Contractual National Parks and the Makuleke Community

Contractual national parks in South Africa are established on land owned either by the state or by a group of private individuals, but managed by South African National Parks (SANP) according to the terms of a joint management agreement drawn up by a joint management committee consisting of representatives from SANP and the landowners. Since majority rule in 1994, contractual national parks have been seen as a model through which the country's conservation as well as development objectives can be met, particularly where landowners are previously disadvantaged communities. This study looks at the Makuleke region of Kruger National Park in order to ascertain how successful the contractual national park model is in meeting conservation, social, and economic objectives for the area.     

A historical review of research on the weaver ant Oecophylla in biological control

1 Although the weaver ant Oecophylla is the first written record of biological control, dating from 304 ad , there have been fewer than 70 scientific publications on this predator as a biological control agent in Asia, from the early 1970s onwards, and fewer than 25 in Africa. 2 Apart from crop‐specific ecological and perceptual factors, a historical review shows that political and market forces have also determined the extent to which Oecophylla was incorporated into research and development programmes. 3 In Africa, research on weaver ants in biological control concentrated on export crops, such as coconut and cocoa, whereas, in Asia and Australia, research focused on fruit and nut crops, primarily destined for domestic markets. 4 Increased evidence of pesticide inefficiency under tropical smallholder conditions, changing paradigm shifts in participatory research and a growing scientific interest in local knowledge in the early 1990s opened up new avenues for research on conservation biological control. 5 Lobbying and advocacy have been needed to ensure that Oecophylla was recognized as an effective biological control agent. 6 With an increased market demand for organic produce, holistic approaches such as conservation biological control, particularly the use of Oecophylla, are increasing in importance. 7 Multi‐stakeholder strategies for collaborative learning are proposed for a better control of major fruit, nut and timber tree pests in Africa, Asia and Australia.     

Oil secretion and the pollination of Colpias mollis (Scrophulariaceae)

 Colpias mollis is a perennial lithophyte that secretes non-volatile oil as a pollinator reward. Its white to yellow flowers bear two narrow pouches lined with glandular oil-secreting trichomes. The pollinating bee, Rediviva albifasciata (Melittidae), collects oil with its forelegs and midlegs by rubbing them against the gland patches within the flower. The presence of specialised hairs on these legs facilitates oil-collection. The strongly congruent geographic distributions of C. mollis and R. albifasciata and their close morphological fit suggest a long and close association between plant and pollinator. Although C. mollis appears dependent on R. albifasciata for pollination, R. albifasciata is not always dependent on C. mollis for oil. It can also obtain and utilise oil from flowers of the annual herb Hemimeris racemosa (Scrophulariaceae). At the main study site, fruit set of C. mollis was high (75.7%; N=202 flowers) in a dry year when H. racemosa was rare and relatively low (11.4%; N=184 flowers) in a wet year when H. racemosa was common. Received July 15, 2001; accepted June 17, 2002 Published online: November 20, 2002 Addresses of the authors: Kim E. Steiner (e-mail: ksteiner@calacademy.org), Compton Herbarium, National Botanical Institute, Kirstenbosch, South Africs; Current address: Department of Botany, Califormia Academy of Sciences, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, CA 94118, USA. V. B. Whitehead, South African Museum, P.O. Box 61, Cape Town 8000, South Africa; Current address: 87 Bruke Street, Graaff-Reinet 6280, South Africa.     

Biogeography and diversification of colletid bees (Hymenoptera: Colletidae): emerging patterns from the southern end of the world

Aim The evolutionary history of bees is presumed to extend back in time to the Early Cretaceous. Among all major clades of bees, Colletidae has been a prime example of an ancient group whose Gondwanan origin probably precedes the complete break‐up of Africa, Antarctica, Australia and South America, because modern lineages of this family occur primarily in southern continents. In this paper, we aim to study the temporal and spatial diversification of colletid bees to better understand the processes that have resulted in the present southern disjunctions. Location Southern continents. Methods We assembled a dataset comprising four nuclear genes of a broad sample of Colletidae. We used Bayesian inference analyses to estimate the phylogenetic tree topology and divergence times. Biogeographical relationships were investigated using event‐based analytical methods: a Bayesian approach to dispersal–vicariance analysis, a likelihood‐based dispersal–extinction–cladogenesis model and a Bayesian model. We also used lineage through time analyses to explore the tempo of radiations of Colletidae and their context in the biogeographical history of these bees. Results Initial diversification of Colletidae took place at the Late Cretaceous (≥ 70 Ma). Several (6–14) lineage exchanges between Australia and South America via Antarctica during the Late Cretaceous and Eocene epochs could explain the disjunctions observed between colletid lineages today. All biogeographical methods consistently indicated that there were multiple lineage exchanges between South America and Australia, and these approaches were valuable in exploring the degree of uncertainty inherent in the ancestral reconstructions. Biogeographical and dating results preclude an explanation of Scrapterinae in Africa as a result of vicariance, so one dispersal event is assumed to explain the disjunction in relation to Euryglossinae. The net diversification rate was found to be highest in the recent history of colletid evolution. Main conclusions The biogeography and macroevolutionary history of colletid bees can be explained by a combination of Cenozoic vicariance and palaeoclimatic changes during the Neogene. The austral connection and posterior break‐up of South America, Antarctica and Australia resulted in a pattern of disjunct sister lineages. Increased biome aridification coupled with floristic diversification in the southern continents during the Neogene may have contributed to the high rates of cladogenesis in these bees in the last 25–30 million years.     

Favolaschia in remnants of the Atlantic Forest,Brazil

The examination of recent collections of Favolaschia from remnants of the Atlantic Forest, Brazil, resulted in the identification of F. aurantiaca, F. cinnabarina and F. luteoaurantiaca sp. nov. Internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences obtained from these collections were introduced into the previously published phylogenetic tree of the genus to assess the position of these species within the Favolaschia clade. A maximum likelihood analysis generated a phylogenetic tree with a better resolution, especially for the clade that contains species belonging to section Favolaschia subsection Auriscalpium, where the three specimens collected in Brazil also were clustered in.     

Adaptive Admixture of HLA Class I Allotypes Enhanced Genetically Determined Strength of Natural Killer Cells in East Asians

Human natural killer (NK) cells are essential for controlling infection, cancer, and fetal development. NK cell functions are modulated by interactions between polymorphic inhibitory killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIR) and polymorphic HLA-A, -B, and -C ligands expressed on tissue cells. All HLA-C alleles encode a KIR ligand and contribute to reproduction and immunity. In contrast, only some HLA-A and -B alleles encode KIR ligands and they focus on immunity. By high-resolution analysis of KIR and HLA-A, -B, and -C genes, we show that the Chinese Southern Han (CHS) are significantly enriched for interactions between inhibitory KIR and HLA-A and -B. This enrichment has had substantial input through population admixture with neighboring populations, who contributed HLA class I haplotypes expressing the KIR ligands B*46:01 and B*58:01, which subsequently rose to high frequency by natural selection. Consequently, over 80% of Southern Han HLA haplotypes encode more than one KIR ligand. Complementing the high number of KIR ligands, the CHS KIR locus combines a high frequency of genes expressing potent inhibitory KIR, with a low frequency of those expressing activating KIR. The Southern Han centromeric KIR region encodes strong, conserved, inhibitory HLA-C-specific receptors, and the telomeric region provides a high number and diversity of inhibitory HLA-A and -B-specific receptors. In all these characteristics, the CHS represent other East Asians, whose NK cell repertoires are thus enhanced in quantity, diversity, and effector strength, likely augmenting resistance to endemic viral infections.