Looking primarily at the social and political trends in South Africa over the course of the last century and a half, this thesis explores how these trends have contributed to the establishment of the southern Africa cannabis complex. Through an examination of the influence which the colonial paradigm based on Social Darwinian thinking had on the understanding of the cannabis plant in southern Africa, it is argued that cannabis prohibition and apartheid laws rested on the same ideological foundation. This thesis goes on to argue that the dynamics of cannabis production and trade can be understood in terms of the interplay between the two themes of ‘prohibition’ and ‘resistance’. Prohibition is not only understood to refer to cannabis laws, but also to the proscription of inter-racial contact and segregation dictated by the apartheid regime. Resistance, then, refers to both resistance to apartheid and resistance to cannabis laws in this thesis. Including discussions on the hippie movement and development of the world trade, the anti-apartheid movement, the successful implementation of import substitution strategies in Europe and North America from the 1980’s, and South Africa’s incorporation into the global trade, this thesis illustrates how the apartheid system (and its collapse) influenced the region’s cannabis trade.

As is the case in many other regions in the world, sugarcane production in southern Africa is affected by a wide range of climatic conditions, which can vary considerably from location to location and from year to year. As a result, the season length and growth cycles of sugarcane in southern Africa differ greatly. Such conditions include the hot and dry regions of northern KwaZulu-Natal, Swaziland and Mpumalanga, where sugarcane is mostly irrigated, to the humid sub-tropical coastal belt extending from the far north coast of KwaZulu-Natal to areas in the Eastern Cape, as well as the cool frost prone midlands regions of KwaZulu-Natal. Owing to the wide range of climatic conditions in which sugarcane is grown in southern Africa, there are many different external factors that affect sugarcane production, including a range of pests and diseases, frost occurrences and variations in soil water. The objective of this research was to (1) identify a number of important variables that affect cane production in southern Africa, (2) employ suitable models to reflect these variables, and (3) simulate and map the extent and severity of these variables at a high spatial resolution over southern Africa. Such variables include the Eldana saccharina and Chilo sacchariphagus stalk borers, sugarcane rust fungus, heat units with selected base temperatures, frost, soil water content, soil compaction, irrigation water demand, conducive and non-conducive growing conditions, flowering proficiencies for sugarcane, sugarcane yields and yield increments per unit of irrigation. The distribution patterns of the above-mentioned variables relied greatly upon the various models employed to represent them, as well as the accuracy of the temperature and rainfall databases to which the various models were applied. Although not definitive, the models used to reflect the variables which had been identified were considered to be generally satisfactory. The resolution at which the variables which had been identified in this study were mapped, was also found to be adequate. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2008.

Thesis (PhD (For))--Stellenbosch University, 2002. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study aims to evaluate the effects of forestry policy on the sustainability of forest resources in Southern Africa. However, the study has confirmed that forestry policy does not operate independently of other policies. Its scope is defined by overarching framework legislation and policy, while it functions within a complex mesh of crosscutting and sectoral policies. Therefore, the implications of these external policies for forest conservation have also been assessed. The method used employs predominantly qualitative assessment of documentary data, which constitute the main contents of the three case studies: South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia. This qualitative information has been transformed into quantitative data, using a scoring scale of one to five for certain indicators of sustainable forest management (SFM). The average score for each country makes up a forest conservation index (FCI), which provides a comprehensive insight into the performance of a country's forestry and other resource conservation policies. South