I studied habitat preferences of three common endemic butterflies in the Bamenda Highlands, Cameroon. Assuming that the life history traits of taxa with limited geographic distribution reflect past habitat conditions within their ranges, the history and conservation of West African mountain landscape is discussed.

The pictorial language of the Swedish children is characterized by the idea that a “good” drawing should be in the right perspective and as photographically realistic as possible. This is a study about the pictorial language of the children in the Gambia and Senegal. Is the pictorial language different with the children living in a culture that has a stronger tradition of spoken word and visual communication than the children living in the western civilisation? With the help of different theories concerning children’s creating of art, this study is trying to sort out the differences. It is also explaining about different theories when it comes to development stages in the children’s drawings and how the culture, tradition and conventions influence both the pictorial grammar and the ideal image. The study is based on drawings collected in schools in The Gambia and Senegal and the drawings are analysed with the help of theories in Karin Aronssons “Barns världar – barns bilder”. The study is also based on observations and interviews with children and teachers in a school in the Gambia.

O presente estudo consiste na mais completa revisão taxonômica e análise filogenética dos camarões de água doce da família Euryrhynchidae Holthuis, 1950. O trabalho foi realizado com base em material depositado em coleções carcinológicas do Brasil, Estados Unidos e vários países da Europa. A análise filogenética incluiu todas as espécies da família Euryrhynchidae, além de 7 espécies de outras famílias de Palaemonoidea Rafinesque, 1815 que foram relacionadas à Euryrhynchidae em trabalhos anteriores: Desmocaris trispinosa (Aurivillius, 1898) (Desmocarididae Borradaile, 1915); Palaemon carteri (Gordon, 1935), P. pandaliformis (Stimpson, 1871), Troglocubanus gibarensis (Chace, 1943) e Tr. inermis (Chace, 1943) (Palaemonidae Rafinesque, 1815); Typhlocaris galilea Calman, 1909 e Ty. lethaea Parisi, 1920 (Typhlocarididae Annandale & Kemp, 1913). Leander paulensis Ortmann, 1897 (Palaemonidae) foi escolhida para o enraizamento da árvore. O estudo também apresenta uma análise detalhada da diversidade morfológica presente em Euryrhynchidae no âmbito dos demais palaemonóideos. A revisão taxonômica confirma a validade das 7 espécies atualmente descritas para Euryrhynchidae, além de propor 2 novas espécies relacionadas a Euryrhynchus amazoniensis Tiefenbacher, 1978. As espécies Euryrhynchus amazoniensis, E. burchelli Calman, 1907, E. pemoni Pereira, 1985 e E. wrzesniowskii Miers, 1877 são redescritas e ilustradas com base na série tipo e material adicional estudados. Também são propostos caracteres diagnósticos adicionais para diferenciar as espécies de Euryrhynchus Miers, 1877, anteriormente separadas apenas pelo número e posição dos espinhos no carpo e mero do pereiópodo 2. A análise cladística foi composta por uma matriz de 102 caracteres morfológicos e resultou em 4 árvores igualmente parcimoniosas. O monofiletismo da família Euryrhynchidae também foi recuperado, sendo sustentado por 10 sinapomorfias não ambíguas. O gênero Euryrhynchina Powell, 1976 aparece como táxon mais basal da família e grupo irmão do clado Euryrhynchoides Powell, 1976 + Euryrhynchus. A topologia obtida para os gêneros de Euryrhynchidae sugere a presença de um táxon irmão a Euryrhynchina (ainda não descoberto ou já extinto) no continente sul americano. A análise também revelou a existência de dois grupos monofiléticos dentro de Euryrhynchus, com o relacionamento de E. wrzesniowskii com esses dois clados ainda não resolvido. Typhlocarididae aparece como grupo irmão de Euryrhynchidae, corroborando o resultado de estudos morfológicos anteriores. Desmocarididae, proposto em trabalhos recentes como grupo irmão de Euryrhynchidae com base em dados moleculares, surge mais à base, inserido entre os táxons de Palaemonidae. / The present study comprises the most complete taxonomic revision and