scholarly journals New records of alien and potentially invasive grass (Poaceae) species for southern Africa

Bothalia ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven P. Sylvester ◽  
Robert J. Soreng ◽  
Mitsy D.P.V. Sylvester ◽  
Anthony Mapaura ◽  
Vincent Ralph Clark
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Southern Africa ◽  
Native Species ◽  
New Records ◽  
Relevant Literature ◽  
Ecological Impact ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Grass Species ◽  
Western Cape ◽  
Flora Of Southern Africa

Background: The grasses (Poaceae) of the Flora of Southern Africa (FSA) region (i.e. Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia and South Africa) are relatively well documented, for both native and non-native species. Visiting taxonomic expertise nevertheless reveals new FSA and in-country records, particularly of non-native species. Such records provide an opportunity for improving biosecurity relating to potentially invasive but hitherto undetected non-native Poaceae in the FSA region.Objectives: To improve floristic data for non-native Poaceae occurring in theFSA region.Method: Field collections were made, herbarium collections, databases and relevant literature were studied.Results: New records are presented for non-native grasses that were encountered as locally common populations in the Drakensberg Mountain Centre of Floristic Endemism (DMC, Lesotho and South Africa). Festuca rubra and Agrostis capillaris are newly reported for sub-Saharan Africa and southern Africa and are also the first verified specimens reported for the African continent, with previous reports from northern-most Africa (Morocco, Algeria and/or Tunisia) uncertain. Jarava plumosa, introduced from South America and previously known for the whole of Africa from a single population in the Western Cape, South Africa, is newly reported from the border between the Eastern Cape, South Africa and Lesotho. The ecological implications, including the potential to become invasive, are discussed for each species, with taxonomic notes given to help differentiate them from closely resembling taxa.Conclusion: These new records of alien grass species raise concerns over their potential ecological impact, particularly as they are found in an area of conservation importance. Future efforts to monitor their distribution are of importance.

scholarly journals Barcoding of parasitoid wasps (Braconidae and Chalcidoidea) associated with wild and cultivated olives in the Western Cape of South Africa

Genome ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 62 (3) ◽  
pp. 183-199 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chante Powell ◽  
Virgilio Caleca ◽  
Martina Sinno ◽  
Michaela van Staden ◽  
Simon van Noort ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Native Species ◽  
Fruit Fly ◽  
Genetic Distances ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Olive Fruit Fly ◽  
Western Cape ◽  
Agricultural Pests ◽  
Wasp Species ◽  
Parasitism Rates

Wild and cultivated olives harbor and share a diversity of insects, some of which are considered agricultural pests, such as the olive fruit fly. The assemblage of olive-associated parasitoids and seed wasps is rich and specialized in sub-Saharan Africa, with native species possibly coevolving with their hosts. Although historical entomological surveys reported on the diversity of olive wasp species in the Western Cape Province of South Africa, no comprehensive study has been performed in the region in the molecular era. In this study, a dual approach combining morphological and DNA-based methods was used for the identification of adult specimens reared from olive fruits. Four species of Braconidae and six species of Chalcidoidea were identified, and DNA barcoding methodologies were used to investigate conspecificity among individuals, based on randomly selected representative specimens. Morphological identifications were congruent with DNA data, as NJ and ML trees correctly placed the sequences for each species either at the genus or species level, depending on the available taxa coverage, and genetic distances strongly supported conspecificity. No clear evidence of cryptic diversity was found. Overall seed infestation and parasitism rates were higher in wild olives compared to cultivated olives, and highest for Eupelmus spermophilus and Utetes africanus. These results can be used for early DNA-based detection of wasp larvae in olives and to further investigate the biology and ecology of these species.

Community-Centred Infrastructure Design Process for Resilience Building in South African Informal Settlements: The “Genius of Space” Solid Waste and Greywater Infrastructure Project

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Lauren Hermanus ◽  
Sean Andrew
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Informal Settlements ◽  
Interdisciplinary Approach ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Wastewater Management ◽  
Western Cape ◽  
Water And Sanitation ◽  
Public And Private Sector

Due to a lack of adequate water and sanitation infrastructure, growing, unplanned urban settlements in South Africa and elsewhere have been linked to pollution of critical river systems. The same dynamics undermine local resilience, understood as the capacity to adapt and develop in response to changes, persistent social and ecological risks, and disasters. Water and sanitation challenges undermine resilience by causing and compounding risks to individuals, and to household and community health and livelihoods, in a complex context in which communities and local governments have limited capacity and resources to respond appropriately. Household and community resilience in informal settlements is drawing increasing policy focus, given the persistence of these kinds of neighbourhoods in cities and towns in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Africa, in particular. This case considers whether bottom-up responses that combine public and private sector resources, including community participation, and use an interdisciplinary approach can support the production of novel resilience-fostering solutions. This article presents an analysis of the case of Genius of Space waste and wastewater management infrastructure in the Western Cape, South Africa. While the process has been imperfect and slow to show results, this analysis reflects on the gains, lessons and potential for replication that this work has produced. The Genius of Space approach adds to a growing area of practice-based experimentation focussed on incrementalism and adaptive development practices in urban environments, particularly in developing countries.

