Abstract: Captive-breeding has been identified as an integral part of the conservation of threatened species. The black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis) as a species is currently listed by the IUCN as critically endangered (CR), while the white rhinoceros’s (Ceratotherium simum) current status is near-threatened (NT). Three African rhinoceros subspecies currently occur in captive populations in regional population management programmes, namely the South-central black rhinoceros (Diceros bicor...
Abstract: Little information is available on the termite species in southern Africa, especially Trinervitermes trinervoides (Sjöstedt). This is an endemic, non-detrimental harvester termite that performs vital ecosystem functions in the semi-arid grassland ecosystem of southern Africa. T. trinervoides is the only termite species that does not compete with grazers for foraging material since they harvest litter grass. T. trinervoides are highly eusocial, mound-building, nasute termites. The ...
Abstract: Phylogeographic patterns as well as divergence date estimates and the past population demography of Hemachatus haemachatus were analysed using nuclear and mitochondrial genetic markers. My results suggest that H. haemachatus forms a continuous population that diverged into two broad lineages due to glacial and interglacial cycles during the Plio-Pleistocene interval. During this interval, stable populations existed in the southern Cape and eastern inland regions of southern Africa....
Abstract: Oribi antelope (Ourebia ourebi), South Africa’s most endangered antelope species, are predominantly found on privately-owned lands. As such, the implementation of conservation strategies on these lands is essential if the species is to avoid extinction in South Africa. In order to develop effective private land conservation strategies for oribi, it is necessary to go beyond the ecology of the species and possess an understanding of private landowners’ attitudes towards and know...
Abstract: Many aspects of animal digestive form and function vary with ecological factors including diet composition and food availability. I examined phenotypic flexibility of digestive traits in white-browed sparrow-weavers (Plocepasser mahali), a widespread southern African passerine in which the ratio of insects to plant matter consumed varies seasonally. I predicted that digestive traits of P. mahali are modulated in response to diet composition. For experiment one, I caught forty-five ...
Abstract: The Western Cape is a unique area to undertake research, due to the varying oceanographic conditions along the coast. These diverse environments create a hotspot for cetacean presence and diversity. This study aimed to collate and map distribution information of local whale and dolphin species in the Western Cape using citizen science. The first data chapter focused on obtaining opportunistic sightings from water users from scientific, platform of opportunity and sporadic sighting ...
Abstract: The fragmentation and loss of natural habitats brings about species losses. These losses may be amplified or reduced by the composition of the habitats surrounding remnant habitat fragments, i.e the matrix. The influence of the matrix on biological assemblages is, however, complex and poorly understood. Therefore, in this dissertation, I aim to determine whether matrix transformation influences bird assemblages within remnant natural habitat fragments and how patterns of bird diver...
Abstract: The southern tip of South Africa is characterised by two major current systems, each of which is associated with its own species. The southwest coastal waters represent the limit of the local or global distribution ranges of four of the eight cetacean species that most frequently occur in the area. The goal of the present study was to determine the fine scale distribution of these species and subsequently investigate which environmental factors influence and possibly limit their cu...
Abstract: Beta diversity, defined as the variation or turnover in species composition, is important to the understanding of how ecological communities assemble. Studies of beta diversity during secondary forest succession may thus afford the chance to understand community assembly from a known onset. This study examined the relationship between regeneration age and beta diversity within and between seral stages along a coastal dune forest successional sere for three taxa (trees, millipedes, ...
Abstract: Globally emphasis has been given to identify emerging and re-emerging pathogens. Rapid urban expansion creates a problem which is two-fold. Firstly, increasing slum living conditions due to inadequate rate of infrastructure development results in an increased reliance on natural resources, including the capture and consumption of surrounding wildlife to subsist, thereby facilitating the transfer of emergent zoonotic pathogens. Secondly, through activities such as pollution or alien...
Abstract: Groups of translocated orphaned juvenile African elephants were studied in holding pens and following their release to assess how they re-organize and restructure socially by adopting roles, and if they show behavioural signs of stress. An adult female adopted a young individual. In all groups allomothering was observed to some degree. One 5 year old female prematurely assumed the role of leader and this role appears to be learned. Most groups established a linear dominance hierarc...
Abstract: Climate change is leading to loss of global and local biodiversity through changes in the ecology of fauna and flora. Changes in environmental temperature influence species distributional ranges. They respond by either migrating along with the shift in ecological zones or adapting to the new environmental conditions within a habitat. If neither adaptation nor migration is possible, local extinction of the species can result. This study was performed at Mariepskop mountain which ser...
Abstract: This thesis reports the findings of a fine-scale habitat selection study of Heaviside s dolphins (Cephalorhynchus heavisidii) at two sites in Namibia; Walvis Bay and Lüderitz. Walvis Bay and Lüderitz are the two largest embayments along the Namibian Coast, and therefore the two industrial ports in Namibia are located there. These bays are also inhabited year-round by Heaviside s dolphins, and, at Walvis Bay, a resident population of common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus)...
Abstract: This study examined the sociality of two phylogenetically closely related otomyine, murid rodent species that display differences in social behaviour in the wild. A fundamental characteristic of sociality in mammals is the ability to recognise conspecifics and discriminate between familiar and unfamiliar animals. In rodents, olfactory cues serve as the main source of such recognition and has been linked to dopaminergic reward centres in the brain, structures and regions responsible...
Abstract: To improve the efficacy of protected areas in conserving ecological processes, initiatives such as the megaparks for metapopulations strive to increase connectivity between small and often isolated protected areas. Increasing connectivity between protected areas may mediate the apparent impact of elephants on vegetation and promote regional population stability through the spatial structuring of their populations. This relies on asynchronous population dynamics between interconnect...