Africa's FCI is estimated at 3, while Tanzania and Zambia's indices have been rounded to 2 each. As South Africa's forestry policy and other biological resource conservation policies came into existence as recent as the mid- and late 1990s, this index suggests that these policies will lead to SFM subject to satisfactory implementation. Indeed, South Africa has a congruous forestry legislation whose regulatory mechanisms are appropriately blended with financial and framework incentives. Its overarching framework legislation and policy define forestry policy, while the crosscutting policies reinforce it. However, the country's performance on intergovernmental and intersectoral policy co-ordination is poor, as well as on the economic valuation of its natural forest resources. Furthermore, the formulation of South Africa's forestry policy was not founded on up-to-date forest resource data. Contrary to the South African case, Tanzania and Zambia's indices indicate the likelihood of unsustainable forest use and management. These countries' existing forestry and other resource conservation policy-making processes are narrow-based and gender-insensitive, rendering them unpopular among policyaffected and policy-connected stakeholders. These inappropriate policies and their blunt instruments distort markets for forest resources, i.e., create situations in which benefits are dissociated from costs, prices from scarcities, rights from responsibilities and actions from consequences. Both forestry policies and their governing tools were not founded on contemporary forest resource data, i.e., they are not issue centred. The countries' framework laws have also failed to institutionalise environmental impact assessment, monitoring and evaluation, intersectoral policy co-ordination, participatory approaches to natural resource management and ownership of environmental assets such as land and forest resources by local communities. The administration of forestry policy requires competent professional and technical staff. South Africa has adequate human resources in the forestry sector, although the personnel appear to lack the necessary skills for participatory forest management for poverty reduction. Tanzania has adequate but ineffective forestry personnel, resutting in lack of law enforcement and corruption while Zambia lacks professional staff to interpret and implement the existing forestry policy. The ineffectiveness and the lack of professional and technical staff, inter alia, is reflected in the high rates of deforestation, which have been estimated at 91,000 halannum for Tanzania and 851,000 halannum for Zambia. Unlike South Africa, both Tanzania and Zambia's sectoral policies fail to cultivate concerns for forest conservation. This situation is aggravated further by the pervasive lack of intra- and intersectoral policy coordination among biological resource conservation divisions and departments. The coherence of South Africa's forestry and other resource conservation policies is attributable to the scarcity of natural forests in the country. Approximately, 7.0% of South Africa's landscape is under forest cover, while Tanzania and Zambia have 37% and 42%, respectively. Decreasing supplies of forest coupled with the increasing demands for forest resources causes the value of forest resources to appreciate. Naturally, there is a stronger need for the forest-scarce South Africa to pursue prudent conservation policies to protect its limited forest than Tanzania and Zambia whose governments treat their respective vast land and forest resources as a safety valve for economic hardship without adequate investment in SFM. In summary, forest resource use and management in Tanzania and Zambia are littered by market and policy failures. It is envisaged that the opportunities and constraints identified in each market and policy failure will inform future forestry and related policy-making process, not only in the concerned countries but also in other African countries experiencing similar forest conservation problems. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie studie het ten doel om die effekte te evalueer wat bosboubeleid het op die volhoubaarheid van woudhulpbronne in Suidelike Afrika. Hierdie studie het egter bevestig dat bosboubeleid nie onafhanklik van ander beleidspunte funksioneer nie. Die omvang daarvan word gedefinieer deur oorkoepelende raamwerkwetgewing en beleid, terwyl dit binne 'n komplekse netwerk van oorkruisende en sektorale beleid funksioneer. Daaom is die implikasies van hierdie eksteme beleidspunte vir woudbewaring ook bepaal. Die metode gebruik, wend hoofsaaklik kwalitatiewe beraming van dokumentere data aan, wat die hoofinhoud van die drie gevallestudies, nl. Suid-Afrika, Tanzania en Zambia uitrnaak. Hierdie kwalitatiewe informasie is omvorm na kwantitatiewe data, deur gebruik te maak van 'n skaal van een tot vyf vir sekere indikators van vohoubae bosbestuur (VBB). Die gemiddelde punt vir elke land vorm 'n woudbewaringsindeks (WBI), wat 'n omvatlende insig verskaf van die land se uitvoering van die bosbou- en bewaringsbeleid van ander hulpbronne. Suid-Afrika se WBI is beraam op 3, terwyl Tanzania en Zambia sa indekse elk tot 2 afgerond is. Siende dat Suid-Afrika se bosbou- en bewainqsoeleld van ander biologiese hulpbronne eers so onlangs as die middel- en laat 1990's in werking getree het, stel hierdie indeks voor dat die beleid sal lei tot VBB, onderhewig aan bevredigende uitvoering daarvan. Suid-Afrika het inderdaad 'n gepaste bosboubeleid, waarvan die regulerende meganismes toepaslik vermeng is met finensiele en raamwerk aansporings. Die oorkoepelende raamwerkwetgewing en beleid definieer bosboubeleid, terwyl oorkruisende beleidspunte dit versterk. Die land se uitvoering van interregerings- en intersektorale beleidkoordinasie, is egter swak, asook in die ekonomiesa waardering van sy natuurlike woudhulpbronne. Verder, is die formulering van Suid-Afrika se bosboubeleid nie gegrond op woudhulpbrondata wat op hoogte was nie. In teenstelling met die Suid-Afrikaanse geval, toon die indeksa van Tanzania en Zcrnbia die waCl'skynlikheid van onvomoubae bosbenutting en -bestuur. Hierdie lande se bestaande beleidvormingsprosasse vir bosbou en bewaring van ander hulpbronne, is eng-gebaseer en geslags-onsensitief, wat dit onpopulsr maak onder beleidgeaffekteerde en beleidverbonde insethouers. Hierdie ontoepaslike beleidspunte en stomp instrumente verdraai markte vir woudhulpbronne, d.i. skep situasies waarin voordele gedissosieer is van kostes, pryse van skaashed, regte van verantwoordelikhede en aksies van nagevolge. Beide bosboubeleidspunte en die leidingsinstrumente is nie gegrond op kontemporere woudhulpbrondata nie, d.w.s. hulle is nie rondom die kwessie gesentreer nie. Die lande se raamwerkwette het ook gefaal daarin om omgewingsimpakberamings, monitering en evaluering, intersektorale beleidkoordinering, deelnemende benaderings tot natuurlike hulpbronbestuur en plaaslike gemeenskappe sa eienaaskai van omgewingsbates, SODS grond en woudhulpbronne in te stel. Die administrasie van bosboubeleid verg bevoegde professionele en tegniese personeel. Sui-Afrika het voldoende menslike hulpbronne in die bosbousektor, hoewel dit voorkom of die personeel nie die nodige vaadiqhede het vir deelnemende bosbestuur vir die veligting van arnoede nie. Tanzanie het voldoende, maa oneffektiewe bosboupersoneel, wat 'n gebrek aan wetstoepassing en korrupsie tot gevolg het, terwyl Zambie 'n tekort het aan professionele personeel om die bestaande bosboubeleid te interpreteer en te implementeer. Die oneffektiwiteit en die gebrek aan professionele en tegniese personeel, onder andere, word gerefiekteer in die hoe tempo van ontbossing, wat beraam is op 91,000 ha/jaCl'vir Tenzenie en 851,000 ha/jaCl'vir Zembie. Anders as Suid-Afrika, faal beide Tanzanie en Zambia se sektorale beleidspunte daain om belange vir woudbewaring te kweek. Hierdie situasie word verder vererger deur die deurdringende gebrek aan intra- en intersektorale beleidkoordinering onder afdelings en departemente van biologiese hulpbronbewaring. Die verband tussen Suid-Afrika se bosbou- en bewaringsbeleid van ander hulpbronne word toegeskryf aan die skaarsheid van natuurlike woude in die land. Ongeveer 7.0% van die Suid-Afrikaanse landskap is bedek met woude, terwyl Tanzanie en Zambia onderskeidelik 37% en 42% bedek is. Verlaagde voorraad van woude, gepaard met die toenemende vraag na woudhulpbronne, het tot gevolg dat die waade van woudhulpbronne styg. Natuurlik is daar 'n groter behoefte vir die woud-arm Suid-Afrika om verstandige bewaingsbeleid na te streef om sy beperkte woude te beskerm as Tanzanie en Zambie, waa hulle regerings hul onderskeie ge\Yeldigegrond en woudhulpbronne behandel as 'n veiligheidsklep vir ekonomiese ontbering, sonder voldoende belegging in VBB. As opsomming, is die benutting en bestuur van woudhulpbronne in Tanzania en Zambia met mark- en beleidsmislukking besaai. Dit word beoog dat die geleenthede en beperkinge wat met elke mark- en beleidsmislukking ge'identifiseer is, toekomstige bosbou en verwante beleidvormingsproses kan inlig, nie net in die betrokke lande nie, maar ook in ander Afrika lande wat soortgelyke woudbewarings probleme ondervind.

