scholarly journals The potential evolutionary impact of invasive balloon vines on native soapberry bugs in South Africa

NeoBiota ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 49 ◽  
pp. 19-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jarryd D. Foster ◽  
Allan G. Ellis ◽  
Llewellyn C. Foxcroft ◽  
Scott P. Carroll ◽  
Johannes Le Roux
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Native Species ◽  
National Park ◽  
Host Preference ◽  
Fruit Size ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Soapberry Bug ◽  
Morphometric Analyses ◽  
Evolutionary Changes ◽  
Evolutionary Consequences

Following their establishment in new communities, invasive species may cause evolutionary changes in resident native species. This is clearly true for phytophagous insects, which may adapt rapidly when utilising abundant and widespread introduced hosts. The balloon vines Cardiospermumhalicacabum and C.grandiflorum were introduced to South Africa approximately 100 years ago and are classified as minor and major weeds, respectively. Here we assess the potential evolutionary impact of these vines on native Leptocoris soapberry bug populations in Kruger National Park (KNP), using phylogenetic and morphometric analyses. We found that soapberry bugs associated with C.halicacabum are genetically and morphologically distinct from those associated with C.grandiflorum. This suggests that native soapberry bugs in KNP exhibit some degree of host preference, indicating that these vines may have had significant evolutionary consequences for these insects. The proboscis length of soapberry bugs feeding on C.halicacabum closely matched fruit size, often being longer than fruit size at the population level. These soapberry bugs are therefore well-suited to feeding on this introduced plant species.

Cranial crassicaudiasis in two coastal dolphin species from South Africa is predominantly a disease of immature individuals

2020 ◽  
Vol 139 ◽  
pp. 93-102 ◽  
Author(s):  
MF Van Bressem ◽  
P Duignan ◽  
JA Raga ◽  
K Van Waerebeek ◽  
N Fraijia-Fernández ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Bone Development ◽  
Bottlenose Dolphins ◽  
Fatal Outcome ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Cape Coast ◽  
Osteolytic Lesions ◽  
Immune Mediated ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
The Difference

Crassicauda spp. (Nematoda) infest the cranial sinuses of several odontocetes, causing diagnostic trabecular osteolytic lesions. We examined skulls of 77 Indian Ocean humpback dolphins Sousa plumbea and 69 Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins Tursiops aduncus, caught in bather-protecting nets off KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) from 1970-2017, and skulls of 6 S. plumbea stranded along the southern Cape coast in South Africa from 1963-2002. Prevalence of cranial crassicaudiasis was evaluated according to sex and cranial maturity. Overall, prevalence in S. plumbea and T. aduncus taken off KZN was 13 and 31.9%, respectively. Parasitosis variably affected 1 or more cranial bones (frontal, pterygoid, maxillary and sphenoid). No significant difference was found by gender for either species, allowing sexes to be pooled. However, there was a significant difference in lesion prevalence by age, with immature T. aduncus 4.6 times more likely affected than adults, while for S. plumbea, the difference was 6.5-fold. As severe osteolytic lesions are unlikely to heal without trace, we propose that infection is more likely to have a fatal outcome for immature dolphins, possibly because of incomplete bone development, lower immune competence in clearing parasites or an over-exuberant inflammatory response in concert with parasitic enzymatic erosion. Cranial osteolysis was not observed in mature males (18 S. plumbea, 21 T. aduncus), suggesting potential cohort-linked immune-mediated resistance to infestation. Crassicauda spp. may play a role in the natural mortality of S. plumbea and T. aduncus, but the pathogenesis and population level impact remain unknown.

A population-based analysis in 375,233 cases of heart failure stages A, B and C. Real world epidemiology of prevalence and temporal trends in South-European populations

2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (Supplement_2) ◽  
Author(s):  
S Jimenez ◽  
M Cainzos-Achirica ◽  
D Monterde ◽  
L Garcia-Eroles ◽  
C Enjuanes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Heart Failure ◽  
Chronic Conditions ◽  
Temporal Trends ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Population Based ◽  
Relative Increase ◽  
Funding Source ◽  
Private Company ◽  
Healthcare Database ◽  
Evolutionary Changes

Abstract Background Prevalence of congestive heart failure (CHF) and predisposing conditions has described previously. Most of these studies evaluated centre-European or north-American populations. However, the prevalence and evolutionary changes of Heart Failure stages A, B and C has not been fully elucidated in Mediterranean cohorts. Purpose To estimate the prevalence of CHF (HF Stage C) and four additional key chronic cardiovascular, metabolic and renal conditions predisposing to the development of CHF (HF Stages A and B) at a population level in a south-European healthcare area. We analysed the evolutionary changes in the prevalence in these five conditions. Methods In a healthcare area of 1,3Millions inhabitants, we extracted health related information of all individuals ≥55 years old. We analysed data of 375,233 individuals included in the population-based healthcare database of a public Institute of Health between 2015 and 2017. The conditions of interest were CHF, chronic kidney disease (CKD), diabetes mellitus (DM), ischemic heart disease (IHD) and hypertension (HTN). Results The prevalence of chronic conditions was high, particularly of HTN (48.2–48.9%) and DM individuals (14.6–14.8%). The other conditions were less frequent, with prevalence around 2–4% for IHD, 5–9% for CKD and 2–4% for CHF (Table). However, the less frequent conditions had a striking upward trend with over 1,500 new prevalent cases per year between 2015 and 2017 for CHF (45% relative increase), more than 2,500 new prevalent cases for IHD (67% relative increase) and more than 4,000 new prevalent cases per year for CKD (44% relative increase). Conclusion In this south European cohort, there were a high prevalence of HTN and DM as risk factors and a significant trend of increasing prevalence in high cost chronic conditions such as CHF, IHD and CKD. Funding Acknowledgement Type of funding source: Private company. Main funding source(s): The present study was funded by an unrestricted research grant from Vifor Pharma.

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

Observations on the Pathology of Lesions Associated with Stephanofilaria dinniki Round, 1964 from the Black Rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis)

1964 ◽  
Vol 38 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 171-174 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. G. Tremlett
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
National Park ◽  
Black Rhinoceros ◽  
Diceros Bicornis ◽  
Made In

In South Africa, a filarioid infestation has been associated with lesions in the skin of the black rhinoceros (Schulz and Kluge, 1960). Similar lesions had been reported earlier from Kenya, as consistently occurring in these animals but their aetiology was unknown (Spinage, 1960). Recently the opportunity occurred to examine lesion material from four black rhinoceros located in the Royal Tsavo National Park Kenya. From this material adult helminths were recovered and identified (Round, 1964), and further pathological studies made. In addition, one rhinoceros showed evidence of an otitis.

scholarly journals Ecological suitability modeling for anthrax in the Kruger National Park, South Africa

PLoS ONE ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. e0191704 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pieter Johan Steenkamp ◽  
Henriette van Heerden ◽  
Ockert Louis van Schalkwyk
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
National Park ◽  
Kruger National Park ◽  
Ecological Suitability
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