phylogenetic analysis of the freshwater shrimps of the family Euryrhynchidae Holthuis, 1950. The study was based on material deposited in carcinological collections from Brazil, United States, and several other European countries. The phylogenetic analysis included all species of the family Euryrhynchidae and 7 species from other families within the Palaemonoidea Rafinesque, 1815 that were related to Euryrhynchidae in previous studies: Desmocaris trispinosa (Aurivillius, 1898) (Desmocarididae Borradaile, 1915); Palaemon carteri (Gordon, 1935), P. pandaliformis (Stimpson, 1871), Troglocubanus gibarensis (Chace, 1943) e Tr. inermis (Chace, 1943) (Palaemonidae Rafinesque, 1815); Typhlocaris galilea Calman, 1909 e Ty. lethaea Parisi, 1920 (Typhlocarididae Annandale & Kemp, 1913). Leander paulensis Ortmann, 1897 (Palaemonidae) was used as outgroup. This study also includes a detailed analysis of the morphological diversity present in Euryrhynchidae compared to the remaining palaemonoids. The taxonomic revision confirms the validity of the 7 species described in Euryrhynchidae and describes 2 new species related to Euryrhynchus amazoniensis Tiefenbacher, 1978. The species Euryrhynchus amazoniensis, E. burchelli Calman, 1907, E. pemoni Pereira, 1985 and E. wrzesniowskii Miers, 1877 are redescribed and illustrated based on the type series and additional material examined. Additional diagnostic characters are proposed to differentiate the species of Euryrhynchus Miers, 1877, previously separated only by the armature of the carpus and merus of the pereiopod 2. The cladistic analysis was composed by a matrix of 102 morphological characters and resulted in 4 equally most-parsimonious trees. The monophyly of the family Euryrhynchidae was obtained, supported by 10 unambiguous synapomorphies. The genus Euryrhynchina Powell, 1976 appears as the most basal taxon of the family and sister group of the clade Euryrhynchoides Powell, 1976 + Euryrhynchus. The topology obtained for the euryrhynchid genera suggests the presence of a sister taxon to Euryrhynchina (not discovered or extinct) in South America. The analysis also revealed the existence of 2 monophyletic groups within Euryrhynchus, with the relationship of E. wrzesniowskii to these clades still to be resolved. Typhlocarididae appears as sister group of the Euryrhynchidae, corroborating results from previous morphological studies. Desmocarididae, proposed in recent studies as sister group of the Euryrhynchidae based on molecular data, emerges more basally among the palaemonid taxa.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / This research charts the political and visual economies of asọ ebì in urban Lagos from 1960 to 2010. Under political economy I address the politics of asọ ebì dress in Lagos: the contestations surrounding the use of asọ ebì among friends, family members, organizations, among others. Under visual economy I engage the role of photography and other visual cultural practices in the practice of asọ ebì. From the 1960s asọ ebì began to be redefined in line with the cultural and socio-economic changes that came with late global capitalism. Within asọ ebì practice in the city of Lagos meanings of friendship, solidarity, camaraderie and wealth have undergone radical transformation as more people migrate to the city after Nigeria’s independence. From the 1970s through the 1980s, individuals were compelled by the economic conditions to adopt new modes of asọ ebì practice. For example new types of textile materials used for asọ ebì expanded to include cheaper textiles imported from China and elsewhere. Instead of offering aso ebi free, individuals sold it to their friends and within such transactions, politics of exclusion and inclusion ensued. From the 1990s through the 2000s, the rise of digital photography and the emergence of radical printing technology ushered a new mode of fashioning asọ ebì. In the process, photography and fashion magazines became a means of negotiating sartorial elegance and cosmopolitan modernity. In this thesis, therefore, the central argument resides in the contestations surrounding the use and meanings of asọ ebì within these transformations in the city of Lagos.

