A taxonomic revision of 51 species of Riccia, nearly three quarters of which are probably endemic to southern Africa, as well as the cosmopolitan, mono typic species, Ricciocarpos natans, is presented. The systematic treatment includes keys to the genera, subgenera, sections, groups and species. Each species is described in detail, accompanied by its nomenclature, as well as information on its geographical distribution and ecology. Several thousand specimens have been collected by the author and by others, notably O.H. Yolk, over the last 10 years or more, and are listed, together with older collections by Amell, Duthie and Garside and by Sim, to name but a few. Illustrations include line drawings of the thalli of every species, plus photographs of the thalli of some and spore micrographs of all. The phylogeny is briefly considered with reference to the following criteria: palaeobotanical, phytogeographical, morphological, cytological and biochemical. A hypothetical ancestor is postulated and primitive character states as opposed to advanced ones are examined. An extensive bibliography is provided. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 1991. / Plant Science / unrestricted

MSc (Botany) / Department of Botany / The overall aim of this study was to determine the population biology of Sclerocarya birrea (A Rich) Hochst., subspecies caffra (Sond) at Nylsvley Nature Reserve, Limpopo, South Africa. Sclerocarya birrea is a keystone plant species which is rated as one of the most highly valued indigenous trees because of its multiple uses. It is identified as a key species to support the livelihood of rural communities and it is central to various commercial activities. Sclerocarya birrea is also widely used by game in protected areas and by humans in communal areas for its fruit, wood and medicinal properties. Understanding the population biology for this key stone species is important as there are many environmental factors that are affecting its population structure. The study found that the population of S. birrea at Nylsvley Nature Reserve is fairly healthy and is mainly comprised of seedling and adult trees. Evidence of predators feeding on the seeds of Sclerocarya birrea was also recorded in this study. Additionally, disturbance, such as fire and cutting do not have negative impact on S.barrea

Diclofenac has previously been shown to be toxic in three species of Gyps vultures (G. bengalensis, G. tenuirostris, and G. indicus) on the Indian subcontinent. Due to the devastating effect on the population of vultures (>99.9% species mortality), numerous efforts were initiated in order to protect the species. One such effort involved the removal of further threats to the species. At present the major threat identified has been the other non-steroidal drugs (NSAIDs) available for veterinary use. From research on ketoprofen and meloxicam (the former toxic and the latter safe), it was evident that toxicity was not general for the class of NSAIDs and that other factors played a role in toxicity. This unfortunately meant that each drug had to be tested individually in the vulture. While possible, the endangered status of vulture globally makes this approach unethical. As a result an alternate method of testing needed to be validated or sought. It was believed that a surrogate model could be the answer. The aim of this study was to establish if the crow could serve as such a surrogate model. The toxic effect of diclofenac in crows (n=6) was evaluated in a two cross over studies at doses of 0.8 and 10 mg/kg. No signs of toxicity were evident during the period of clinical monitoring, or necropsy or clinical pathology. In addition the drug was barely detectable in the birds and was described by a half-life of elimination of approximately 2.5 hours. To better explain the absence of observable toxicity, a follow-up study was initiated using freshly harvested renal tubular epithelial (RTE) cells and hepatocytes in a cell culture assay previously validated for cytotoxicity and reactive-oxidative generation. In general, the in vitro study results showed the hepatocytes and RTE cells to be tolerant to the presence of diclofenac, with cell viability remaining in the region of 80%. In contrast meloxicam appeared to be more toxic as previously seen with chicken primary RTE cells. Based on the in vivo and in vitro culture results, it was speculated that the absence of toxicity in the crow was due to a combination of rapid half-life of metabolism in combination with low susceptibility of the cells to toxicity. To further explain the role of metabolism in toxicity, meta-analysis of pharmacokinetic data for the domestic chicken (Gallus gallus</i.), African White-backed (Gyps africanus), Cape Griffon (Gyps coprotheres) and Turkey vultures (<i<Cathartes aura) were evaluated for trends in toxicity. The data clearly showed a trend toward toxicity when the half-life of elimination increased. It was therefore concluded that toxicity in Gyps species is probably related to zero-order metabolism, and therefore cannot be predicted by a surrogate model due to inter-species differences in metabolism. The crow is therefore not a surrogate model for toxicity testing in the place of the vulture. Copyright / Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Paraclinical Sciences / unrestricted

