weevils’ feeding and reproductive activities in the tub and pool trials. Thus, the results of this study indicated that the HRS has potential as a tool to assess the physiological status of water hyacinth from a remote position, which could be helpful in management of a serious national problem. The acquisition of spectral reflectance data at a larger scale, from aerial platforms, involves a complex data set with additional atmospheric interference that can mask the reflectance and which demands more complicated image analysis and interpretation. Thus, further such studies in future are recommended.

Thesis (doctoral)--Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 2007. / Thesis documentation sheet inserted. Appendix reproduces five papers and manuscripts, two co-authored with others. Includes bibliographical references. Also issued electronically via World Wide Web in PDF format; online version lacks appendix.

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The biomass of the submersed macrophytic vegetation in four hydrilla (Hydrilla verticillata Royle) infested lakes in central Florida was monitored for one year. Lake Orienta and Little Lake Fairview received 2,320 and 960 grass carp, respectively, while Clear Lake and Lake Mann did not receive grass carp. Hydrilla was eliminated in Lake Orienta within six months of stocking; the lake was stocked at 19 grass carp/mt hydrilla (45 fish/ha). Hydrilla was not eliminated from Little Lake Fairview which contained 9 grass carp/mt hydrilla (30 fish/ha). The growth of hydrilla was restricted in Little Lake Fairview which produced 0.380 mt hydrilla, dry organic wt., in contrast to Clear Lake and Lake Mann in which annual net primary production was 0.728 and 0.880 mt organic matter/ha, respectively. The rate of hydrilla growth was greater in the two unstocked lakes. Clear Lake produced 0.31 g/m2/day, dry organic wt., while the net primary productivity of hydrilla in Lake Mann averaged 0.38 g/m2/day. The net primary productivity of hydrilla in Little Lake Fairview was 0.14 g organic matter/m2/day. Three species (in addition to hydrilla) were common to Little Lake Fairview and Lake Mann and provided the only data upon non-target species. Pondweed (Potamogeton illinoensis Morong.) and stonewort (Nitella sp.) were more abundant and more widely distributed in Little Lake Fairview than in Lake Mann. The poor representation of pondweed and stonewort in Lake Mann was attributed to competitive pressure exerted by hydrilla which comprised 83%, by weight, of the annual mean biomass of submersed macrophytic vegetation. In comparison, hydrilla comprised 74% of the annual mean biomass in Little Lake Fairview. The effect of the grass carp in Little Lake Fairview may have been to ease the competitive pressure exerted by hydrilla, allowing pondweed and stonewort to remain well established. The percentage frequency of occurrence was concluded to be a poor criterion for measuring changes in the hydrilla population. Changes in biomass as great as 900% resulted in no change in the percentage frequency of occurrence of hydrilla in Lake Mann.