Property, subjection and protected areas: The ‘restitution’ of Dwesa-Cwebe Nature Reserve, South Africa

Koedoe ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 51 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ansie S. Dippenaar-Schoeman ◽  
Annette Van den Berg ◽  
Lorenzo Prendini

Among other activities, the South African National Survey of Arachnida (SANSA) aims to survey the biodiversity of arachnids in protected areas of South Africa. The study presented here documents the diversity of spiders and scorpions collected from the Nylsvley Nature Reserve (NNR), South Africa over a 30-year period. The spider fauna of NNR contains 175 species (7.5% of the total recorded in South Africa), in 131 genera and 37 families. Thomisidae is the most diverse spider family in the reserve, with 33 species (18.9% of the total), followed by Salticidae, with 20 species (11.4%), and Araneidae, with 18 species (10.3%). The majority of species (125) are wandering spiders (71.4%), whereas 50 species (28.6%) build webs. Wandering grounddwelling spiders comprise 52 species, whereas 73 wandering species have been collected from the vegetation. A total of 158 species are new records for the reserve and Oxyopes tuberculatus Lessert, 1915 is newly recorded for South Africa. Six spider species may be new to science. The scorpion fauna of NNR comprises five species (5% of the total recorded in South Africa) in three genera and two families. Buthidae are more diverse in the reserve, with four species and two genera represented. The scorpion fauna of the reserve includes two fossorial and three epigeic species, representing five ecomorphotypes: semi-zpsammophilous, pelophilous, lithophilous, corticolous and lapidicolous. Five additional scorpion species may be recorded if the reserve is sampled more intensively using appropriate techniques.


Koedoe ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 54 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan J. Taylor ◽  
Doreen Atkinson

The Abe Bailey Nature Reserve (ABNR) in the Gauteng Province of South Africa is largely unknown and offers little to attract visitors. The biological integrity of the ABNR is challenged by the urban poverty in Khutsong, the reserve’s immediate neighbour. Relations between Khutsong and the nature reserve had been hostile for decades as a result of the ‘fortress’ style of conservation protection used for the ABNR. However, this situation provided the Gauteng Directorate of Nature Conservation with an opportunity to experiment with identifying and transferring benefits to the community, as well as establishing an effective buffer zone between the nature reserve and the informal settlements of Khutsong. Following an initial rapid rural appraisal and ongoing liaison through specifically appointed project managers, an outreach programme containing two natural resource-based projects was developed. As a result, better relations were established between the ABNR and its neighbouring community for the first time since the nature reserve was established in 1977. This acted as ‘insurance’ during violent public protests and vandalism in the Khutsong border demarcation dispute (2005–2007), but may not be enough to secure the nature reserve into the future. Conservation implications: Small protected areas may not be effective in ensuring their biological integrity in the long term, but working cooperatively with existing and future neighbours is an essential strategy to optimise conservation activities in small reserves such as the ABNR.


2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 65-72
Author(s):  
V. N. Shmagol' ◽  
V. L. Yarysh ◽  
S. P. Ivanov ◽  
V. I. Maltsev

<p>The long-term population dynamics of the red deer (<em>Cervus elaphus</em> L.) and European roe deer (<em>Capreolus</em> <em>capreolus</em> L.) at the mountain and forest zone of Crimea during 1980-2017 is presented. Fluctuations in numbers of both species are cyclical and partly synchronous. Period of oscillations in the population of red deer is about 25 years, the average duration of the oscillation period of number of roe deer is 12.3 years. During the fluctuations in the number the increasing and fall in population number of the red deer had been as 26-47 %, and roe deer – as 22-34 %. Basing on the dada obtained we have assumed that together with large-scale cycles of fluctuations in population number of both red deer and roe deer the short cycles of fluctuations in the number of these species with period from 3.5 to 7.5 years take place. Significant differences of the parameters of cyclical fluctuations in the number of roe deer at some sites of the Mountainous Crimea: breaches of synchronicity, as well as significant differences in the duration of cycles are revealed. The greatest deviations from the average values of parameters of long-term dynamics of the number of roe deer in Crimea are noted for groups of this species at two protected areas. At the Crimean Nature Reserve the cycle time of fluctuations of the numbers of roe deer was 18 years. At the Karadag Nature Reserve since 1976 we can see an exponential growth in number of roe deer that is continued up to the present time. By 2016 the number of roe deer reached 750 individuals at a density of 437 animals per 1 thousand ha. Peculiarity of dynamics of number of roe deer at some sites proves the existence in the mountain forest of Crimea several relatively isolated groups of deer. We assumed that "island" location of the Crimean populations of red deer and European roe deer, their relatively little number and influence of permanent extreme factors of both natural and anthropogenic origination have contributed to a mechanism of survival of these populations. The elements of such a mechanism include the following features of long-term dynamics of the population: the reduction in the period of cyclic population fluctuations, while maintaining their amplitude and the appearance of additional small cycles, providing more flexible response of the population to the impact of both negative and positive environmental factors. From the totality of the weather conditions for the Crimean population of roe deer the recurring periods of increases and downs in the annual precipitation amount may have relevance. There was a trend of increase in the roe deer population during periods of increasing annual precipitation.</p>


