Deep-water trawling (>200 m deep) for crustaceans in the South West Indian Ocean (SWIO) yields catches of several species, including prawns (Haliporoides triarthrus, Aristaeomorpha foliacea, Aristeus antennatus and Aristeus virilis), langoustine (Metanephrops mozambicus), spiny lobster (Palinurus delagoae) and geryonid crab (Chaceon macphersoni). Infrequent deep-water trawling takes place off Tanzania, Kenya and Madagascar; however, well-established fisheries operate off Mozambique and South Africa. Regular trawling off South Africa started in the 1970’s, mainly targeting M .mozambicus and H. triarthrus. Catch and effort data for the South African fishery were regularly recorded in skipper logbooks over a 23 year period (1988 – 2010); this database was obtained from the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) in order to assess abundance trends of M. mozambicus and H. triarthrus. Generalized linear models (GLM) were used to quantify the effects of year, month, depth and vessel on catch per unit effort (CPUE). By year, the standardized CPUE of M. mozambicus increased, and three factors (or a combination of them) could explain the trend: reduced effort saturation, improved gear and technology, or an increase in abundance. By month, CPUE peaked in July and was highest between depths of 300 and 399 m. The standardized CPUE of H. triarthrus fluctuated more by year than for M. mozambicus, possibly because it is a shorter-lived and faster growing species. The monthly CPUE peaked in March, and was highest between depths of 400 and 499 m. Totals of 2 033 M. mozambicus (1 041 males and 992 females) and 5 927 H. triarthrus (2 938 males and 2 989 females) were sampled at sea between December 2010 and March 2012, during quarterly trips on-board a fishing trawler. A GLM framework was used to explore their size composition, sex ratio variability, size at maturity and reproductive cycles. Male and female M. mozambicus size distributions were similar, but varied by month and decreased as depth increased. Female H. triarthrus were significant larger than males; size structure varied by month, but showed no change over depth. The sex ratio of M. mozambicus favoured males (1 : 0.89), but was close to parity in all months, except November when males predominated. H. triarthrus exhibited parity (1 : 1.002) with no significant variations in sex ratios by month. The proportion of egg-bearing M. mozambicus in the population declined between March and August (hatching period) and then increased until December (spawning period). The L₅₀ (length at 50% maturity) of M. mozambicus was estimated to be 49.4 mm carapace length (CL), and the smallest and largest observed egg-bearing females were 33.5 and 68.6 mm, respectively. No reproductively active female H. triarthrus were recorded during the sampling period. Growth parameter estimates for M. mozambicus (male and female combined) using Fabens method were K = 0.48 yearˉ¹ and L∞ = 76.4 mm CL. Estimates for the von Bertalanffy growth formula (VBGF) were: K = 0.45 yearˉ¹ and L∞ = 76.4 mm CL. H. triarthrus male and female growth parameter were estimated separately. For males they were K = 0.5 yearˉ¹ and L∞ = 46.6 mm CL using Fabens method, and K = 0.76 yearˉ¹ and L∞ = 46.6 mm CL using the VBGF. For females they were K = 0.3 yearˉ¹ and L∞ = 62.9 mm CL using Fabens method, and K = 0.47 yearˉ¹ and L∞ = 62.9 mm CL using the VBGF. CL to total weight regressions were calculated for both species; no significant differences were found between male and female M. mozambicus, although H. triarthrus females became larger and heavier than males. Comparisons with three earlier studies (Berry, 1969; Berry et al., 1975; Tomalin et al., 1997) revealed no major changes in the biology of either species off eastern South Africa. Stocks appear to be stable at current levels of fishing pressure, although some factors are not yet fully understood. Disturbance caused by continual trawling over a spatially limited fishing ground may affect distribution and abundance patterns, especially in M. mozambicus, which was less abundant in the depth range trawled most frequently. The absence of reproductive H. triarthrus in samples suggests that they occur elsewhere, and there is some evidence of a possible spawning migration northwards to Mozambique; this suggests that H. triarthrus is a shared stock between South Africa and Mozambique. The results from this thesis will add to the knowledge of M. mozambicus and H. triarthrus in the SWIO, and provide a basis for developing sustainable management strategies for the deep-water crustacean trawl fishery off eastern South Africa. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, 2013.

