scholarly journals Sending private messages: Floral ultraviolet signals are correlated with pollination syndromes in Erica

2021 ◽  
Vol 29 ◽  
pp. 289-298
Author(s):  
Samantha McCarren ◽  
Jeremy Midgley ◽  
Anina Coetzee
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Seed Set ◽  
Choice Experiments ◽  
Pollination Efficiency ◽  
Pollination Syndromes ◽  
African Species ◽  
Uv Reflectance ◽  
And Function ◽  
Pollination Systems ◽  
Free Ranging

The presence of ultraviolet (UV, wavelengths between 300-400 nm) reflectance in insect-pollinated flowers has been linked to pollination efficiency and pollination shifts, but little is known about its prevalence and function in other pollination systems and African species. We chose the genus Erica for studying the prevalence of UV because of its extreme radiation (c. 680 species) in the Cape, South Africa, with a diversity of pollination syndromes. This study quantified the prevalence and brightness of UV reflectance for five Erica pollination syndromes and tested pollinator preferences for UV reflectance in the two groups with the highest prevalence: sunbirds and long-proboscid flies. Our results show that UV colouration is absent or rare in Erica species pollinated by unclassified insects, rodents or wind. About 17 % of bird-pollinated species reflected UV but choice experiments revealed that free-ranging sunbirds showed no preference for UV signals. All sampled long-proboscid fly-pollinated species reflected UV and its experimental removal decreased seed set drastically, suggesting that long-proboscid flies in the Cape strongly prefer or depend on UV and thereby contributed to selecting for the evolution of this signal.  

scholarly journals Ovarian cycle activity varies with respect to age and social status in free-ranging elephants in Addo Elephant National Park, South Africa

2013 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. cot025-cot025 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. W. Freeman ◽  
J. M. Meyer ◽  
S. B. Putman ◽  
B. A. Schulte ◽  
J. L. Brown
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Social Status ◽  
National Park ◽  
Ovarian Cycle ◽  
Free Ranging

Baseline Hematologic Results for Free-ranging White Rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum) in Kruger National Park, South Africa

2015 ◽  
Vol 51 (4) ◽  
pp. 916-922 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michele Miller ◽  
Peter Buss ◽  
Rachel Wanty ◽  
Sven Parsons ◽  
Paul van Helden ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
National Park ◽  
Kruger National Park ◽  
Ceratotherium Simum ◽  
White Rhinoceros ◽  
Free Ranging

scholarly journals Pollination Efficiency and the Evolution of Specialized Deceptive Pollination Systems

2010 ◽  
Vol 175 (1) ◽  
pp. 98-105 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giovanni Scopece ◽  
Salvatore Cozzolino ◽  
Steven D. Johnson ◽  
Florian P. Schiestl
Keyword(s):  
Pollination Efficiency ◽  
Deceptive Pollination ◽  
Pollination Systems

scholarly journals Coccidian oocyst and nematode egg counts of free-ranging African buffalo (Syncerus caffer) in the Kruger National Park, South Africa : research communication

2000 ◽  
Vol 71 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
B.L. Penzhorn
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
National Park ◽  
Kruger National Park ◽  
African Buffalo ◽  
Syncerus Caffer ◽  
Research Communication ◽  
Nematode Eggs ◽  
Coccidian Oocyst ◽  
Free Ranging

Faecal specimens collected in the Kruger National Park from 103 African buffaloes (Syncerus caffer) up to 1 year old and 283 buffaloes older than 1 year were examined for the presence of coccidian oocysts and nematode eggs. Most specimens from animals older than 1 year had negative coccidian oocyst counts. Positive specimens from younger animals had significantly higher coccidian oocyst counts than those from older animals. No such difference was found for nematode egg counts.

scholarly journals Why so many flowers? A preliminary assessment of mixed pollination strategy enhancing sexual reproduction of the invasive <i>Acacia longifolia</i> in Portugal

