Global ETD Search

301	The influence of Acacia Mearnsii invasion on soil properties in the Kouga Mountains, Eastern Cape, South Africa Van der Waal, Benjamin Wentsel January 2010 (has links) The invasion of Acacia mearnsii in the Kouga catchment, Eastern Cape, South Africa, has various negative impacts on the ecosystem. These impacts include: reduced species richness, increased water use, increased nutrients and increased N cycling rates. The native shrubby fynbos vegetation has adapted to the acidic nutrient poor soils and Mediterranean climate of the Kouga Mountains. Fynbos, however, is currently being out competed by the much taller Acacia mearnsii trees, due to their competitive nature and ability to fix nitrogen, thereby enriching the soil. The invaded sections of the valley bottoms and lower hill slopes are characterised by an almost complete monoculture of Acacia mearnsii, with very few fynbos species still present. The Department of Water and Environmental Affairs sponsored Working for Water programme started clearing Acacia mearnsii in 1996 in the Kouga Mountains. Cleared sites have remained bare for long periods, indicating that soil properties are not favourable for indigenous propagule re-establishment. The aim of this research was to assess how A. mearnsii invasion and clearing affect fynbos recovery through its impact on soils. This was done by characterising vegetation and soil properties on fynbos, infested and cleared slopes. Vegetation cover for various growth forms was determined and a species list was compiled for each plot. The slope angle, surface hardness, litter cover, bare ground cover and soil depth were measured in the field, whereas water repellency, particle size and the chemical composition were measured in the laboratory. Furthermore, the plant establishment capacity of soils from fynbos, infested and cleared slopes was calculated. This was done by germinating fynbos seeds and growing fynbos plants in soils from the various slopes. The effect that invasion and clearing has on soil erosion was quantified using erosion plots on fynbos, infested and cleared slopes. The invasion and clearing of Acacia mearnsii led to an increase in soil nutrients, especially nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, carbon and manganese. Furthermore, soils became more acidic, with increased water repellency and reduced surface hardness. The vegetation changed to a tree-dominated structure, replacing the native species. Native plant germination was relatively unaffected by invasion and clearing, with an increase in germination just after clearing. Plant growth of a native grass, Themeda triandra, and herb, Helichrysum umbraculigerum, has increased on soils from cleared slopes. This study showed that soil movement increased on slopes which are invaded and cleared of Acacia mearnsii, with erosion rates doubling on invaded slopes Acacia mearnsii -- South Africa Wattles (Plants) -- South Africa
302	Induced plant responses of different Lantana camara L. (Verbenaceae) varieties to herbivory by Falconia intermedia (distant) (Hemiptera: Miridae) Heshula, Unathi-Nkosi Lelethu Peter January 2010 (has links) A highly variable invasive shrub, Lantana camara L. (Verbenaceae), has been notoriously difficult to control thus far despite a well established biological control programme in South Africa. A promising leaf-feeding biological control agent, Falconia intermedia (Distant) (Hemiptera: Miridae), released to control this invasive plant eventually crashed at three out of five sites in the Eastern Cape Province. In the Mpumalanga Province, after initially colonising and building up high numbers on the L. camara stands the agent populations crashed. Several reasons for these population crashes have been suggested, but induced plant defences have not been investigated. Although plants face the challenge of herbivory by various organisms while remaining immobile, some plants may possess the ability to induce physical and/or chemical defensive responses following feeding and thus prevent further plant tissue damage and loss. Laboratory trials were conducted to determine the existence, nature and effect of physical and chemical feeding-induced responses of L. camara on the performance of the leaf-feeding biological control agent, F. intermedia. Lantana camara plants used in the study were obtained from five localities in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa, while the insect culture was established from field populations. Plants from all varieties on which F. intermedia was released significantly increased the toughness of their leaves compared to control treatment plants. In addition, plants from three localities: Lyndhurst Farm, East London and Port Alfred, significantly increased trichome density after prolonged feeding by F. intermedia. On the three varieties showing increases in these two factors (i.e. leaf toughness and trichome density), oviposition, survival and feeding damage by the mirid agent was significantly lower on previously damaged plants. A significant negative correlation between trichome density and population numbers was found (R²= 0.52, p < 0.0003), suggesting that an increase in trichome density strongly contributes to a reduction in F. intermedia's growth. The growth and reproduction of the resistant plants was not significantly impacted by F. intermedia feeding. The defensive responses were found to be plant systemic and rapidly induced as they were elicited and expressed throughout the plant in both damaged and undamaged leaves within five weeks after insect release. Leaf toughness and trichome density were not significantly increased after feeding on plants from Whitney Farm and Heather Glen Farm. On the contrary, mirid individuals performed significantly better on plants from Whitney Farm and Heather Glen Farm than on plants of other varieties, indicating their susceptibility and suitability to the agent and the lack of induced resistance against the agent. Plants from all localities besides East London showed some level of tolerance and overcompensated for feeding damage by increasing plant growth and reproductive factors on plants fed upon. This was however only significant in two variables of the more susceptible localities, Whitney Farm and Heather Glen Farm. This increase in plant fitness did however indicate an induced defence response by these plants to feeding, a response designed to lessen the effects of agent feeding. Headspace volatile analysis was used to investigate any volatile chemical responses by L. camara due to F. intermedia feeding at two of the five localities chosen: East London and Whitney Farm. There was no significant difference in headspace volatiles emitted by leaves of plants from the East London insect infested and control treatment plants. On the Whitney Farm damaged plants however there was a 2.5 fold increase in the emission intensity of one of the three main compounds, later identified as Beta-caryophyllene. Three major chemical constituents which were found to be common to leaf volatiles of the two varieties were identified through gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) from the damaged and undamaged leaves of these two varieties. The methods used in collecting leaf volatiles were shown to be significant in the strength of chromatogram peaks. Using general authentication methods and purified standards, one of these was identified as the sesquiterpene, Beta-caryophyllene (C₁₅H₂₄). This compound is one of the major constituents found in isolations of L. camara varieties worldwide. This is the first such work done on a variety of L. camara in South Africa, and hopefully the beginning of more in-depth studies of the volatile organic chemicals from the numerous naturalised varieties of L. camara. It is suggested that the sum of these responses may play a role bigger than is currently understood in this plant-insect relationship. It is also argued that feeding induced plant defences may play an important role in attempts to control alien plants using insect agents. Miridae -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
303	Spatial analysis of invasive alien plant distribution patterns and processes using Bayesian network-based data mining techniques Dlamini, Wisdom Mdumiseni Dabulizwe 03 1900 (has links) Invasive alien plants have widespread ecological and socioeconomic impacts throughout many parts of the world, including Swaziland where the government declared them a national disaster. Control of these species requires knowledge on the invasion ecology of each species including how they interact with the invaded environment. Species distribution models are vital for providing solutions to such problems including the prediction of their niche and distribution. Various modelling approaches are used for species distribution modelling albeit with limitations resulting from statistical assumptions, implementation and interpretation of outputs. This study explores the usefulness of Bayesian networks (BNs) due their ability to model stochastic, nonlinear inter-causal relationships and uncertainty. Data-driven BNs were used to explore patterns and processes influencing the spatial distribution of 16 priority invasive alien plants in Swaziland. Various BN structure learning algorithms were applied within the Weka software to build models from a set of 170 variables incorporating climatic, anthropogenic, topo-edaphic and landscape factors. While all the BN models produced accurate predictions of alien plant invasion, the globally scored networks, particularly the hill climbing algorithms, performed relatively well. However, when considering the probabilistic outputs, the constraint-based Inferred Causation algorithm which attempts to generate a