As the dry season progresses across southern Africa, the availability and quality of food declines for large herbivores. Female white rhinos compensate for these declines by expanding and/or shifting their home ranges. These changes may be to incorporate habitat types that contain high quality food or quite simply more food. To determine the factors that drive these seasonal changes in home ranges, I focused on dry season changes in the availability and quality of grass in habitats utilised by white rhinos in the Ithala Game Reserve, South Africa. I expected that if food quality was the main driver, white rhinos would follow optimal foraging principles and incorporate habitat types with the highest nutritional quality into their dry season home ranges. Alternatively, due to their large body size (>1000 kg) and thus ability to survive on low quality food, they may rather incorporate habitat types with high food availability. In contrast to previous studies, I found that during the dry season female white rhinos did not increase the size of their home ranges, but rather shifted their home range boundaries. This resulted in individuals increasing the amount of Bushveld and decreasing the amount of Wooded Grasslands within their dry season home ranges. When I explored the different factors that could explain these patterns, I found that changes in the crude protein content of grass was the key factor driving the incorporation and exclusion of habitat types in the home ranges. During the dry season, white rhinos incorporated the habitat that had the smallest seasonal reduction in crude protein content, while excluding the one with the largest decrease in crude protein. As a result, my results suggest that the search for high quality best explains the seasonal home range shifts of female white rhinos in the Ithala Game Reserve. / Thesis (M.Sc.Ecology)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2013.

Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, for completion of the Degree of' Master of Science / The atmospheric response of the Colorado State University Regional Atmospheric Modelling System (RAMS) to sea-surface temperature anomaliesis investigated. A period of four days was chosen from 21 to 24 January 1981, where focus was placed on the development and dissipation of a tropical-temperate trough across Southern Africa. Previous experimenting this mesoscalenumerical model have detemined the kinematic, moisture, and thermodynamic nature of these synoptic features. The research in this dissertation focuses specifically on the sensitivity of the numerical model's simulated responses to positive sea-surface temperature anomalies. Three separate experiments were devised, in which positive anomalous temperatures were added to the ocean surface north of Madagascar (in the tropical Indian Ocean), at the region of the Agulhas Current retroflection, and along the tropical African west coast (in the Northern Benguela and Angola currents). The circulation aspects of each sensitivity test were investigated through the comparison of simulated variables such as vapour and cloud mixing ratios, temperature, streamlines and vertical velocity, with the same variables created by a control simulation. The results indicate that for the first sensitivity test, (the Madagascar anomaly), cyclogenesis was initiated over the area of modified sea temperatures which resulted in a marginal decrease in continental precipitation. The second sensitivity test (over the Agulhas retroflection) produced a much smaller simulated response to the addition of anomalously warm sea temperatures than the tropical Indian Ocean anomaly. Instability and precipitation values increased over the anomalously warm retroflection region, and were slowly transferred along the westerly wave perturbation and the South African east coast. The third sensitivity experiment showed a predominantly localised simulated increase in precipitation over Gabon and the Congo, with the slow southward progression of other simulated circulation differences taking place. The small perturbations in each of the simulated meteorological responses are consistent with the expected climate response to anomalously warm sea-surface temperatures in those areas. / AC 2018

Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Technology in Environmental Health In the Faculty of Applied Sciences Department of Environmental and Occupational Studies At Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2013 / Southern Africa region is experiencing a multiplicity of transfrontier conservation projects, which simply put in its metaphorical name ‘Peace Parks’. The rapid growth of transfrontier conservation areas present the fulfilment of a vision of a ‘boundless’ and ‘borderless’ Southern Africa, straddling geo-political boundaries of once colonially imposed cartography of sovereign statism. The ecological amalgamation of these vast conservation areas are underpinned by various social, political, ecological and economic fundamentals envisioned by governments in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region together with conservation partners to transform the life of people and enhance sustainable management of natural resources. The Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park (GLTP) that involves Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe, was born out of this vision. Equally so, from its conceptualisation, the GLTP sought to achieve sustainable biodiversity and ecosystem conservation, promote economic growth, support rural development, be a building block for peace and regional economic integration. The planners also criticized inappropriate geo-political boundaries imposed by colonialism, which historically separated biospheres and the people of identical culture. The artificiality of boundaries, therefore, obstructed cultural links of communities and restricted wildlife migration as well. This affected natural dispersion of fugitive wildlife. Thus, the GLTP’s ambitious conservation plan address these issues. In so doing, the GLTP governance architecture as it stands today produced multi-level governance institutions whose approaches were found in this study to be at variance with local people’s livelihood expectations and conservation processes. It is in this view that this research sought to examine the impact of governance institutions on communities’ livelihoods and sustainable conservation of natural resources in the GLTP. Using various methods of empirical research such as interviews, household questionnaires, focus group discussions (including using the Schutte Scale), field observations and secondary data analysis, the researcher found that the current GLTP institutional configurations and its resource governance philosophy are at variance with local natural resource governance processes, and contradict local resource needs. Thus, there is inherent mistrust and conflict over skewed natural resource benefits. Most of them benefits accrue to government entities and the private companies that invested in tourism. Furthermore, it was found that the GLTP administrative governance architecture from the onset, presented complex competing environmental interests among conservation stakeholders against those of communities. The GLTP resource governance as it stands, is conspicuously not inclusive with the local communities playing a minimal role to leverage on the abundant natural resource for to support local livelihoods. One thing that came out clearly from the research is that they are not included to participate in conservation of the GLTP natural resources. This study therefore argues that there is potential to jeopardize prospects for the GLTP to achieve its objectives of sustainable conservation, promoting rural development and reduction of rural poverty. Empirically, it was also confirmed that the GLTP is at cross-purpose with the expectations of the communities. Local participation in sustainable conservation is consequentially subdued and weak. Perhaps, if the lofty aims of the GLTP are to be achieved, this study noted that the local people prefer the natural resources governance, conservation decision-making processes and conservation stakeholder relationships to be fair and acceptable to a cross-section of stakeholders. This includes ascertaining broad participation of the local people in conservation and environmental decision-making as crucial ingredients in guaranteeing local livelihoods and motivating communities to support conservation initiatives through use of wildlife proceeds for the development of communities. In addition, a concern was raised that powerful state agencies and conservation organisations are at the fore in defining institutional processes and resource governance systems with no regard to the local institutions. Thus, the envisaged win-win situation in conservation to transform rural communities is far from being realised. The GLTP governance structure forecloses the local people from participation. Consequently, local conservation morale and collaboration has adversely diminished, with overt preponderance of multi-level institutional processes over local processes in terms of natural resource management. This has tended to marginalise local institutions and prevent the local people from complementing conservation efforts. Manifestly, there is deep-seated livelihood insecurity, local environmental conservation marginalisation. This led the study to question the sustainability of the GLTP