Studies involving geographic variation in the phenotypes of bats help scientists to explain why these mammals are the most species rich mammalian order second only to rodents, with well more than 1 300 species occurring worldwide. Such species richness or high diversity is the manifestation of the generation of biodiversity through the splitting of lineages within bat species. A lineage of bat species can diversify into several lineages which then differentiate from each other in allopatry. Thus, the spatial separation of a lineage into several lineages could be attributed to geographical, ecological and environmental factors across the distributional range of the species. Similarly, vicariant events may also play a role in separating lineages within species. The Damara horseshoe bat species, Rhinolophus damarensis, is widely distributed but restricted to the western half of southern Africa, where it occurs across several major biomes. Formerly regarded as the subspecies, R. darlingi damarensis, it was elevated to full species status on the basis of genetic and phenotypic differences between it and R. darlingi darlingi. Rhinolophus damarensis is itself made up of two ecologically separated genetic lineages. A total of 106 individuals of R. damarensis were sampled from seven localities across its distributional range, with a view to determining and documenting the extent of geographic variation in body size, echolocation parameters, wing parameters, cranial shape and postcranial morphology of individuals from populations of R. damarensis across the distributional range of the species. Firstly, an investigation into geographic variation in resting echolocation frequency (RF) of the horseshoe bat species, R. damarensis was carried out in the western half of southern Africa (Chapter 2). Three hypotheses were tested. The first one, James’Rule (JR), states that individuals occurring in hot humid environments generally have smaller body sizes than conspecifics that occur in cooler, dryer environments, and the largest are expected to occur in cool, dry areas. On this basis and because of the known relationship between body size and RF, it was predicted that there should be a correlation between body size and climatic factors and between body size and RF. The second hypothesis was Isolation by Environment (IbE) mediated through sensory drive, which proposes that diversification of lineage may be driven by environmentally-mediated differences in sensory systems. Under this hypothesis, it was predicted that call frequency variation should be correlated with climatic variables. The third hypothesis was that Isolation by Distance (IbD) can influence phenotypic trait variation by restricting gene flow between populations. Under the Isolation by Distance (IbD) Hypothesis, it was predicted that call frequency variation should be partitioned in accordance with geographic distance between populations. To investigate the probability of the JR, IbE and IbD, the Akaike’s information criterion AICc candidate models were evaluated with different combinations of environmental (annual mean temperature and relative humidity), spatial (latitude and region) and biological (forearm as a proxy for body size) predictor variables to determine their influence on resting frequency (RF) across the distributional range of R. damarensis. Linear mixed effects models (LMEs) were employed to analyse the relationship between the response variable (RF) and the environmental, spatial and biological predictor variables. The influence of prey detection range and atmospheric attenuation was also investigated. The results showed no evidence for JR or for random genetic drift. Body size was neither correlated with RF nor environmental variables, suggesting that variation in RF was not the result of concomitant variation in body size as proposed by JR. Similarly, the Mantel test showed no IbD effect and there was therefore no evidence that genetic drift was responsible for the variation in RFs. In contrast, the LMEs showed that there was support for IbE in the form of an association between RF and region (in the form of the variable “Reg”) which was based on the two geographically separated genetic lineages. Furthermore, RF variation was also associated with the climatic variable AMT. The taxonomic status of R. damarensis was investigated using ecological traits and phenotypic characters including skulls, wings and echolocation (Chapter 3) and three dimensional (3D) scanned skulls and mandibles (Chapter 4). The main objective (Chapter 3 and Chapter 4) was to test whether previously reported genetic divergence between the two R. damarensis lineages was associated with phenotypic divergence. Morphometric and echolocation measurements were taken from hand held individual bats in the field, and skull measurements were taken from field collected voucher specimens as well as museum specimens. Discriminant Function Analyses (DFA) revealed that there was geographic variation among populations and lineages of R. damarensis. Multivariate Linear Regressions (MLV) and Linear models (LM) on the basal parts of bacula revealed significant differences between the southern and northern lineages of R. damarenis. The bacula of the two lineages of R. damarensis appear to have different shapes. Diversification through shape analyses (Chapter 4) was investigated using three dimensional (3D) geometric morphometric analyses based on X-ray microcomputed tomography (µCT) scanning of dried skulls and mandibles of R. damarensis. Procrustes Anova results of both mandibles and skulls indicated that there were no significant differences between sexes but that the shape of skulls and mandibles varied across different localities (Chapter 4). Canonical Variate Analysis (CVA) suggested that geographic variation in R. damarensis mandibles was based on the shape and thickness of the alveolar bone. Geographic variation in the skulls was based on changes in the rostrum, anterior medial swelling and brain case. Some populations had slightly deeper rostra, slightly larger anterior medial swellings and smaller braincases, whilst others had slightly shallower rostra, slightly smaller anterior medial swellings and larger braincases. The northern lineage was found to be separated from the southern lineage based on the changes in skull and mandible shape. Therefore, separation of lineages within R. damarensis (Chapter 4) could be associated with the foraging and feeding behaviour of the species under different ecological conditions due to ecological opportunity. Overall, differences in the RF were found to be associated with Isolation by Environment mediated through sensory drive and this has led to the formation of two regional (northern and southern) groupings in RF (Chapter 2). The two lineages were supported by both the phenotypic divergence (Chapter 3) and shape variation within R. damarensis skulls and mandibles (Chapter 4). Thus, phenotypic differences corresponded to genetic differences between the two lineages and provide support for IbE.

