Local responses to conservation in the Richtersveld National Park, South Africa

Local notions of conservation deserve closer scrutiny. We cannot assume that they naturally coincide with those of the tourist core; nor that they are automatically given higher priority when local populations are induced to participate in practices which conserve flora and fauna. A case study of the establishment of the Richtersveld National Park in Namaqualand, a remote arid region of South Africa, is used to argue that local attitudes to conservation and development (associated with tourism) can become increasingly cynical and ambivalent in the context of ecotourism. Furthermore, such attitudes are shaped less by economic inducements than by the often contradictory messages about conservation that are being communicated daily.     

Geographical patterns and determinants of species richness in Mexico across selected families of vascular plants: implications for conservation

Mexico is considered a megadiverse country containing more than 10% of the world's biodiversity. The distribution of this species richness and endemism is different among the different Mexican states. We examined the species richness patterns of 13 families of vascular plants (including ferns, gymnosperms and angiosperms) in Mexico using political divisions (states) as units of analysis. We analysed the species richness values (absolute richness, endemic richness and restrictive richness) of these plant families using stepwise multiple regression analysis, assessing their relationship with a set of 10 environmental variables (expressed as heterogeneity coefficients). A combined cluster analysis with multidimensional scaling analysis (MDS) and an analysis of similarities were also undertaken to define the spatial–geographical patterns. Additionally, we proposed a methodological strategy to determine which states of Mexico have priorities for conservation. Our results suggested that the three species richness values used were significantly predicted by environmental factors, especially by climatic heterogeneity. Notwithstanding that a linear pattern was recognized, the Mexican states were gathered in four groups, which were confirmed by the MDS and the cluster analysis: (1) the Yucatan Peninsula, (2) arid Mexico, (3) the Mexican Transition Zone and (4) the megadiverse states. We proposed that 12 Mexican states include all the environmental conditions and are candidates for developing conservation programmes: (1) Quintana Roo, Tabasco and Yucatán, (2) Baja California, Chihuahua and Sinaloa, (3) Guerrero, Jalisco and Nuevo León and (4) Chiapas, Oaxaca and Veracruz.     

Endemic bird species and conservation in the Cerrado Region, South America

A general overview of the largest South American savanna region, the Cerrado Region, is presented. Using simple approaches, I analyse the distribution of the bird species endemic to this region in order to test the hypothesis that areas harbouring local aggregates of restricted-range endemics have remained stable during the successive Quaternary climatic-vegetational changes. This hypothesis seems not to be generally valid for birds of the Cerrado Region, as restricted-range endemic species exist both in areas that remained stable (Central Goia´s Plateau) and areas that remain unstable (Araguaya and Parana~ River valleys, Espinhac¸o Plateau) during the Late Pleistocene. I also discuss some aspects of the conservation in the Cerrado Region, and suggest that the dry forests of the River Parana~ Valley, Goia´s, must be considered the area with the highest priority for the creation of new reserves in the Cerrado Region.     

Orphanhood and fertility in young adults: Evidence from South Africa

I study the relation between orphanhood and fertility patterns in young adults using a longitudinal survey from the city of Cape Town, South Africa. The data set combines two survey waves with a year-by-year life history calendar that records key outcomes (e.g., schooling, work, fertility). It also provides information on so-called ‘parental investments’ (time and material support), family background, and literacy and numeracy test scores. I find that orphans exhibit significantly higher rates of teenage pregnancy. In particular, teenage motherhood is 19% points more likely among (female) orphans. These results suggest that orphanhood may leave a long-lasting ‘imprint’ in terms of premature fertility, especially in teenage females.     

