Observations on the growth rate and development of some East African antelopes

Linear body measurements are presented for two dik-diks, two Uganda kob and three topi calves. Age-weight curves are presented for the dik-diks. Development of characteristics markings is recorded.     

Placental morphology in African antelopes and giraffes

Delivered placentas from nineteen antelopes and five giraffes and placentas from five antelopes dead during parturition and eight antelopes dead during advanced pregnancy were morphologically examined. Placental length and weight, arrangement, number and size of cotyledons, and other features were recorded wherever the conditions of placentas permitted.

Cotyledon rows corresponded to the caruncle rows on uterine walls. The number of rows was usually four, although in Hippotraginae it was six to eight and in Reduncinae it was two. Numbers of cotyledons matched or were lower than total numbers of caruncles in the uteri of most species. In antelopes with uterus duplex [Hippotraginae and wildebeests (Alcelaphinae)] and in other members of the Alcelaphinae subfamily, the placenta occupied only one uterine horn and the numbers of cotyledons corresponded to the numbers of caruncles in one uterine horn. Amniotic “manes” and “plaques” were found in some placentas.     

Composition of the fetal fluids in African antelopes

Twenty-four samples of amniotic and allantoic fetal fluids were collected from 15 African antelopes of 11 species and subspecies. Two samples were taken from delivered placentas and the rest were from animals that died during pregnancy or parturition. Data on the sex, development (crown-rump length) and age (trimester of pregnancy) of fetuses, fluid volumes, pH, and 18 biochemical parameters were obtained wherever conditions permitted. Collecting data on fetal fluids in zoo and wild animals may help evaluate both normal and pathological pregnancies.     

Structure of some East African Glossina fuscipes fuscipes populations

Abstract.  Glossina fuscipes fuscipes Newstead 1910 (Diptera: Glossinidae) is the primary vector of human sleeping sickness in Kenya and Uganda. This is the first report on its population structure. A total of 688 nucleotides of mitochondrial ribosomal 16S2 and cytochrome oxidase I genes were sequenced. Twenty-one variants were scored in 79 flies from three geographically diverse natural populations. Four haplotypes were shared among populations, eight were private and nine were singletons. The mean haplotype and nucleotide diversities were 0.84 and 0.009, respectively. All populations were genetically differentiated and were at demographic equilibrium. In addition, a longstanding laboratory culture originating from the Central African Republic (CAR-lab) in 1986 (or before) was examined. Haplotype and nucleotide diversities in this culture were 0.95 and 0.012, respectively. None of its 27 haplotypes were shared with the East African populations. A first approximation of relative effective population sizes was Uganda > CAR-lab > Kenya. It was concluded that the structure of G. f. fuscipes populations in East Africa is localized.     

On the rotifer plankton of some East African lakes

Slightly alkaline and strongly alkaline lakes were investigated. A rather varied rotifer fauna was found in the first category, while in the second group, no rotifers at all or, at the most, only one species was found.     

The distribution of phytoplankton in some Central East African waters

Summary Observations of the distribution of phytoplankton were made in Pilkington Bay, Lake Victoria and in Lake Kyoga. For Pilkington Bay, series of samples were taken along an east-west line in the north-west corner of the bay and along a north-south line through the mouth of the bay. For Lake Kyoga, the main series of samples was taken from the north-east arm to the point of inflow of the Victoria Nile.Counts of algae were made by the sedimentation technique and it was found that for Pilkington Bay Melosira was the dominant genus during the period of the investigation. For the north-east arm of Lake Kyoga the dominant alga in mid-August was Lyngbya limnetica.At times, marked changes not only in density of phytoplankton but also in vertical distribution were observed from station to station in Pilkington Bay.During May an increase of Melosira occurred in the north-west corner of Pilkington Bay and this increase is as likely to have been due to water movements as to growth.Water movements have an important effect on phytoplankton distribution and it is possible that surface water movements bring about inoculation of relatively dense concentrations of phytoplankton, especially Melosira, into the Buvuma Channel from Pilkington Bay.The contribution of the north-east arm of Lake Kyoga to the Victoria Nile system was found to be markedly different chemically and biologically from that of Lake Victoria.A number of new records of algae from Lake Kyoga are listed.