Magister Legum - LLM / This paper will explore the history of the outbreak of religious related violence in Nigeria and the response of Nigeria and the African Union to the acts of the Boko Haram group both legally and procedurally. The intervention of the ICC as a viable option to combat the scourge of the group will also be examined. Other options such as trial in the Court of third States under the principle of universal jurisdiction and a special court jointly facilitated by the States involved will also be assessed.

Contexte : L’infection par le VIH-2 touche un à deux millions de personnes en Afrique de l’Ouest et sa prise en charge se heurte à de nombreuses difficultés. En plus des erreurs diagnostiques observées avec les tests VIH, la résistance intrinsèque du VIH-2 aux Inhibiteurs non nucléosidiques de la transcriptase inverse et sa moindre sensibilité à certains inhibiteurs de protéase, rendent complexe le traitement de l’infection. A cela vient s’ajouter l’absence de données sur la mortalité et la rétention dans les soins,dans un contexte d’émergence de résistances aux différentes classes d’ARV. Méthode : Le présent travail de thèse, s’appuie sur la cohorte ouest africaine IeDEA-VIH-2 et la biothèque qui lui est rattachée, de même que l’essai ANRS 12294 FIT-2, pour décrire les modalités diagnostiques, explorer la réponse thérapeutique et décrire la mortalité et les perdus de vue, parmi les patients vivant avec le VIH-2 en Afrique de l’Ouest.Résultats : Un quart des patients VIH-2 ou doublement infectés, testés de novo avec les algorithmes nationaux, étaient en réalité monoinfectés par le VIH-1. Les tests GenieIII et ImmunoCombII se sont avérés être de bons candidats pour un algorithme d’identification des patients VIH-2. Pour ce qui est du traitement, les patients vivant avec le VIH-2 initiaient principalement des régimes ARV à base d’IP boostés, avec une bonne réponse immunologique et virologique. Les régimes à base de trois INTI produisaient une réponse inférieure à celles des IP, tandis que les régimes à base d’IPnon boosté produisaient une moins bonne réponse. Il existe chez les patients VIH-2,une mortalité sous traitement ARV qui était précoce et élevée (5,2 /100 patient-année),associée à l’anémie et à des CD4 bas (<100/mm3) à l’initiation des ARV. L’essai FIT-2 actuellement en cours permettra d’identifier les meilleures séquences d’initiation des régimes ARV disponibles dans les pays ouest africains. Conclusion De nombreuses questions restent encore en suspens concernant le VIH-2, les études épidémiologiques, immunologiques et génotypiques permettront d’améliorer la prise en charge des patients VIH-2 vivant en Afrique de l’Ouest. / Background : The holistic care of the one to two million HIV-2 infected individuals in West Africa remain a concern. The frequent misdiagnosis with rapid HIV tests, in addition to the intrinsic resistance of HIV-2 to non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors, and its low susceptibility to some protease inhibitors, make the treatment of people living with HIV-2 very challenging. The lack of data on mortality and retention in care among people living with HIV-2, as well as the emergence of resistance to most ART drugs is a great concern for the West African ART program. Method : We relied on the WADA-HIV-2 cohort, its associated biobank and the ANRS 12294 FIT-2 trial, to describe challenges in diagnosis and treatment, as well as mortality and lost to follow up, among people living with HIV-2 in West Africa. Results : One quarter of HIV-2 or dually reactive individuals, according to the national algorithms for HIV diagnosis, were found infected by HIV-1 only, and the tests GenieIII® and ImmunoCombII® showed good performances for a more accurate algorithm. Considering treatment, HIV-2 patients often initiate boosted PI based regimen, with good immunologic and virologic response. A suboptimal response was obtained with either three NRTI based regimens and unboosted PI based regimen, however worse with the first one. HIV-2 infected individuals experienced early and relatively high mortality (5.2/100 person-years), that was associated with anemia and low CD4 count (<100/mm3) at ART initiation. The results of the ongoing ANRS 12294 FIT-2 trial are expected to identify the best strategy for the optimal use of available ART regimens in West African countries. Conclusion : Many questions remain unanswered regarding HIV-2. Epidemiologic, immunologic and genotypic resistances surveys will help improving the care of people living with HIV-2 the West African region.