3 ABSTRACT Freshwateramphipodsarepoordispersersduetothefragmentarynatureoftheir habitat,benthiclife-styleandlackofresistantpropagules.Consequently,mostspeciesare narrowlyendemic,andwidespreadmorphospeciesconsistofnumerousdivergentlineages. Assuch,thesepatternsareconsideredrelict, mainlyreflectinghistoricalratherthan contemporaryfactors.TheCarpathian Mountainsunderwentadramaticgeomorphological evolutionduringthelast20millionyears,risingfromtheParatethysSeathroughaseriesof islandsthateventuallycoalescedintooneofthelongest mountainchainsinEurope. Moreover,these mountainsandsurroundingbasinsareinhabitedbyaubiquitousand diverseamphipodfauna,providinganidealsettingfortestinghistoricalbiogeographical hypotheses.OurresultshaveshownthatinthesouthernhalfoftheCarpathians,montane Gammarus taxadisplayfragmentedandallopatricdistributionpatterns whilelowland speciesbelongingtothegeneraNiphargus andSynurella are mostlysympatricand widespreadoverlargedistances.Subsequent molecularinvestigationsrevealedthatthe patchydistributionofG.fossaruminthewesternandsouthwesternCarpathianshaslikely resultedfromthebreakupofaformerlycontiguouslandmass16 millionyearsago, suggestingthatgeologicalsubsidencecanplayanimportantroleinshapingbiogeographical patterns. Moreover,the WesternCarpathianlineagesineasternCzechiaandSlovakiaare...