Conservation of temperate forest birds in Chile: implications from the study of an isolated forest relict

We characterize the bird assemblage of an isolated relict temperaterainforest (Santa Inés) in terms of its structure, composition anddynamics. The relict character and long-term isolation of this forest remnant,immersed in a matrix of semiarid scrub, provide a natural experiment to assessthe consequences of long-term isolation and forest area reduction for temperatebird species. Bird surveys were conducted in a forest fragment and thesurrounding scrub matrix between April 1999 (austral autumn) and October 2000(austral spring) on a seasonal basis. Within the forest fragment wedistinguished two microhabitat types: creeks and areas far from creeks (i.e.slopes). A total of 36 species were recorded in the study site, of which 21were inside the relict forest. Highest bird abundance and richness wererecorded during winter and spring, and these were always higher in creek plotsrather than slope plots. Comparisons between this assemblage and thosedistributed in the continuous temperate forest (located more than 900km southwards) indicate that this bird assemblage shares moresimilarities, with regard to bird species composition, to southern temperateforest localities and to other relict forests, than to nearer scrub habitats.However, there are eight species, endemic to temperate forests in southern SouthAmerica, missing from our system. In this regard, our analyses indicate thatthese eight endemic species should be of great conservation concern and willlikely be the ones that will go extinct first if the fragmentation of thetemperate forest continues.     

Geographical patterns of old and young species in African forest biota: the significance of specific montane areas as evolutionary centres

A widely accepted paradigm for speciation in tropical forests, the refuge theory, requires periodic habitat fragmentation driven by global climatic fluctuations to provide conditions for allopatric speciation. This implies that comparative species richness in refugia is due to loss of diverse communities in areas affected by climatic cycles. In this study we compare distribution patterns of bird and plant taxa which we consider to be of either deep phylogenetic lineages or recent radiations. It is demonstrated that lowland areas which have been postulated as Pleistocene refugia are dominated by species which represent lineages of pre-Pleistocene age. Since variations in species richness within these forest tracts reflect currently apparent environmental variables which might be considered to determine carrying capacity, we do not need to postulate that richness is the result of changes in forest cover in the past. Recently diversified taxa of plants and birds are found mainly at the periphery of the main rain forest blocks and in habitat islands outside them. Here, peak concentrations of young restricted-range species are often congruent with clusters of old and biogeographically relictual species. It is suggested that this reflects special intrinsic environmental properties of these areas, in the form of long-term environmental stability caused mainly by persistent orographic rain or mist. In this case, richness is not necessarily due to extinction outside these areas. Stability not only enables survival of relictual taxa, but also promotes morphological differentiation of radiating taxa, leading to aggregates of taxa of restricted distribution.     

Coral recruitment patterns at Sodwana Bay, South Africa

Recruitment is widely acknowledged as one of the most important processes in the maintenance of coral reef systems, particularly in their recovery and replenishment following disturbances. In this study variation in coral recruitment was monitored for 3 years at Sodwana Bay, South Africa, located in the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park (GSLWP), a world heritage site. Due to the latitude (27–28°S) and physical conditions, this area is considered marginal for coral reef growth. Recruitment of corals to ceramic tiles peaked between March and May each year, with broadcast spawners dominating plates in March and brooders more abundant in May. Pocilloporid corals were the most abundant during all periods except March 2001, when acroporids comprised 72% of the total number of spat. Total recruitment was the highest during this period, with a mean of 13.2 ± 15.73 (mean ± SD) corals tile⁻¹. Recruitment rates varied widely between and within different reefs monitored. Patterns of variation were inconsistent between seasons, but some reefs had persistently low rates of settlement.     

Alien and native birds in South Africa: patterns, processes and conservation

The spatial distribution of alien species richness often correlates positively with native species richness, and reflects the role of human density and activity, and primary productivity and habitat heterogeneity, in facilitating the establishment and spread of alien species. Here, we investigate the relationship between the spatial distribution of alien bird species, human density, and anthropogenic and natural environmental conditions. Next, we examined the relationship between the spatial distribution of alien bird species and native bird species richness. We examined alien species richness as a response variable, using correlative analyses that take spatial autocorrelation into account. Further, each alien bird species was examined as a response variable, using logistic regression procedures based on binary presence–absence data. A combination of human density and natural habitat heterogeneity best explained the spatial distribution of alien species richness. This contrasts with the results for individual alien species and with previous studies on other non-native taxa showing the importance of primary productivity and anthropogenic habitat modification as explanatory variables. In general, native species richness is an important correlate of the spatial distribution of alien species richness and individual alien species, with alien species being more similar to common species than to rare species.     