Les enfants infectés par le VIH en Afrique subsaharienne sont exposés à un risque de malnutrition élevé au cours de leur vie. Or, les données sur la nutrition chez ces enfants sont encore limitées en Afrique de l’Ouest. L’objectif global de cette thèse est d’étudier la relation entre nutrition et infection par le VIH, chez les enfants infectés vivant en Afrique de l’Ouest. Plus spécifiquement, il s’agit d’estimer la prévalence de la malnutrition, de décrire l’évolution de la croissance après l’initiation du traitement antirétroviral, et d’évaluer des interventions nutritionnelles à intégrer au sein de la prise en charge pédiatrique du VIH. Les principaux résultats montrent une prévalence élevée de la malnutrition chez ces enfants, proche de 50 % avant la mise sous traitement antirétroviral. L’initiation du traitement a des effets positifs sur la croissance, d’autant plus important que l’initiation se fait de façon précoce. Un déficit pondéral est plus facilement corrigeable qu’un déficit statural, mais une part non négligeable d’enfants continue d’être malnutrie même après deux ans de traitement. En complément du traitement antirétroviral, des interventions de soutien nutritionnel sont donc nécessaires pour lutter contre la malnutrition chez ces enfants. Celles évaluées sont efficaces pour ceux malnutris aigues, mais pas pour ceux avec une malnutrition chronique. De plus, la croissance peut être un marqueur utile de la progression du VIH pédiatrique.L’intégration de la prise en charge nutritionnelle au sein de la prise en charge globale du VIH pédiatrique est possible en Afrique de l’Ouest, mais d’autres études et des actions de plaidoyer sont à développer pour l’adapter au mieux. / HIV-infected children in sub-Saharan Africa are exposed to high risk of malnutrition duringtheir life. However, data on the nutrition of HIV-infected children are still limited in West Africa.Thus, the main objective of this thesis is to better investigate the link between nutrition and HIVinfection among HIV-infected children in West Africa. More specifically, it is aimed to estimate theprevalence of malnutrition, to describe growth evolution after antiretroviral treatment initiation, andto assess proposed nutritional interventions to integrate to pediatric HIV care. The main results showa high prevalence of malnutrition among these children, around 50% before antiretroviral treatmentinitiation. This initiation had positive effects on growth evolution; all the more important whenantiretroviral treatment is early initiated. Weight deficiency is easier to recover than heightdeficiency, but a substantial part of children stay malnourished even after two years of treatment. Inaddition to antiretroviral treatment, nutritional support interventions are needed to fight againstmalnutrition among these children. Those assessed were efficient for acute malnourished children,but not for those with chronic malnutrition. Furthermore, growth could be a useful marker of HIVprogression. Integration of nutritional care into global pediatric HIV care is possible in West Africa,but further studies and advocacy work have to be developed to better adapt it.