Understanding how species respond to variations in weather patterns will be crucial to improve our predictions about how species will cope with climate change. The Verreaux's Eagle (Aquila verreauxii) and its primary prey species the Rock Hyrax (Procavia capensis) and Yellow-spotted Hyrax (Heterohyrax brucei) have been monitored by a long-term citizen science project in the Matobo Hills, Zimbabwe. A previous study associated rainfall patterns with the establishment, breeding density and productivity of Verreaux's Eagles. Fluctuations in hyrax populations have been attributed to fluctuations in rainfall and drought. However, these studies have been limited by the use of total annual rainfall instead of targeted rainfall periods of when biological outcomes are most sensitive to weather phenomena. This study explored critical climate sensitivity windows influencing the Verreaux's Eagle's reading performance and the abundance of its main prey species. We used observations of 109 nests over 37 years (1984-2019) and counts from 20 hyrax den sites for 13 years (1993-2005), together with remotely sensed rainfall data. The probability of attempting to breeding and the probability of producing a fledgling was negatively associated with rainfall. For breeding attempt, the rainfall during June and July, 11-10 months before laying was the most relevant, whereas, for productivity, the rainfall during December to March, nine-five months before fledging was the most relevant. However, the relationship between the rainfall signal and breeding productivity was not significant. Hyrax abundance had a negative quadratic relationship with mean rainfall against their respective climate windows, whereby the abundance of adult and sub-adult hyrax increased with rainfall during July–September but declined thereafter at greater rainfall levels. The abundance of hyrax did not have a significant relationship with the breeding outcomes of the Verreaux's Eagles. This study shows the complexity of the causal relationships between climate and biological outcomes and also the value of long-term data to understanding the impacts of variations in weather patterns to better understand predator-prey dynamics.

We describe a new species of Bolivian Telmatobius from the Cordillera Oriental of the Andes. The new species occurs in cloud forests of the Department of Santa Cruz and adjacent Cochabamba and is similar to T simonsi Parker. Telmatobius simonsi is herein redescribed, and data on osteology, variation, and distribution are provided for both species.

We describe two new species of Phrynopus from cloud forests in Cochabamba, Bolivia. The new species are assigned to the P. peruanus group and are characterized by the presence of basal webbing, distinctive coloration, and by having the first finger shorter than the second. The first of these new species was collected near Montepunko in Parque Nacional Carrasco and is known from eight males and six females. Among its distinctive characteristics are round cream-colored glands on its flanks. A second species is known from one male and one female collected near "Zona de Aguirre" near the northwest border of the park. V and X-shaped blotches and a dorsum that is smooth except for dorsolateral and scapular folds characterize this species. Musculature has rarely been described for species of Phrynopus. The species from Montepunko has unusual gular and thigh musculature that is quite unlike other species of the genus.

No description available.

Blood was collected from 71 tsessebe antelope and ticks from 12 of these animals, in the Vaalbos National Park. The samples were collected when the animals were relocated to a new park as a result of the deproclamation of Vaalbos National Park. DNA was extracted from the blood samples and the V4 hypervariable region of the 18S rRNA gene of any piroplasm parasites present was amplified by PCR. The RLB hybridisation technique was used to identify piroplasm parasites. Theileria spp. were identified and full-length 18S rRNA genes were amplified, cloned and sequenced. The results indicated the presence of novel Theileria spp. phylogenetically very closely related to both Theileria sp. (sable) and Theileria separate. The ticks collected were all Rhipicephalus evertsi evertsi, which has been shown to be capable of acting as a vector for Theileria spp. All animals appeared to be in good health at the time of sampling and after relocation. It is thus possible that, as with several other wildlife species, the Theileria spp. identified here do not cause disease under normal circumstances and that a situation of endemic stability exists. Once the host is under any form of stress, however, overt clinical disease may well become evident. The significance of these Theileria spp. should not be underestimated, and care should be taken not to transmit the organisms into new areas. More research will need to be conducted to determine the exact clinical significance of these findings and the role of Rhipicephalus evertsi evertsi as a potential vector for these Theileria spp. Copyright / Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Veterinary Tropical Diseases / unrestricted