Web Ecology ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-54 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manuela Giovanetti ◽  
Margarida Ramos ◽  
Cristina Máguas
Keyword(s):  
Invasive Plant ◽  
Seed Set ◽  
Pollen Grains ◽  
Striking Difference ◽  
Pollination Syndromes ◽  
Pollination Success ◽  
Relative Contribution ◽  
Acacia Longifolia ◽  
Exclusion Experiments ◽  
Pollination Strategy

Abstract. Acacia longifolia, a native legume from Australia, has been introduced in many European countries and elsewhere, thus becoming one of the most important global invasive species. In Europe, its flowering occurs in a period unsuitable for insect activity: nonetheless it is considered entomophilous. Floral traits of this species are puzzling: brightly coloured and scented as liked by insects, but with abundant staminate small-sized flowers and relatively small pollen grains, as it is common in anemophilous species. Invasion processes are especially favoured when reshaping local ecological networks, thus the interest in understanding pollination syndromes associated with invasive plant species that may facilitate invasiveness. Moreover, a striking difference exists between its massive flowering and relatively poor seed set. We introduced a novel approach: first, we consider the possibility that a part of the pollination success is carried on by wind and, second, we weighted the ethological perspective of the main pollinator. During the flowering season of A. longifolia (February–April 2016), we carried on exclusion experiments to detect the relative contribution of insects and wind. While the exclusion experiments corroborated the need for pollen vectors, we actually recorded a low abundance of insects. The honeybee, known pollinator of acacias, was relatively rare and not always productive in terms of successful visits. While wind contributed to seed set, focal observations confirmed that honeybees transfer pollen when visiting both the inflorescences to collect pollen and the extrafloral nectaries to collect nectar. The mixed pollination strategy of A. longifolia may then be the basis of its success in invading Portugal's windy coasts.

scholarly journals Bembidiina of Afrotropical Region. 2- Odontium subg. Microserrullula Netolitzky, 1921 (Coleoptera, Carabidae, Bembidiina)

2021 ◽  
pp. 127-144
Author(s):  
Paolo Bonavita ◽  
Augusto Vigna Taglianti
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
New Species ◽  
Democratic Republic ◽  
Democratic Republic Of Congo ◽  
African Species ◽  
Republic Of Congo ◽  
Afrotropical Region

The afrotropical species of the subgenus Microserrullula netolitzky, 1921, of the genus Odontium LeConte, 1848 are here revised. We redescribe the three-known species, Odontium aegyptiacum (Dejean, 1831), O. icterodes (Alluaud, 1933) and O. pogonopsis (Alluaud, 1933), and describe four new species: Odontium australe n. sp. (Kenya, Mozambique, Madagascar, South africa); Odontium basilewskyi n. sp. (Democratic Republic of Congo); Odontium okavangum n. sp. (angola, namibia, Zambia); Odontium clarkei n. sp. (Ethiopia). A key for the identification of the african species of the subgenus Microserrullula is presented.

scholarly journals On the revisited types of four poorly known African species of Palpimanus (Araneae, Palpimanidae)

2019 ◽  
Vol 60 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-95
Author(s):  
Sergei L. Zonstein ◽  
Yuri M. Marusik
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
African Species ◽  
Geographical Data ◽  
The World

Based on the types deposited in the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin (Germany), the following African species of Palpimanus Dufour, 1820 are re-examined and redescribed in details: P.namaquensis Simon, 1910 (South Africa, Namibia), P.nubilus Simon, 1910 (Namibia), P.paroculus Simon, 1910 (South Africa, Namibia) and P.processiger Strand, 1913 (Rwanda). The distribution of the considered species is specified and the erroneously interpreted geographical data, previously presented in the World Spider Catalog (2019), are corrected.

scholarly journals A new species of Eurytoma (Hymenoptera: Eurytomidae) attacking Quadrastichus spp. (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) galling Erythrina spp. (Fabaceae), with a summary of African Eurytoma biology and species checklist

Zootaxa ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 1751 (1) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. GATES ◽  
G. DELVARE
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
New Species ◽  
New Combinations ◽  
African Species ◽  
Species Checklist ◽  
A New Species ◽  
Host Associations

