Aspects of the biology and life history of largespot pompano, Trachinotus botla, in South Africa
- Authors: Parker, Daniel M , Booth, Anthony J
- Date: 2015
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/123798 , vital:35499 , https://doi.10.1071/MF14029
- Description: Trachinotus botla is an important recreational surf zone-dependent fish species distributed in the Indo-west Pacific from South Africa to Australia. In South Africa it is restricted to the northern KwaZulu-Natal coast. Biological investigations revealed that it is a fast growing species that attains a maximum age of, 7 years. Males and females sexually matured in their third year. It has a protracted summer spawning season with evidence of serial spawning behaviour. T. botla is an opportunistic predator with a generalist diet, with fish feeding on a wide variety of prey items particularly those that are temporally ‘superabundant’. Small fish fed predominantly on copepods and terrestrial insects, whereas larger fish consumed bivalves and crabs. Teleosts, primarily engraulids, were important components to the diet of fish of all sizes. An ontogenetic dietary shift was observed just after sexual maturity (300-mm fork length) that is possibly linked to a change in habitat preference with larger fish foraging on deeper reefs.
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- Date Issued: 2015
A reflection on the use of case studies as a methodology for social learning research in sub Saharan Africa
- Authors: Cundill, Georgina , Lotz-Sisitka, Heila , Mukute, Mutizwa , Belay, Million , Shackleton, Sheona , Kulundu, Iinjairu
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , book chapter
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/436636 , vital:73288 , ISBN 1573-5214 , https://doi.org/10.1016/j.njas.2013.04.001
- Description: A recent review has highlighted that the methodology most commonly employed to research social learning has been the individual case study. We draw on four examples of social learning research in the environmental and sustainability sci-ences from sub-Saharan Africa to reflect on possible reasons behind the preponderance of case study research in this field, and to identify common elements that may be significant for social learning research more generally. We find that a com-mon interest in change oriented social learning, and therefore processes of change, makes case studies a necessary ap-proach because long term process analyses are required that are sensitive to social-ecological contexts. Common elements of the examples reflected upon included: a focus on initiating, tracking and/or understanding a process of change toward sustainability; long term research; an action research agenda that involves reflecting on data with research participants; and temporal, process based analysis of data coupled with in-depth theoretical analysis. This paper highlights that there is significant scope for exploratory research that compares case studies of social learning research to generate a deeper un-derstanding of social learning processes, and their relationship to human agency and societal change.
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- Date Issued: 2014
Anti-staphylococcal, anti-HIV and cytotoxicity studies of four South African medicinal plants and isolation of bioactive compounds from Cassine transvaalensis (Burtt. Davy) codd
- Authors: Mthethwa, Ningy S , Oyedeji, Bola A O , Obi, Larry C , Aiyegoro, Olayinka A
- Date: 2014
- Language: English
- Type: text , Article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/11260/722 , vital:29661
- Description: Background: Medicinal plants represent an important opportunity to rural communities in Africa, as a source of affordable medicine and as a source of income. Increased patient awareness about safe usage is important as well as more training with regards to traditional medicine. The aim of this study was to evaluate the ethnomedicinal prowess of some indigenous South African plants commonly used in Eastern Cape Province of South Africa for the treatment of skin and respiratory tract infections, HIV and their toxicity potential. Methods: Cassine transvaalensis, Vangueria infausta, Croton gratissimus and Vitex ferruginea were tested for antibacterial activities against Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis using Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion and minimum inhibition concentration (MIC). Cytotoxic and anti-HIV-1 activities of plants were tested using MTT Assay (3- (Dimethylthiozole-2-yl-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide)) and anti- HIV-1iib assay. In search of bioactive lead compounds, Cassine transvaalensis which was found to be the most active plant extract against the two Staphylocoous bacteria was subjected to various chromatographic. Thin layer chromatography, Column chromatography and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR), (1H-1H, 13C-13C, in DMSO_d6, Bruker 600 MHz) were used to isolate and characterize 3-Oxo-28-hydroxylbetuli-20(29)-ene and 3,28-dihydroxylbetuli-20(29)-ene bioactive compounds from C. transvaalensis. Results: The four plants studied exhibited bioactive properties against the test isolates. The zones of inhibition rangedbetween 16 mm to 31 mm for multi-drug resistant staphylococci species. MIC values varied between 0.6 and 0.02 μg/ml. C. gratissimus and C. transvaalensis exhibited the abilities to inhibit HIV-1iib. Two bioactive compounds were isolated from C. transvaalensis. Conclusion: Data from this study reveals the use of these plant by traditional healers in the Eastern Cape. Furthermore, C. transvaalensis and C. gratissimus were found to be more active as against HIV-1iib. While C. transvaalensis was most active against the two Staphylococcus bacteria.