causal BN structure, performed relatively better. The learned BNs reveal that the main pathways of alien plants into new areas are ruderal areas such as road verges and riverbanks whilst humans and human activity are key driving factors and the main dispersal mechanism. However, the distribution of most of the species is constrained by climate particularly tolerance to very low temperatures and precipitation seasonality. Biotic interactions and/or associations among the species are also prevalent. The findings suggest that most of the species will proliferate by extending their range resulting in the whole country being at risk of further invasion. The ability of BNs to express uncertain, rather complex conditional and probabilistic dependencies and to combine multisource data makes them an attractive technique for species distribution modeling, especially as joint invasive species distribution models (JiSDM). Suggestions for further research are provided including the need for rigorous invasive species monitoring, data stewardship and testing more BN learning algorithms. / Environmental Sciences / D. Phil. (Environmental Science) Bayesian network Data mining Directed acyclic graph Ecology Geographic information system Habitat Invasive alien plant Knowledge discovery Machine learning Species distribution model 581.62096887 Spatial analysis (Statistics) Bayesian field theory Acyclic models Data mining -- Data processing Directed graphs
304	The impact of riparian alien plant removal on aquatic invertebrate communities in the upper reaches of Luvuvhu River Catchment, Limpopo Province Modiba, Refilwe Victor 05 1900 (has links) MSc (Zoology) / Department of Zoology / See the attached abstract below Restoration Evidence-based conservation Benthic macroinvertebrates Soutpansberg mountains DBI SASS River 592.0968257 Invertebrates -- South Africa -- Limpopo Plants -- South Africa -- Limpopo Alien plants -- South Africa -- Limpopo
305	The utilization of alien invasive medicinal plants in the treatment of HIV/AIDS related symptoms by traditional healers of Vhembe District Municipality, Limpopo Province, South Africa Mbambala, Sipho Glen 05 1900 (has links) See the attached abstract below Alien invasive medicinal plants HIV/AIDS Traditional healers Vhembe District Municipality Antimicrobial activity 615.3210968257 Alien plants -- South Africa -- Limpopo Healers -- South Africa -- Limpopo Herbals -- South Africa -- Limpopo
306	Hybridization and whole genome duplication as drivers of biological invasions Mattingly, Kali Z. January 2021 (has links) No description available. Biology Conservation Ecology Evolution and Development Botany Genetics Horticulture Morphology Organismal Biology adaptive plasticity allopolyploidy Arabidopsis autopolyploidy dispersal Ficaria verna flooding horticulture hybridization invasive species invasive plants isolation by resistance Lythrum niche breadth phenology phenotypic plasticity polyploidy population genetics salt stress tolerance submersion whole genome duplication
307	The influence of biophysical feedbacks and species interactions on grass invasions and coastal dune morphology in the Pacific Northwest, USA Zarnetske, Phoebe Lehmann, 1979- 09 September 2011 (has links) Biological invasions provide a unique opportunity to study the mechanisms that regulate community composition and ecosystem function. Invasive species that are also ecosystem engineers can substantially alter physical features in an environment, and this can lead to cascading effects on the biological community. Aquatic-terrestrial interface ecosystems are excellent systems to study the interactions among invasive ecosystem engineers, physical features, and biological communities, because interactions among vegetation, sediment, and fluids within biophysical feedbacks create and modify distinct physical features. Further, these systems provide important ecosystem services including coastal protection afforded by their natural features. In this dissertation, I investigate the interactions and feedbacks among sand-binding beach grass species (a native, Elymus mollis (Trin.), and two non-natives, Ammophila arenaria (L.) Link and A. breviligulata Fernald), sediment supply, and dune shape along the U.S. Pacific Northwest coast. Dunes dominated by A. arenaria tend to be taller and narrower compared to the shorter, wider dunes dominated by A. breviligulata. These patterns suggest an ecological control on dune shape, and thus, coastal vulnerability to overtopping waves. I investigate the causes and consequences of these patterns with experiments, field observations, and modeling. Specifically, I investigate the relative roles of vegetation and sediment supply in shaping coastal dunes over inter-annual and multi-decadal time scales (Chapter 2), characterize a biophysical feedback between beach grass species growth habit and sediment supply (Chapter 