considering its exclusionary governance approach when dealing with communities. Another major concern is that planning of eco-tourism projects are paternalistically government led processes and exclusively private sector driven than being community oriented. Concerns arise that the much-lauded and publicized promise of eco-tourism benefits to the communities, have not materialised in the last ten years since the GLTP establishment in 2002. This has led local communities to question the GLTP’s economic benefits and impact on their lives. Instead of working with communities as equal stakeholders, the GLTP governance architecture has isolated them from playing an effective collaborative role in conservation and reaping of benefits. It was observed that the attendant GLTP governance trajectories reflect a narrow web of contesting conservation interests at variance with communities’ expectations. The heavy-handed administrative role of multi-level institutions and that of conservation agencies, have therefore, not fostered synergies for local residents’ participation in the management of natural resources. The elusiveness of the GLTP governance therefore puts it far from ensuring that the local people are part of conservation processes, hence falling short of capturing local contributions and local buy-in. Such governance injunctions complicate guaranteeing equal opportunity of resource access and equity, and it is less enabling for communities to hold together, cooperate and collaborate in conservation. Perhaps, an ideal situation would be to have a resource governance system that prevents the ‘tragedy of the commons’ and at the same time preventing the ‘tragedy of the local common man’. In this regard, this research made proposal in chapter 8, suggesting a synergised governance, decision-making and an a cocktail of an amalgam economic framework that can be adopted to solve the problems identified. These frameworks enable local people’s resource rights to be realised and the fusion of local expectations for conservation sustainability. This study aimed at examining the GLTP governance process impact on Makuleke and Sengwe communities in terms of their livelihoods, local participation in natural resource conservation and participation in natural resource decision-making process in the governance of the GLTP.

M. Tech. Business Administration / The purpose of the study was to investigate, evaluate and validate the state of readiness of South African National Defence Force infantry military commanders to manage disasters in southern Africa. A survey was conducted by means of a questionnaire that was completed by 122 respondents from three infantry battalions and the infantry formation headquarters across South Africa, representing a reasonable cross-section of infantry battalions leaders.

The negative consequence of recent climate change on the Earth’s biodiversity has become more evident in recent years. Some animals, due to insularity or habitat fragmentation, are unable to shift their ranges altitudinally and latitudinally. Vulnerable species need to rely on behavioural and, more importantly, physiological responses in order to persist through present climatic changes. It has therefore become more obvious that physiological responses of individuals need to be incorporated into predictive models of the responses of mammals to accelerated climate change. The primary purpose of this study was to test the ‘Hyperthermic Daily Torpor’ hypothesis proposed recently by Lovegrove et al., (in press). The hypothesis suggests that, based on albeit limited evidence, some small mammals may be capable of hyperthermia induced hypometabolism equivalent to that experienced during torpor and hibernation in response to cold temperatures. These authors argue that such hyperthermic hypometabolism should reduce the risk of entry into pathological hyperthermia and also reduce the rate of water loss driven by heat-induced evaporative cooling. The reaction norms of desert mammals have been selected to be adaptive over a wide range of climatic conditions due to the unpredictability of their habitat. Thus, they are good models for testing the reaction norms that may be expressed in response to accelerated climate change. We therefore tested our hypothesis using two presumably heat-adapted desert rodents; the Namaqua rock mouse, Aethomys namaquensis, and the pygmy rock mouse, Petromyscus collinus, as model species. We used indirect respirometry to measure metabolic rate at high ambient temperatures. We progressively exposed the animals to high temperatures to induce thermal tolerance and thus minimize the risks of lethal hyperthermia. We also measured subcutaneous and core temperatures, using temperature-sensitive PIT tags (BioTherm