Agriculture is arguably the greatest threat to tropical forest species. Conservation scientists disagree over the relative importance of two opposing strategies for minimising this threat: enhancing on-farm biodiversity, through wildlife-friendly farming practices, or sparing land for nature by using high-yielding farming methods on the smallest possible area to reduce the need to convert natural habitats. Previous theoretical work shows that understanding the relationship between population density and yield for individual species is crucial for determining whether one of these strategies, or a mixed strategy, will maximise their populations for a given food production target. In this thesis, I aim to identify what land-use strategy will permit increases in food production with least impact on species in the forest zone of Ghana. Farm-fallow mosaic landscapes with shifting cultivation and native canopy trees produced only around 15% as much food energy per hectare as the highest-yielding oil palm plantations. In farm mosaics where perennial tree crops dominate, food production and profits were higher, but did not reach those of oil palm plantations. I surveyed birds and trees in forest, farm mosaic, and oil palm plantation, and combined these data with information on yields to assess the likely consequences of plausible future scenarios of land-use change. My results provide evidence of a strong trade-off between wildlife value and agricultural yield. Species richness was high in low-yielding farming systems, but there was considerable turnover between these systems and forests, with widespread generalists replacing narrowly endemic forest-dependent species. Species most dependent on forest as a natural habitat, those with smaller global ranges and those of conservation concern showed least tolerance of habitat modification. For virtually all species, including even widespread generalists, future land-use strategies based on land sparing are likely to support higher populations of most species and minimise their risk of extinction compared to land-use strategies based on wildlife-friendly farming. If food production is to increase in line with Ghana‘s population growth, a combination of efforts to improve forest protection and to increase yields on current farmed land is likely to achieve this at least cost to forest species. Efforts to better protect forests, which require further restrictions on human use, might be most effective if they can be closely linked to support for farmers to improve their yields. In the long term however, this strategy will only delay and not avert biodiversity loss, unless global society can limit its consumption.

International actors from International Organizations, Western States, Think tanks, risk management consultancies, NGOs, and private security companies understand borderless threats like clandestine migration, drug trafficking, and international terrorism to emanate from ‘ungoverned spaces’ in the Global South. The Sahelian sub-region of West Africa has taken a prominent place in global discourses of insecurity and borderless threats. These non-traditional security concerns have been translated into an expanding array of transnational governance initiatives that bring together the activities and practices of a wide range of state and non-state, global and local, and public and private actors in efforts to deal with the challenges that borderless threats are assumed to present. This dissertation argues that attempts to govern drug trafficking in the Sahel are producing global assemblages of security intervention: shifting, multi-scalar, institutional orders that reorient and reconfigure the security practices, knowledges, mentalities, technologies, and priorities of multiple sets of governance actors across disparate jurisdictional spaces. The effects of the transnationalized security governance and capacity-building initiatives that unfold in simultaneous, connected spaces of intervention amplify and alter positions of social power and prominence in local fields of conflict. Through the practices and projects of global security experts and capacity-builders in the Sahel, new forms of international capital are introduced and become realized in local settings that intensify rivalries between local, national, and regional security institutions over the question of the recognition of their authority over security matters. In their relationships with international capacity-builders and other global actors, sets of local recipients of security governance interventions practice forms of extraversion whereby their structural positions of dependence and differentials of power and resources are leveraged to accumulate forms of international capital that they then use to dominate the fields of power in which they are embedded. The dissertation examines three components of the assemblages of security intervention in West Africa: the effects of the transnational field of capacity- building in the Sahelian interior; the establishment and operation of the UNODC Airport Communications drug interdiction project (AIRCOP) at Dakar’s International Airport, and the joint UNODC/World Customs Organization Container Control Programme operating at the port of Dakar. It advances new empirical material from these case studies, and makes contributions to debates in three sub-fields of International Relations: critical security studies, global governance, and international statebuilding.

In the fields of development and public health, the decisions of the rural poor are often treated as simple, unanimous, and driven by cultural preconceptions and beliefs. This is particularly the case for sub-Saharan Africa, where a dehistoricizing tendency presupposes an ontological link between an African culture and its tendency to interpret the world through the lens of belief. Generally, household activities are not seen as the kinds of modes of objectifying social practice that are the outcome of complex historical struggles over representation, and pre-disposing cultural factors are presumed to be the key determinants of household behavior. The three papers that constitute this alternative-format, article-based dissertation interrogate these assumptions. Although they address diverse subjects (the rise of West African Pentecostalism; the logic of treatment-seeking behavior in Benin; credit and savings strategies in rural Mali), they share a methodological concern with close analysis of the complexity of household decision-making in the moment, study over time, and attention to local concerns in the context of larger social transformations. In both medical and economic contexts, this approach demonstrates not only that behavior is primarily determined by enabling factors, but that the cultural factors that do condition behavior can be understood as creative, rational, and instructive of larger concerns, rather than merely as an impediment to development goals.