3), uncover the mechanisms leading to beach grass coexistence and whether A. breviligulata can invade and dominate new sections of coastline (Chapter 4), and examine the non-target effects resulting from management actions that remove Ammophila for the recovery of the threatened Western Snowy plover (Charadrius alexandrinus nivosus) (Chapter 5). I found that vegetation and sediment supply play important roles in dune shape changes across inter-annual and multi-decadal time scales (Chapter 2). I determined that a biophysical feedback between the beach grass growth habits and sediment supply results in species-specific differences in sand capture ability, and thus, is a likely explanation for differences in dune shape (Chapter 3). I found that all three beach grass species can coexist across different sediment deposition rates, and that this coexistence is largely mediated by positive direct and indirect species interactions. I further determined that A. breviligulata is capable of invading and dominating the beach grass community in regions where it is currently absent (Chapter 4). Combined, these findings indicate that A. breviligulata is an inferior dune building species as compared to A. arenaria, and suggest that in combination with sediment supply gradients, these species differences ultimately lead to differences in dune shape. Potential further invasions of A. breviligulata into southern regions of the Pacific Northwest may diminish the coastal protection ability of dunes currently dominated by A. arenaria, but this effect could be moderated by the predicted near co-dominance of A. arenaria in these lower sediment supply conditions. Finally, I found that the techniques used to remove Ammophila for plover recovery have unintended consequences for the native and endemic dune plant communities, and disrupt the natural disturbance regime of shifting sand. A whole-ecosystem restoration focus would be an improvement over the target-species approach, as it would promote the return of the natural disturbance regime, which in turn, would help recover the native biological community. The findings from this dissertation research provide a robust knowledge base that can guide further investigations of biological and physical changes to the coastal dunes, can help improve the management of dune ecosystem services and the restoration of native communities, and can help anticipate the impacts of future beach grass invasions and climate change induced changes to the coast. / Graduation date: 2012 / Access restricted to the OSU Community at author's request from Sept. 22, 2011 - March 22, 2012 ecosystem engineer invasive species coastal dune foredune wind tunnel species interactions Ammophila arenaria Ammophila breviligulata Elymus mollis beach grass Charadrius alexandrinus nivosus targeted management Oregon Washington ecosystem service coastal protection sediment supply Lotka-Volterra facilitation coexistence indirect effects sand supply species distributions sediment transport Elymus -- Ecology -- Northwest, Pacific Sand dunes -- Northwest, Pacific Sand dune ecology -- Northwest, Pacific Grasses -- Ecology -- Northwest, Pacific
308	Wattle we do? alien eradication and the 'ecology of fear' on the fringes of a world heritage site, South Africa Merron, James Lawrence January 2010 (has links) In their article ―Naturing the Nation: Aliens, the Apocalypse and the Post Colonial State (2001) Jean and John Comaroff look at ―the contemporary predicament of South Africa through the prism of environmental catastrophe. Through it they reveal the context in which alien plants have become an urgent affair of the state. Following their lead, I show how alien plants (particularly Australian wattle) continue to provide grounds for new social and political aspirations in South Africa, though in a different setting. With reference to a group of private landowners on the fringe of a World Heritage Site -- the Baviaanskloof Mega-Reserve, Eastern Cape, South Africa -- I show how an increasingly apocalyptic and xenophobic environmental agenda has influenced local activists seeking to address social and ecological issues in tandem with alien-eradication. These local activists adhere to a particular brand of environmentalism which Milton (1993) argues can be considered a social, cultural and religious phenomenon. The subjects of my main empirical investigation offer practical ways of achieving a transformational end through a new ritual activity in relation to a spread and exchange of environmental ideas and practices on a world-wide scale. On the ground this group practices ecosocietal restoration through which they aspire to mend the bond between people and the land in a spiritual and moral sense, bolstering intrinsic incentives for environmental stewardship and achieving ―cultural reconciliation in an attempt to reimagine what South Africa could be.