New unicapitate species of Rhynchospora (Cyperaceae) from South America

Resolution of species delimitations in theRhynchospora globosa complex has revealed three species new to science from South America:R. bracteovillosa, R. leucoloma, andR. melanocarpa. Each species is described and illustrated and its geographical distribution discussed.     

New species of Crotonia (Acari: Oribatida) from South Africa

Four new species of oribatid mites of the genus Crotonia , ( C. pauropelor sp. nov., C. dicella sp. nov., C. lyrata sp. nov. and C. ecphylla sp. nov. ) are described from soil and plant litter from South Africa. Crotonia pauropelor, C. dicella and C. ecphylla are allied to the 'capistrata' species-group, previously known only from Queensland, Australia, in that they possess the full complement of c setae on the notogaster. They differ in having eight pairs rather than nine pairs of genital setae. In addition, C. ecpylla is unusual in the genus Crotonia in that it appears to possess two pairs of setae on each of the second epimera. Crotonia lyrata has only two pairs of c setae and is allied to the 'cophinaria' species-group. This is only the second published record of the genus Crotonia from South Africa, and the first of any named species. A key to the African Crotonia species is provided, which includes the only two previously known species C. alluaudi and C. rothschildi (Berlese, 1916).     

A test of multiple hypotheses for the species richness gradient of South American owls

Many mechanisms have been proposed to explain broad scale spatial patterns in species richness. In this paper, we evaluate five explanations for geographic gradients in species richness, using South American owls as a model. We compared the explanatory power of contemporary climate, landcover diversity, spatial climatic heterogeneity, evolutionary history, and area. An important aspect of our analyses is that very different hypotheses, such as history and area, can be quantified at the same observation scale and, consequently can be incorporated into a single analytical framework. Both area effects and owl phylogenetic history were poorly associated with richness, whereas contemporary climate, climatic heterogeneity at the mesoscale and landcover diversity explained ca. 53% of the variation in species richness. We conclude that both climate and environmental heterogeneity should be retained as plausible explanations for the diversity gradient. Turnover rates and scaling effects, on the other hand, although perhaps useful for detecting faunal changes and beta diversity at local and regional scales, are not strong explanations for the owl diversity gradient.     

The implications of different species concepts for describing biodiversity patterns and assessing conservation needs for African birds

It has been suggested that switching from the widely used Biological Species Concept to a Phylogenetic Species Concept, would result in the appearance of hitherto neglected patterns of endemism. The problem has mainly been analyzed with respect to endemic taxa and for rather limited geographical regions, but will here be analysed for the entire resident avifauna of sub-Saharan Africa. A database of African bird distributions was re-edited to create two new datasets representing 1572 biological species and 2098 phylogenetic species. Species richness patterns were virtually identical with the two taxonomies, and only subtle changes were found in the geographical variation in range-size rarity sum. However, there were some differences in the most range-restricted species, with increased complexity of long-recognized centres of endemism. Overall, then, the large-scale biogeographic patterns are robust to changes in species concepts. This reflects the aggregated nature of endemism, with certain areas acting as "species pumps" and large intervening areas being characterised by a predominance of widespread species which distribute themselves in accordance with contemporary environmental conditions. The percentages of phylogenetic and threatened species captured in a BSC near-minimum set of 64 grid-cells and a PSC near-maximum set, with the same number of grid-cells, are very similar.     

Comparative molecular phylogeography of two Xenopus species, X. gilli and X. laevis, in the south-western Cape Province, South Africa

Xenopus gilli is a vulnerable anuran with a patchy distribution along the south-western coast of the Cape Province, South Africa. This species is sympatric with Xenopus laevis laevis , a widespread relative found over much of southern Africa. We examined the molecular phylogeography and population structure of the contact zone between these species to obtain information about historical biogeography and conservation management of this region. Analyses of the distribution, frequency, and cladistic and phenetic relationships among mitochondrial DNA haplotypes indicate that population subdivision is present in both taxa but that long-term isolation of sets of populations has occurred in X. gilli only. Haplotype and nucleotide diversity are also considerably higher within and among X. gilli ponds than X. l. laevis ponds in this region. We attribute the genetic segregation of X. gilli populations to ancient habitat fragmentation by ocean transgression into X. gilli habitat and to continued habitat alteration by human activity. The lower level of genetic diversity in X. l. laevis in this region is likely a result of a recent arrival of this taxon to the south-western Cape region relative to X. gilli . Population structure in X. l. laevis may be a result of isolation by distance. Clear evidence exists for at least two management units within X. gilli and strongly supports the establishment of protective measures east of False Bay in order to conserve a substantial portion of this species' extant genetic diversity.     