Eurytoma erythrinae Gates and Delvare, new species, is described and illustrated. This species was reared from fieldcollected galls on Erythrina spp. (Fabaceae) induced by Quadrastichus spp. (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae), in Tanzania, Ghana, and South Africa. It is compared with very similar African species, Eurytoma radicicola Risbec. Afrotropical species classified in Eurytoma are reviewed and twenty-seven new combinations are proposed: Aximopsis acaciacola (Hedqvist) comb. n., A. caryedocida (Rasplus) comb. n., A. lamtoensis (Rasplus) comb. n., A. mateui (Hedqvist) comb. n., A. mimosarum (Rasplus) comb. n., A. obocki (Risbec) comb. n., A. oryzivora (Delvare) comb. n., A. saharensis (Hedqvist) comb. n., A. senegalensis (Risbec) comb. n., A. tropicana (Risbec) comb. n., Bruchophagus conapionis (Rasplus) comb. n., Fronsoma ellenbergeri (Risbec) comb. n., Gibsonoma amborasahae (Risbec) comb. n., G. aphloiae (Risbec) comb. n., G. bararakae (Risbec) comb. n., G. eugeniae (Risbec) comb. n., G. mandrakae (Risbec) comb. n., G. pauliani (Risbec) comb. n., G. plectroniae (Risbec) comb. n., G. tavolae (Risbec) comb. n., Philolema arachnovora (Hesse) comb. n., P. arnoldi (Waterston) comb. n., P. bambeyi (Risbec) comb. n., P. braconidis (Ferrière) comb. n., and P. syleptae (Ferri_re) comb. n., Phylloxeroxenus cressoni (Howard) comb. n., and Sycophila plectroniae (Risbec) comb. n. Lectotypes are designated for ten species: Eurytoma perineti Risbec, E. radicicola Risbec, E. toddaliae Risbec, Gibsonoma amborasahae (Risbec), G. aphloiae (Risbec), G. eugeniae (Risbec), G. mandrakae (Risbec), G. pauliani (Risbec), G. tavolae (Risbec), and P. bambeyi (Risbec). We also provide a checklist of Afrotropical species that are or were classified in Eurytoma and tabulate the known host/associations of these species with references.

Resolving the taxonomic identities and genetic structure of two cryptic Platynereis Kinberg species from South Africa

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jyothi Kara ◽  
Cinthya S. G. Santos ◽  
Angus H. H. Macdonald ◽  
Carol A. Simon
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Morphological Characters ◽  
Structured Populations ◽  
The South ◽  
African Species ◽  
Cosmopolitan Species ◽  
Historical Factors ◽  
Haplotype Networks ◽  
Platynereis Dumerilii

The perceived cosmopolitanism of polychaete worms could be an artefact of historical factors such as poor original species descriptions, lack of type material and the European taxonomic bias, to name a few. Thus, it is possible that several cosmopolitan species hide complexes of cryptic and pseudocryptic species. Two putative cosmopolitan species, Platynereis dumerilii and Platynereis australis, collected in South Africa were investigated here (1) to determine whether the South African taxa are conspecific with the morphologically identical taxa from France and New Zealand (the respective type localities of P. dumerilii and P. australis), (2) to compare the South African species morphometrically to determine whether their morphological characters are reliable enough to separate them, and (3) to investigate whether these species have geographically structured populations along the coast of South Africa. Molecular data (COI and ITS1) confirm that P. dumerilii and P. australis do not occur in South Africa. Instead, the South African taxon formerly thought to be Platynereis dumerilii is new and is described here as Platynereis entshonae, sp. nov.; the identity of the other South African species is currently unresolved and is treated here as Platynereis sp. Surprisingly, Platynereis massiliensis (type locality: Marseilles) nested within the South African Platynereissp. clade but, since it is part of a cryptic species complex in the Mediterranean, the name is considered doubtful. Morphological characters traditionally used to define these South African Platynereis species are not reliable as predefined morphological groupings do not match phylogenetic clades and principal component scores revealed no separation in morphological characters that could distinguish between them. Haplotype networks and phylogenetic trees revealed that P. entshonae, sp. nov. and Platynereis sp. have geographically structured populations along the South African coast. http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:6E36A210-9E48-430F-8A93-EDC27F0C5631

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