309	Mekanisk uppgrävning: ett effektivt verktyg mot den invasiva främmande arten gul skunkkalla (Lysichiton americanus) : En utredning av behandlingsmetoder Kekäle, Oscar January 2023 (has links) Den biologiska mångfalden minskar globalt och ett av de största hoten utgörs av invasiva främmande arter. Natura-2000 området Fylleån, Halland, huserar en av de största svenska populationerna av gul skunkkalla (Lysichiton americanus). Arten utgör ett hot mot de naturvärden som finns i Fylleån och är subjekt för extensiva behandlingsarbeten i området för att motarbeta växtens effekt på ekosystemet. Det finns i dagsläget ingen evidens för att behandlingsmetoderna som presenteras av Naturvårdsverket och Havs- och vattenmyndighetens metodkatalog har effektivitet i svenska vattendrag. Målet med min studie är att undersöka effektiviteten av mekanisk uppgrävning samt ytlig hetvattensbehandling som behandlingsmetoder för gul skunkkalla. Jag undersöker även lämpligheten för användandet av övriga metoder presenterade av metodkatalogen och metoderna hetvattensbehandling och fröställningsborttagning som inte listats i metodkatalogen men som testas av myndigheter i viss utsträckning. Den första delen av studien genomförs som jämförelsestudie mellan områden som behandlats i olika grad med mekanisk grävning och hetvattenbehandling för att bestämma metodernas effektivitet. Den andra delen av min studie var att genom en litteraturgenomgång med metodkatalogen som utgångspunkt avgöra lämpligheten på och reflektera över metoderna samt reflektera över metodernas lämplighet att användas civilt. Min slutsats är att mekanisk grävning ger minskande populationer och signifikanta skillnader i individantal, förutsatt att behandlingen utförs rätt och konsekvent. Jag resonerar att andra behandlingsmetoder kan påverka mer organismer än vad man avsett och att de därför är olämpliga att bruka i Fylleån. Jag diskuterar vad jag anser är rimligt idéellt arbete i nuläget samt framtida potential och behovet av information i rätt kanaler. / Biodiversity is decreasing globally and one of the biggest threats is invasive alien species. The Natura-2000 area Fylleån, Halland, houses one of the largest Swedish populations of the American skunk cabbage (Lysichiton americanus). The species poses a threat to the natural values found in Fylleån and is subjected to extensive treatment to counteract the plant's effect on the ecosystem. There is currently no evidence for the effectiveness of the treatment methods presented by Naturvårdsverket and Havs- och vattenmyndighetens method catalog in Swedish watercourses. The goal of my study is to investigate the effectiveness of mechanical excavation and superficial hot water treatment as treatment methods for American skunk cabbage, along with hot water treatment and seed stand removal which are not listed in the method catalog but are tested by authorities to a certain extent. Through a comparative study between areas treated to varying degrees with mechanical digging and hot water treatment, I determine the effectiveness of the methods. The second part of my study was to try to determine the suitability of and reflect on the methods, as well as reflect on the suitability of the methods for civilian use through a literature review using the method catalog as a starting point. My conclusion is that mechanical digging produces declining populations and significant differences in found individuals, provided the treatment is carried out correctly and consistently. I reason that other treatment methods can affect more organisms than intended, and that they are therefore unsuitable for use in Fylleån. Invasive species Yellow skunk cabbage American skunk cabbage Lysichiton americanus Ecology Botany IAS Halland Plants Nature Methodolgy Mechanical digging hot water treatment heatweed glyfosate climate Lysichiton Araceae inventory species description statistical analysis litterature review watercourse invasive plants Sustainability Biology Natural sciences Halmstad university Invasiva främmande arter Gul skunkkalla Lysichiton americanus Ekologi Botanik heatweed Araceae IAS Halland Växter Natur Behandlingsmetoder Mekanisk uppgrävning hetvattenbehandling glyfosat klimat kalleväxter inventering artbeskrivning statistisk analys metodkatalogen litteraturgenomgång vattendrag invasiva växter globala målen hållbarhet Biologi Naturvetenskap Högskolan i Halmstad Natural Sciences Naturvetenskap Biological Sciences Biologiska vetenskaper Ecology Ekologi Botany Botanik

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