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- Date Issued: 2014
How to establish a bioinformatics postgraduate degree programme—a case study from South Africa
- Authors: Machanick, Philip , Tastan Bishop, Özlem
- Date: 2014
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/124641 , vital:35641 , https://doi.10.1093/bib/bbu014
- Description: The Research Unit in Bioinformatics at Rhodes University (RUBi), South Africa, offers a Masters of Science in Bioinformatics.Growing demand for bioinformatics qualifications results in applications from across Africa.Courses aim to bridge gaps in the diverse backgrounds of students who range from biologists with no prior computing exposure to computer scientists with no biology background. The programme is evenly split between coursework and research, with diverse modules from a range of departments coveringmathematics, statistics, computer science and biology, with emphasis on application to bioinformatics research. The early focus on research helps bring students up to speed with working as a researcher. We measure success of the programme by the high rate of subsequent entry to PhD study: 10 of 14 students who completed in the years 2011-2013.
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- Date Issued: 2014
Indigenous People’s Detection of Rapid Ecological Change
- Authors: Lauer, Matthew , Aswani, Shankar
- Date: 2014
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/124811 , vital:35699 , https://doi.10.1111/cobi.12250
- Description: When sudden catastrophic events occur, it becomes critical for coastal communities to detect and respond to environmental transformations because failure to do so may undermine overall ecosystem resilience and threaten people’s livelihoods. We therefore asked how capable of detecting rapid ecological change following massive environmental disruptions local, indigenous people are. We assessed the direction and periodicity of experimental learning of people in the Western Solomon Islands after a tsunami in 2007. We compared the results of marine science surveys with local ecological knowledge of the benthos across 3 affected villages and 3 periods before and after the tsunami. We sought to determine how people recognize biophysical changes in the environment before and after catastrophic events such as earthquakes and tsunamis and whether people have the ability to detect ecological changes over short time scales or need longer time scales to recognize changes. Indigenous people were able to detect changes in the benthos over time. Detection levels differed between marine science surveys and local ecological knowledge sources over time, but overall patterns of statistically significant detection of change were evident for various habitats. Our findings have implications for marine conservation, coastal management policies, and disaster-relief efforts because when people are able to detect ecological changes, this, in turn, affects how they exploit and manage their marine resources.
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- Date Issued: 2014
Leadership for biodiversity in South Africa transformation and capacity development in the GreenMatter programme
- Authors: Rosenberg, Eureta
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , book chapter
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/437190 , vital:73351 , ISBN 978-9086862528 , https://doi.org/10.3920/978-90-8686-802-5_18
- Description: As we begin to write this chapter, it is only a few hours since the news broke about the passing of Nelson Mandela, the founding president of a democratic South Africa. As we de-scribe our work in supporting intergenerational learning and the development of transformational leadership, it seems appro-priate to make this reference as a tribute to him. This work would not have been possible without the contribution of Man-dela and all who fought for justice and an egalitarian society in South Africa. We are able to write about the so-called ‘born frees’ because of Mandela’s role in dismantling apartheid, a system that sought to condemn black people to perpetual ser-vitude, ignorance and poverty. Indeed, our efforts in building skills for biodiversity, under the auspices of GreenMatter, are inspired by his courageous leadership, his selflessness, com-mitment to education and love of people, knowledge and na-ture. While philosophies, contexts and methods will vary, the quest of all intergenerational learning is to build a bridge that enables young people to learn from the experiences and wisdom of previous generations.
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- Date Issued: 2014
Ontogenetic and seasonal shifts in the diet of Diplodus cervinus hottentotus (Pisces: Sparidae) in southern Angola
- Authors: Winkler, Alexander C , Santos, Carmen V D , Potts, Warren M
- Date: 2014
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/125452 , vital:35784 , https://doi.10.2989/1814232X.2014.951392
- Description: Fishes of the family Sparidae occupy a diverse range of trophic niches, from herbivores to generalist omnivores and specialist predators (Hanel and Tsigenopoulos 2011). Feeding specialisation in this family is facilitated by diversity in tooth type and anterior jaw arrangement (Vandewalle et al. 1995). Other fish families, such as Cyprinidae and Labridae, have developed crushing pharyngeal teeth to process their food. Sparids, however, have retained a simple pharyngeal tooth arrangement and instead have developed molariform teeth to process hard-shelled molluscs and invertebrate prey. Hanel and Tsigenopoulos (2011) suggested that this alternate strategy is a major factor facilitating the trophic diversity in sparid fishes.
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- Date Issued: 2014