The Black Mambas of Balule Nature Reserve and other notes on the Limpopo Region of southern Africa

Three new Pleistocene hominin tracksites have been identified on the Cape south coast of South Africa, one in the Garden Route National Park and two in the Goukamma Nature Reserve, probably dating to Marine Isotope Stage 5. As a result, southern Africa now boasts six hominin tracksites, which are collectively the oldest sites in the world that are attributed to Homo sapiens. The tracks were registered on dune surfaces, now preserved in aeolianites. Tracks of varying size were present at two sites, indicating the presence of more than one trackmaker, and raising the possibility of family groups. A total of 18 and 32 tracks were recorded at these two sites, respectively. Ammoglyphs were present at one site. Although track quality was not optimal, and large aeolianite surface exposures are rare in the region, these sites prove the capacity of coastal aeolianites to yield such discoveries, and they contribute to what remains a sparse global hominin track record. It is evident that hominin tracks are more common in southern Africa than was previously supposed.

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New host records for Haemogregarina bigemina from the coast of southern Africa

Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom ◽

10.1017/s0025315499001101 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 79 (5) ◽

pp. 933-935 ◽

Cited By ~ 25

Author(s):

N.J. Smit ◽

A.J. Davies

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Southern Africa ◽

Nature Reserve ◽

Blood Parasites ◽

New Host ◽

New Host Records ◽

Intertidal Fishes

One hundred and fifty intertidal fishes were captured at Jeffreys Bay in July 1996 and February 1997, and at De Hoop Nature Reserve in April 1997, South Africa. Caffrogobius caffer, Chorisochismus dentex, Clinus superciliosus, and Clinus cottoides were all parasitised by haematophagous larvae of the isopod, Gnathia africana, and between 22 and 81% of fishes were infested with 1 to 76 larvae each. Of those fishes examined for blood parasites, 35/46 (76.1%) had an intraerythrocytic haemogregarine identified as Haemogregarina (sensu lato) bigemina, but only Clinus superciliosus and Clinus cottoides were infected. Gamonts of the haemogregarine, some undergoing syzygy, were also present in 50% of stained batches of the anterior hindgut contents of G. africana larvae which had fed on Clinus superciliosus, but were absent from larvae taken from Clinus cottoides and Chorisochismus dentex. This study provides new host records for H. bigemina and further evidence that gnathiid isopods play a role in the transmission of the haemogregarine.

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Influence of Global Weather Conditions on Timing of the Spring Migration of Birds in the Kaniv Nature Reserve (Central Ukraine)

Vestnik Zoologii ◽

10.2478/vzoo-2019-0014 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 53 (2) ◽

pp. 141-148

Author(s):

V. N. Grishchenko

Keyword(s):

North Atlantic Oscillation ◽

Southern Africa ◽

North Atlantic ◽

Short Distance ◽

Nature Reserve ◽

Bird Species ◽

Weather Conditions ◽

Spring Migration ◽

Intermediate Group ◽

Wintering Birds

Abstract I studied the effect of North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) on the phenology of spring migration of birds in Central Ukraine. Data for arrival and departure of 92 species collected in 1987 to 2018 were used. The statistically significant correlation was found for 33 (35.9 %) bird species. 50 coefficients were negative (82.0 %) and 11 ones — positive (18.0 %). The majority of relationships have been shown in February (12) and March (22). In April, they became more rarely (5). There was only one significant value for January and May. For 20 species correlations were found with averaged indices including three months (January to March). The relationships with NAO indices were much commoner for the short-distance migrants (63.3 % of studied species) than for birds wintering in tropical and Southern Africa (20.5 %) and the intermediate group (18.8 %). Wintering birds showed 8 significant coefficients in 3 species (42.9 %). Statistically significant coefficients of correlation ranged in absolute values from 0.35 to 0.80. The average absolute values were very close for different groups of species. The overall mean made 0.50 ± 0.01 (n = 61).

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