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Résumé Des recherches sur la distribution du phytoplancton furent poursuivies dans la baie de Pilkington, dans le lac Victoria et dans le lac Kyoga. A la baie de Pilkington, des séries d'échantillons furent prélevées sur une ligne allant de l'est à l'ouest et située dans la partie nord-ouest de la baie, ainsi que sur une ligne traversant du nord au sud l'entrée de la baie. Au lac Kyoga, la principale série d'échantillons fut prélevée à partir de sa pointe nord-est jusqu'à l'arrivée des eaux de la branche mère du Nil.Le dénombrement des algues fut fait selon le procédé de la sédimentation et les résultats de l'enquête indiquent que, dans la baie de Pilkington, Melosira était le genre le plus répandu pendant la durée des recherches. Quant à la pointe nord-est du lac Kyoga, l'algue la plus répandue, à la mi-août, était Lyngbya limnetica.A certains moments, des variations marquèes, non seulement dans la densité du phytoplancton mais encore dans sa distribution verticale, furent constatées de divers postes d'observation sur la baie de Pilkington.Pendant le mois de mai, il se produisit une augmentation de la quantité de Melosira dans la partie nord-ouest de la baie de Pilkington, augmentation qui semble provenir des mouvements de l'eau ainsi que de la croissance.Le mouvement de l'eau exerce une influence importante sur la distribution du phytoplancton et il est possible que les mouvements de surface de l'eau produisent l'augmentation dans la canal de Buvuma de concentrations assez denses de phytoplancton, de Melosira surtout, provenant de la baie de Pilkington.L'apport de la pointe nord-est du lac Kyoga au réseau de la branche mère du Nil se révéla de composition chimique et biologique sensiblement differente de celle du lac Victoria.Un certain nombre d'observations nouvelles des algues du lac Kyoga ont été notées.

     

沙棘木蠹蛾的人工饲养

采用A、B和C 3种饲料饲养沙棘木蠹蛾Holcocerushippophaecolus,A饲料成分为水、玉米粉、豆粉、蔗糖、琼脂、酵母粉、山梨酸钾、对羟基苯甲酸甲酯 ;B饲料成分为水、玉米粉、豆粉、琼脂、酵母粉、抗坏血酸、苯甲酸钠 ;C饲料成分为大豆粉、沙棘木粉、蔗糖、琼脂、维生素混合液、酵母浸粉、抗坏血酸、防腐剂混合液、无机盐。其中 ,B饲料防腐能力较差 ,饲养 1 2周后放弃。A和C 2种饲料能使沙棘木蠹蛾幼虫体重持续增长 ,饲养前期A饲料平均体重增量是C饲料的 1 6倍 ,A和C 2种饲料化蛹率分别为83. 3 %和 66. 7% ,羽化率分别为 3 0 % ,1. 6 7%。选择在沙土中结茧化蛹 ,能显著提高饲养成功率。     

Larger antelopes are sensitive to heat stress throughout all seasons but smaller antelopes only during summer in an African semi-arid environment

Heat stress can limit the activity time budget of ungulates due to hyperthermia, which is relevant for African antelopes in ecosystems where temperature routinely increases above 40 °C. Body size influences this thermal sensitivity as large bodied ungulates have a lower surface area to volume ratio than smaller ungulates, and therefore a reduced heat dissipation capacity. We tested whether the activity pattern during the day of three antelope species of different body size—eland, blue wildebeest and impala—is negatively correlated with the pattern of black globe temperature (BGT) during the day of the ten hottest days and each season in a South African semi-arid ecosystem. Furthermore, we tested whether the larger bodied eland and wildebeest are less active than the smaller impala during the hottest days and seasons. Our results show that indeed BGT was negatively correlated with the diurnal activity of eland, wildebeest and impala, particularly during summer. During spring, only the activity of the larger bodied eland and wildebeest was negatively influenced by BGT, but not for the smallest of the three species, the impala. We argue that spring, with its high heat stress, coupled with poor forage and water availability, could be critical for survival of these large African antelopes. Our study contributes to understanding how endothermic animals can cope with extreme climatic conditions, which are expected to occur more frequently due to climate change.