Browsing Biodiversity & Conservation Biology by Title
Now showing items 168-187 of 251
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Plastic ingestion by estuarine mullet Mugil cephalus (Mugilidae) in an urban harbour, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
(National Inquiry Services Centre (NISC), 2016)Coastal urban environments have high plastic pollution levels, and hence interactions between plastic debris and marine life are frequent. We report on plastic ingestion by mullet Mugil cephalus in Durban Harbour, ... -
Population ecology of Psammobates oculifer in a semi-arid environment
(Taylor & Francis and UNISA Press, 2013)We studied the ecology of Psammobates oculifer over 13 months near Kimberley, South Africa, to ascertain if the population’s life history traits conform to chelonian patterns in arid environments. Capture rates were highest ... -
Porolithon improcerum (porolithoideae, corallinaceae) and mesophyllum macroblastum (melobesioideae, hapalidiaceae): New records of crustose coralline red algae for the Southwest Atlantic Ocean
(Magnolia Press, 2014)Here we describe in detail two crustose coralline red algal (CCA) species newly reported for the southern Atlantic: Porolithon improcerum and Mesophyllum macroblastum. Porolithon improcerum was recorded on the remote ... -
Possible aquaculture development in Nigeria: evidence for commercial prospects
(David Publishing, 2017)The cultivation of desirable aquatic organisms is becoming increasingly important as one of the fastest-growing agro-industrial activities in the world. Nigeria, over the years, practised traditional methods of aquaculture ... -
Predicting Shifts in the geographical distribution of two estuarine plant species from the subtropical and temperate regions of South Africa
(Springer, 2019-11-21)Climate suitability maps are useful to determine changes in the distribution of species. The aim of this study was to predict the future distribution of two estuarine species (Bassia diffusa and Hibiscus tiliaceus) from ... -
Predominant atmospheric and oceanic patterns during coastal marine heatwaves
(Frontiers Media, 2017)As the mean temperatures of the worlds oceans increase, it is predicted that marine heatwaves (MHWs) will occur more frequently and with increased severity. However, it has been shown that variables other than increases ... -
Protect high seas biodiversity
(American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2021)The high seas—marine areas beyond national jurisdiction (1)—cover nearly half of Earth’s surface (2). The high seas support our planet in countless ways, from regulating the climate, to feeding millions of people, to ... -
Quantification and characterisation of microplastics ingested by selected juvenile fish species associated with mangroves in KwaZulu- Natal, South Africa
(Elsevier, 2020)Though the number studies on microplastic ingestion by fish is growing, data on fish species charac- teristic of the South African coastline are scarce. This study quantified and characterised (physically and chemically) ... -
Rapid assessment of tissue nitrogen in cultivated Gracilaria gracilis (Rhodophyta) and Ulva lactuca (Chlorophyta)
(NISC, 2009)Tissue nitrogen content and thallus colour were quantified using a rapid assessment method based on the Pantone® matt uncoated formula guide for raft-cultivated Gracilaria gracilis Steentoft Irvine et Farnham at Saldanha ... -
A rare new species of the genus Wiborgiella (Crotalarieae, Fabaceae)
(Elsevier, 2014)The new species Wiborgiella argentea is described. It is closely similar to Wiborgiella leipoldtiana and W. fasciculata but differs in its single-stemmed habit, densely sericeous leaves, wing petals that are longer than ... -
Reconstructing the deep-branching relationships of the papilionoid legumes
(Elsevier, 2013)Resolving the phylogenetic relationships of the deep nodes of papilionoid legumes (Papilionoideae) is essential to understanding the evolutionary history and diversification of this economically and ecologically important ... -
Records of ctenophores from South Africa
(PeerJ, 2021)Although ctenophores can be conspicuous components of the plankton in coastal marine ecosystems, only six species have been formally described from around South Africa. Using photographs from local community scientists, ... -
Reef benthos of Seychelles - A field guide
(Pensoft Publishers, 2021)During the 2019 First Descent: Seychelles Expedition, shallow and deep reef ecosystems of the Seychelles Outer Islands were studied by deploying a variety of underwater technologies to survey their benthic flora and fauna. ... -
Refinement of locality data for FitzSimons’ Garter Snake Elapsoidea sundevallii fitzsimonsi Loveridge, 1948 provides a better estimation of its distribution
(Herpetology Notes, 2020)Foundational data on species taxonomy, distribution and ecology forms the basis of assessing species for their conservation status. For African reptiles, distributional data are sorely lacking for many taxa, sometimes ... -
Renosterveld conservation in South Africa: A case study for handling uncertainty in knowledge-based neural networks for environmental management
(International Society for Environmental Information Sciences, 2009)This work presents an artificial intelligence method for the development of decision support systems for environmental management and demonstrates its strengths using an example from the domain of biodiversity and ... -
Reviewing evidence of marine ecosystem change off South Africa
(National Inquiry Services Centre, 2013)Recent changes have been observed in South African marine ecosystems. The main pressures on these ecosystems are fishing, climate change, pollution, ocean acidification and mining. The best long-term datasets are for trends ... -
A revision of the genus Strongylodesma Lévi (Porifera: Demospongiae: Latrunculiidae) with descriptions of four new species
(Cambridge University Press, 2009)The sponge genus Strongylodesma is reviewed and redefined, and now accommodates eight closely related species. The type species of Strongylodesma Le´vi is redescribed and an additional two new species are described from ... -
Rhodolith bed discovered off the south African coast
(MDPI, 2020)Rhodolith beds have not previously been recorded in South Africa. A multidisciplinary research effort used remote sampling tools to survey the historically unexplored continental shelf off the Eastern Cape coast of South ... -
Riverine dominance of a nearshore marine demersal food web: evidence from stable isotope and C/N ratio analysis
(National Inquiry Services Centre (NISC), 2016)The Thukela Bank, KwaZulu-Natal, supports a diverse ecosystem and South Africa’s only prawn fishery. Oceanographic studies suggest riverine input is not important for the biology of this system, whereas biological studies ... -
The role of encrusting coralline algae in the diets of selected intertidal herbivores
(Springer Verlag, 2006)Kalk Bay, South Africa, has a typical south coast zonation pattern with a band of seaweed dominating the mid-eulittoral and sandwiched between two molluscan-herbivore dominated upper and lower eulittoral zones. Encrusting ...