This thesis attempts to evaluate the lending policy of Thailand's Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC) from a developmental perspective. Firstly the question of access to institutional credit is examined in terms of the distribution of BAAC loans spatially and by the economic status of borrowers; secondly, the study uses the case study approach to analyse the farm-level effectiveness of three types of lending instrument a) short-term production loans, by scale of farming operation and access to irrigation (the "credit-only" model); b) short-term production loans with extension support (the credit extension model) and; c) long-term investment loans disbursed within the project framework (the project lending model). One of the case studies is drawn from the Central region and two from the Northeast. The results of the study indicate that for a variety of reasons, BAAC directs subsidised loans mainly towards the country's most agriculturally productive areas and most economically secure farmers. This orientation is long-established and is likely to have contributed to the problem of inequality in the distnbution of income and wealth in rural areas. Since 1975, institutional credit has been an important part of a government strategy to increase the flow of funds and provision of support services to the rural sector. The Bank has recruited large numbers of relatively poorer farmers. However, using farm-size as a measure of economic status shows that BAAC clients generally have larger farms than their neighbours. In the Northeastern region, the percentage of BAAC clients with farms below the median is only 11 per cent compared to 23 per cent for the Central and Eastern regions and 20 per cent country-wide. The bulk of loan disbursement is also directed towards medium- and large-scale farmers. Inter-provincial variations in the recruitment of and disbursement of loans to small-scale farmers, are explained in terms of varying strategies employed by branch managers to meet the terms and conditions of the Branch Evaluation Procedure, despite convincing evidence that repayment rates for this group are as good if not better than for larger-scale operators. Regardless of the Bank's economic orientation farm-level analyses of the effects of short-term borrowing show that production loans are most critical to and are used most effectively by small-scale farmers, particularly those in rainfed areas. At present, however, the farm-level effect of technical support, given in association with loans to small-scale farmers, though positive, is still weak. Improvement in the impact of the credit-extension model will depend on further development of the working relationship between BAAC and the Department of Agricultural Extension (DoAE). The effectiveness of long-term project loans, in terms of increasing the productive capacity and income-generating potential among smallscale farmers, is also limited. The challenge to the Bank is to develop projects that meet the Bank's criteria with regard to financial viability and also yield a good return to the borrower after loan repayment obligations have been met. The extent to which the BAAC can provide an equitable and effective service within the context of rural development policy as a whole, depends on active government intervention to prevent the erosion of the Bank's capital base, promotion of the type of interagency cooperation necessary to provide integrated support services to farmers, and prioritisation of planning for the small farm sector.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

This study examines the Flandrian development, particularly the vegetational history, of two valleys in the East Sussex Weald, the Brede and Pannel. Lithostratigraphic surveys of these valleys and biostratigraphic investigations from a number of key sites, principally using the technique of pollen analysi, have been undertaken. Radiocarbon dates provide a chronological framework. In the lower Brede valley pre-Flandrian colluvial deposits are overlain by estuarine sediments and a thin intermittent peat. Widespread peat formation began c.6000 BP., when alder fen woodland became established on the floodplain. Estuarine conditions returned after c.1800 B.P. The sedimentary history of the Pannel appears to be similar, although the deposits at.Paünel Bridge are unusual. Here 1 2.5m of organic material has accumulated since the beginning of the Flandrian. Comparisons are made with other coastal localities in East Sussex in order to determine the importance of local, against regional processes, in the formation of these sequences. At Pannel Bridge the pollen record extends back to 10000 B.P. when the vegetation was dominated by Pinus. Macrofossils remains of Alnus glutinosa were found indicating the presence of this species at the opening of the Flandrian. Corylus was the first of the deciduous taxa to expand (c.9400 B.P.) , followed by Quercus and tjlrnus (c.9000 B.P.). Tilia became an important component of the vegetation after c.7000 B.P. The nature of' the mid-Flandrian forests has been examined in some detail in the Brede valley. At Old Place investigations were undertaken to elucidate the pattern of pollen distribution across the floodplain. Sites close to the valley sides contain particularly high frequencies of Tilia pollen, indicating Tilia was abundant in the adjacent slope woodland. Limited interference by man on the vegetation may have occurred prior to, and accompanying the 'elm decline'. However, there is no evidence to suggest major episodes of forest clearance prior to the declines in Tilia dated to c.3700 B.P. This study highlights some of the problems in interpreting pollen assemblages from deposits of rich-fen origin.