HEPATICAE AND ZANNICHELLIACEAE

Bothalia ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 157-159 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. R. Harding ◽  
S. M. Perold ◽  
R. P. Glen
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
New Records ◽  
Western Cape

NEW RECORDS FROM AN EPHEMERAL PAN. BLOUVLEI, IN WESTERN CAPE, SOUTH AFRICA

BRYOPHYTA

Bothalia ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 136-137
Author(s):  
J. Van Rooy
Keyword(s):  
Southern Africa ◽  
New Records ◽  
Flora Of Southern Africa ◽  
Geographic Regions

NEW AND INTERESTING RECORDS OF MOSSES IN THE FLORA OF SOUTHERN AFRICA AREA: 4. NEW RECORDS AND GEOGRAPHIC REGIONS

An overview of Penicillium

Bothalia ◽  
1992 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-91 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. L. Schutte
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Plant Pathology ◽  
Southern Africa ◽  
Relevant Literature ◽  
Penicillium Species ◽  
Culture Collections ◽  
Chemical Work ◽  
Medical Importance ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Alphabetical List

Literature on the hyphomycete genus Penicillium Link and its teleomorphs, Eupenicillium Ludwig and  Talaromyces C.R.Benjamin, is surveyed in the Republic of South Africa, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland and Transkei up to 1990. References are grouped under the headings, general mycology, plant pathology, industrial application, medical importance, mycotoxins and chemical work. An alphabetical list of the species recorded in southern Africa as well as the host and/or substrate from which each species has been reported is presented with relevant literature references; specimens in various culture collections are also incorporated. Although most of the known Penicillium species have already been reported from southern Africa, in-depth work is still required in all fields of research concerning this genus.

Prospects for Africa's economies to end-2016

2016 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Southern Africa ◽  
Commodity Price ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Gdp Growth ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Idiosyncratic Shocks ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Eastern And Southern Africa

Subject Prospects for Africa's economies to end-2016. Significance The IMF's most recent forecast of 3% GDP growth for sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) in 2016 represents a significant cut from the 4.25% it expected in October 2015. This is a consequence of sharp slowdowns in the region's two largest economies, Nigeria and South Africa, droughts in previously buoyant economies (notably in eastern and southern Africa), a variety of idiosyncratic shocks and a prolonged commodity price downturn.

New species of aturid water mites from southern Africa (Acari: Hydrachnidia: Aturidae)

Zootaxa ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 4273 (2) ◽  
pp. 287
Author(s):  
HARRY SMIT
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
New Species ◽  
Southern Africa ◽  
New Records ◽  
Water Mites ◽  
New Subgenus ◽  
One New Species

One new subgenus, i.e. Shebaturus and one new species, Amperaturus globulipes n. sp. is described from South Africa. Hexaxonopsis clavigera (Walter, 1922) is re-described. New records are given for South Africa and Namibia, including the first records of the genera Aturus Kramer and Kongsbergia Thor. 

scholarly journals New and interesting Campylopus records from South Africa

2004 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 111-115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan-Peter Frahm ◽  
Terry Hedderson
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
New Records ◽  
Western Cape ◽  
Western Cape Province ◽  
The Republic ◽  
First Time

New records are presented based on a collection of Campylopus specimens made by the second author in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. . The austral species Campylopus clavatus (R. Brown) Wils. in Hook. and Campylopus vesticaulis Mitt. are reported for the first time for Africa, and Campylopus acuminatus Mitt. var. kirkii (Mitt.) J.-P. Frahm is recorded for the second time for Africa. Campylopus arctocarpus (Hornsch.) Mitt. ssp. madegassus (Besch.) J.-P. Frahm is reported for the first time for the Republic of South Africa, and this is the southernmost record of this species. Campylopus simii Schelpe is not synonymous with C. julaceus Jaeg. ssp. arbogastii (Ren. & Card.) J.-P. Frahm but combined here as new as a variety of C. pilifer Brid.

scholarly journals A revision of the family Sematophyllaceae (Bryophyta) in southern Africa

2019 ◽  
Vol 68 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 157-174 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paulo E.A.S. Câmara ◽  
Jacques van Rooy ◽  
Micheline Carvalho Silva ◽  
Robert E. Magill
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Southern Africa ◽  
New Combination ◽  
Flora Of Southern Africa ◽  
The Family ◽  
Linear Leaf

Abstract In the Flora of southern Africa area, comprising the countries of South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland, the moss family Sematophyllaceae consists of three genera (Trichosteleum, Donnellia and Sematophyllum) and nine species. Core sematophyllous taxa with collenchymatous exothecial cells, long rostrate operculum, linear leaf cells and differentiated alar cells are included in the family. Meiothecium fuscescens is transferred to Donnellia and a new combination made. Sematophyllum wageri is reduced to synonymy under S. brachycarpum and a lectotype is designated for S. dregei. Each species is described and its distribution mapped.

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