2018 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
pp. 101-121 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. M. Kotkova

The paper provides the data on aphyllophoroid fungi of the State Nature Reserve «Kurgalsky» situated in the Kingisepp District of the Leningrad Region. The list includes 285 species annotated by data on their habitats, substrates and frequency. In total 25 species protected in the Leningrad Region and 3 species protected in Russian Federation were found in the protected area. Chaetodermella luna, Phlebia subochracea and Trechispora stevensonii are published for the first time for the Leningrad Region. The specimens of selected species are kept in the Mycological Herbarium of the Komarov Botanical Institute RAS (LE).


Koedoe ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 57 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Morgan B. Pfeiffer ◽  
Jan A. Venter ◽  
Colleen T. Downs

Despite the extent of subsistence farmland in Africa, little is known about endangered species that persist within them. The Cape Vulture (Gyps coprotheres) is regionally endangered in southern Africa and at least 20% of the population breeds in the subsistence farmland area previously known as the Transkei in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. To understand their movement ecology, adult Cape Vultures (n = 9) were captured and fitted with global positioning system/global system for mobile transmitters. Minimum convex polygons (MCPs),and 99% and 50% kernel density estimates (KDEs) were calculated for the breeding and non breeding seasons of the Cape Vulture. Land use maps were constructed for each 99% KDE and vulture locations were overlaid. During the non-breeding season, ranges were slightly larger(mean [± SE] MCP = 16 887 km2 ± 366 km2) than the breeding season (MCP = 14 707 km2 ± 2155 km2). Breeding and non-breeding season MCPs overlapped by a total of 92%. Kernel density estimates showed seasonal variability. During the breeding season, Cape Vultures used subsistence farmland, natural woodland and protected areas more than expected. In the non-breeding season, vultures used natural woodland and subsistence farmland more than expected, and protected areas less than expected. In both seasons, human-altered landscapes were used less, except for subsistence farmland.Conservation implications: These results highlight the importance of subsistence farm land to the survival of the Cape Vulture. Efforts should be made to minimise potential threats to vultures in the core areas outlined, through outreach programmes and mitigation measures.The conservation buffer of 40 km around Cape Vulture breeding colonies should be increased to 50 km.


Author(s):  
N.J. Smit ◽  
A.J. Davies

Developmental stages of a haemogregarine were found within polychromatocytes and erythrocytes in Giemsa-stained blood smears from six evileye pufferfish (Amblyrhynchotes honckenii) caught at Koppie Alleen in the De Hoop Nature Reserve, South Africa. This unusual haemogregarine, Haemogregarina (sensu lato) koppiensis sp. nov., was characterized by encapsulated gamonts with recurved tails, features more common in haemogregarines infecting amphibian and reptilian erythrocytes than in those from fish. Haemogregarina koppiensis is only the third species of fish haemogregarine to have been described from South Africa.


Geografie ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 103 (3) ◽  
pp. 225-231
Author(s):  
Miroslav Honců

In the region of the former military training area Ralsko 11 small scale protected areas were declared. One of them belongs to the national nature reserve category, 3 to the nature reserve category and 7 protected areas were placed in the nature monument category. The paper contains a detailed overview of all 11 declared small scale protected areas, 3 temporarily protected areas and proposals for some localities to be declared as protected.


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