Identipet) and modified iButtons (Maxim Integrated), respectively. A. namaquensis displayed the capacity for hyperthermia-induced hypometabolism (Q10 79 = 1.27 ± 1.61) whereas the P. collinus did not (Q10 = 2.45 ± 1.41). The implications of such a physiological response in A. namaquensis are crucial in terms of its capacity to minimize the risks of lethal, pathological hyperthermia. Recent models of endothermic responses to global warming based on ectothermic models predict a dichotomy in the thermoregulatory responses of mammals to high temperatures. This study, to our knowledge, provides some of the first data on these interspecific variations in the thermoregulatory responses of mammals to high temperatures. However, the different physiological responses to hyperthermia between these two species cannot be meaningfully interpreted without phylogenetically independent comparisons with other species, that is, a more expansive interspecific analysis. Nonetheless, we provide some autecological sketches to assist in future multivariate interspecific analyses. Physiological differences between captive or captive-bred and free-ranging mammals preclude the extrapolation of our findings to free-ranging mammals. It is almost impossible to collect MR data in the field, although a few authors have successfully done so, and it is often not feasible to collect Tb data in small free-ranging mammals. Most studies have therefore made use of externally-mounted temperature-sensitive data loggers in order to collect Tskin data as a proxy for Tcore data in free-ranging mammals. However, misleading gradients between Tskin and Tcore can occur if data loggers are placed too close to major-heat producing tissues and the effects of the external environment on these data loggers may result in large Tskin – Tcore gradients. The second objective of this thesis therefore was to test the validity of using subcutaneous temperatures (Tsub) from subcutaneously injected temperature-sensitive PIT tags as a proxy for Tcore using the Namaqua rock mouse, Aethomys namaquensis. We found that the difference between Tcore and Tsub was minimal (~ 0.34˚C) within the thermoneutral zone (TNZ) with slight, non-significant, differences outside the TNZ. There was a tendency for Tsub to underestimate Tcore below thermoneutrality and overestimate it above thermoneutrality. We attributed these differences to the various heat loss and heat gain mechanisms activated in response to heat and cold stress in order to maintain a setpoint Tb. Nevertheless, we found that the Tcore – Tskin differential never exceeded 1.59˚C above the wide 108 range of Tas (5˚ – 41˚C) measured. Thus, we can conclude that subcutaneous temperatures provide a reasonably reliable proxy for core temperature in small mammals. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2012.

Thesis (MSc)--Stellenbosch University, 2003. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The oceanic and meteorological systems that characterize the southern African coastline are well-documented. In this thesis, these characteristics have been considered in conjunction with the analysis of a unique set of sea surface temperature (SST) data, obtained from measuring sites around the southern African coast, to determine the variability of SSTs in the immediate coastal region of southern Africa, and to demonstrate how this variability impacts on marinerelated economic activities. As part of the analysis process, various statistical techniques have been applied to the data over different time periods to establish the extent of the spatial variability of SSTs along the southern African coastline. From the results it has been possible to identify three distinctly different 'climatological' regions around the southern African coast; viz a cooler west coast region with a low annual and seasonal SST variability and a higher variability from day-ta-day, a warmer east coast region with a higher annual and seasonal SST variability and a lower variability from day-ta-day; and a temperate south coast region with a highly erratic annual, seasonal and day-ta-day SST variability. Furthermore, it has been possible to identify, albeit small, the existence of a high and a low frequency signal of 12-15 days and 40-60 days, respectively, in the three different regions. There is also evidence of the periodic occurrence of anomalously warm and cold SST events in all three regions, and a probability of <1.1% of a day-ta-day SST anomaly of >3°C (+3°C or- 3°C) occurring anywhere along the southern African coastline. The general causes of SST change have been discussed within the context of the heat budget equation. Furthermore, the effects of the variability of SST on the climate and marine life around southern Africa and the resulting impact on the various marine-related economic activities (such as aquaculture, air-sea rescue and power stations) have been identified, and shown to be both positive and negative.Finally, it should be noted, that economic infonnation relating to marine activities is closely guarded due to inter-industry competition. It has therefore been difficult to quantify the exact impact of the effects of SST variability on these activities. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die oseaniese en weerkundige stelsels wat die kuslyn van suidelike Afrika kenmerk is goed gedokumenteer. Die stelselkenmerke is in hierdie verhandeling ondersoek aan die hand van 'n unieke datastel van seeoppervlaktemperature (SST) afkomstig van meetplekke aan die kus van suidelike Afrika, ten einde die veranderlikheid van SST in die onmiddelike kusomgewing van suidelike Afrika vas te stel, asook om te demonstreer hoe hierdie veranderlikheid inwerk op seeverwante ekonomiese aktiwiteite. As deel van die proses van analise is verskeie statistiese metodes gebruik om die data oor verskeie tydperke te ontleed ten einde die omvang van ruimtelike veranderlikheid van SSTs langs die kus van suidelike Afrika te bepaal. Uit die resultate was dit moontlik om drie duidelike onderskeibare 'klimatologiese' streke aan die kus van suidelike Afrika te identifiseer; te wete 'n koeler weskusstreek met 'n lae jaarlikse en seisoenale SST-veranderlikheid en hoër dag-tot-dag veranderlikheid, 'n warmer ooskusstreek met 'n hoër jaarlikse en seisoenale SST-veranderlikheid en laer dag-tot-dag verandelikheid; asook 'n gematigde suidkusstreek met 'n hoogs wisselvallige jaarlikse, seisoenale en dag-totdag SST-veranderlikheid. Dit was verder moontlik om, alhoewel klein, die bestaan van lae en hoë frekwensie seine van 12-15 dae en 40-60 dae onderskeidelik in die drie streke te identifiseer. Daar is ook tekens van die periodieke voorkoms van anomale warm en koue SSTgebeurtenisse in al drie streke en 'n waarskynlikheid van <1.1% van die voorkoms van 'n dagtot- dag SST-anomaliteit van >3°C (+3°C of -3°G) op enige plek langs die suider Afrikaanse kuslyn. Die algemene oorsake van veranderings in SST is bespreek binne die konteks van die formule vir die behoud van hitte-energie. Die invloed van SST-veranderlikheid op die klimaat en die seelewe om suidelike Afrika en die gevolglike effek op mariene-verwante ekonomiese aktiwiteite (soos akwakultuur, lug-see-redding en kragstasies) is ook geïdentifiseer en is aangetoon om beide positief en negatief te wees Ten laaste dien dit gemeld te word dat ekonomiese inligting met betrekking tot mariene aktiwitweite goed bewaar word as gevolg van kompetisie in die bedryf. Dit was derhalwe moeilik om die presiese impak van die gevolge van SST-veranderlikheid op sodanige aktiwiteite te kwantifiseer.

Microlith production is a distinctive and significant stone tool technology. However, inter-regional comparative analyses of microlithic industries are rare, and have tended to homogenise these industries by focussing analytical attention on retouched tool typologies alone. This thesis provides the first demonstration and exploration of variability in two of the earliest microlithic industries in the world - the Howiesons Poort of southern Africa and the Late Palaeolithic of South Asia. Analysis of this variation has implications for the long-standing debates concerning modern human behaviour and dispersals. In order to assess variability in underlying technological processes and manufacturing trajectories, detailed attribute analyses were conducted on lithic assemblages. Metric and qualitative variables were recorded on cores, debitage and tools from three southern African Howiesons Poort sites (Rose Cottage Cave and Umhlatuzana, South Africa, and Ntloana Tsoana, Lesotho) and four South Asian Late Palaeolithic sites (Batadomba-lena and Kitulgala Beli-lena, Sri Lanka, and Patne and Jwalapuram 9, India). Analysis of the results reveals variability within sites, over time, and between sites and regions, demonstrating that microlith production is not a homogenous technology. Underlying technological processes are shown to differ more between regions than do retouched tool forms. It is argued that this pattern is more parsimoniously explained by independent innovation of microlithic technology situated within local lithic traditions, rather than by cultural diffusion. Additionally, the exploration of variability in microlithic assemblages highlights the benefits of using a methodological approach to the modern human behaviour debate which focusses on technological variability rather than the presence of particular tool types. It is this behavioural and technological variability that is key to understanding our species.