Five new species of Heteropterys (Malpighiaceae) from Central and South America

Five-new taxa ofHeteropterys H. B. K. subsect.Aptychia Nied. are described, illustrated, and mapped:H. andina from Peru;H. minutiflora from Costa Rica; andH. bullata, H. capixaba, andH. oberdanii, from the Atlantic coastal forest of Brazil. The affinities and diagnostic characters of each species are discussed.     

A new species of Amblyodus Westwood, 1878 (Coleoptera, Melolonthidae, Dynastinae) from South America

A second species of Amblyodus Westwood, 1878, Amblyodus castroi sp. n., is described from the northern South America based on 12 specimens from Brazil and Peru (Amazonian subregion). The new species is here compared with the type species of the genus, Amblyodus taurus Westwood, 1878 and both species and their male genitalia are illustrated. Diagnostic characters for the genus are discussed, especially the metatibial teeth. A distribution map including the type species and the new species is provided. The genus Amblyodus is recorded for the first time from Peru and from Brazil states of Pará and Rondônia.     

Spore morphology and ultrastructure of Cyathea (Cyatheaceae,Pteridophyta) species from southern South America

Spore sculpture and wall structure of eight Cyathea (Cyatheaceae) species from southern South America were studied using light microscopy (LM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) techniques. Two layers, i.e. an inner and an outer layer, were observed in the perispore. The inner layer has two strata: the inner stratum is attached to the exospore and composed of rodlets tangentially oriented to the spore surface and randomly intermixed; the outer stratum consists of a three-dimensional network of rodlets with either free or fused distal edges forming spinules. The outer layer is thin, darkly contrasted and covers the rodlets. In most cases, the exospore has two layers and a pitted surface. In Cyathea atrovirens, the exospore surface is smooth, while in C. delgadii and C. myriotricha it is verrucate. The homogeneity of perispore features within the genus Cyathea is evident, while exospore features are heterogeneous. The exospore has different kinds of surface-structures that are of potential interest for assessing evolutionary trends within the group.     

New species of Cercopithecoides from Haasgat, North West Province, South Africa

Analyses of new cercopithecid fossil specimens from the South African site of Haasgat point to craniofacial affinities with the genus Cercopithecoides. Detailed metric and non-metric comparisons with South African Cercopithecoides williamsi, and other East African Cercopithecoides species, Cercopithecoides kimeui, Cercopithecoides meaveae, Cercopithecoides kerioensis, and Cercopithecoides alemyehui demonstrate that the Haasgat fossils have distinct craniofacial morphology and dental metrics. Specifically, material from Haasgat probably represents one of the smaller Cercopithecoides, differing from the others in its particular suite of features that vary within the genus. It is unique in its more vertical ramus, associated with a relatively lengthened mandibular body. Haasgat Cercopithecoides has a particularly narrow interorbital region between relatively larger ovoid orbits, with articulation of the maxillary bones at a suture above the triangular nasal bones. Furthermore, the maxillary arcade is more rounded than other Cercopithecoides, converging at the M² and M³. The conclusion drawn from this analysis is that the Pleistocene Haasgat fossils are colobines representing a distinct taxon of Cercopithecoides, Cercopithecoides haasgati, thus adding a second species of the genus to southern Africa.     

Adolescent Social Attitudes in South Africa and Swaziland

A content analysis was undertaken of stories written by adolescents in urban townships in South Africa and in an urban setting in Swaziland. The findings concerning the nature of the actors and the relationships between actors in the stories suggest that though South Africans in their early years encounter more elements of modernity than do the Swazis, in their present situation they view the world as having less rational elements, fewer psychological satisfactions, and more threats to their physical welfare than do the Swazis.