No description available.

Background: The distribution of malaria in sub-Saharan Africa is determined largely by climatic influences on the development and survival of P. falciparum and its Anopheline vectors. This inter-relationship has been exploited in developing a limited number of predictive maps of malaria's distribution but these climate maps have limitations. Climate alone does not fully describe the complex dynamics of transmission and, in particular, human influences such as urbanization and the use of widespread anti-malarial interventions. The improved accuracy and validation of solely climatedriven maps relies on the availability of robust malariometric training data. To date, such data have been scarce. This study redresses several deficiencies of existing malaria maps for Africa through the collation of an extensive database of empirical P. falciparum prevalence data, the investigation of the relationship between prevalence and a widely-used climate-driven map, an assessment of the influence of urbanization on prevalence and finally, through the use of empirical training data to develop an improved malaria map for Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. Methods: An extensive published and grey-literature search was conducted between 1996 and 2004 and identified 2003 P. falciparum prevalence surveys conducted among childhood populations across East Africa between 1927 and 2003. Stringent criteria were applied to select the best sample data; only randomly sampled community-based surveys, surveys with samples >=50 children, surveys conducted between 1980-2004 and children aged 0-14 years, and surveys which were spatially and temporally unique. The selected data were used to investigate the association between P. falciparum prevalence and a fuzzy logic climatic suitability (PCS) map of malaria transmission, the effect of urbanization on prevalence and to train Fourier-processed multi-temporal climate surrogate data derived from meteorological satellites in order to predict prevalence for un-sampled areas. Using discriminant analysis, the top ten climatic predictor variables that distinguished best between 4 categories of malaria prevalence (0-<5, 5-<25%, 25-<75% and >=75%) were selected and these used to develop a predictive transmission map.

The archaeological evidence for the Neolithic of the Levant, considered to have lasted from c. 8500 to 3750 B.C., is presented and an attempt made to explain its origins and development. The discussion is concerned with four principal themes: (1) the transition from a hunter-gatherer to a farming economy, (2) the social evolution that accompanied this economic development, (3) population growth immediately before and during the Neolithic and (4) the modifications in settlement patterns which followed these other changes. The environmental changes which occurred at the end of the Pleistocene and early in the Holocene are believed to be of fundamental importance. The degree of their influence on the four main themes is examined. The effects of man's own changing activities upon his environment are also considered. The Neolithic of the Levant is divided into four stages, designated Neolithic 1 to 4, on the evidence of changes in economy, population, settlement patterns and cultural remains. Regional groups of sites, defined by their cultural material, may be discerned and their evolution followed from one stage to the next. The detailed archaeological evidence is examined principally for the light it throws upon the development of the four main themes of the thesis and the contemporary changes in environment. It is argued that the amelioration of the environment in the late Pleistocene created a greater supply of wild foods for man which stimulated population growth. This was accompanied by increased sedentism and the development of agricultural techniques. In Neolithic 2 agriculture was intensified and the population grew further. After 6000 B.C. the population of the Levant lived in permanent settlements supported by agriculture but these were concentrated only in the more fertile and well-watered areas of the Levant. This new way of life permitted another increase in population in Neolithic 4 despite a deterioration in the environment.