UCT Open Access Journals (Univ. of Cape Town)
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Tracking the range expansion of the Marico Sunbird Cinnyris mariquensis in South Africa through SABAP2
Get PDFThe Marico Sunbird Cinnyris mariquensis is usually confined to dry Acacia savanna and broad-leaved and riparian woodlands, and often associated with riparian vegetation in arid regions. A large proportion of its range is centred in the drier central and western regions within southern Africa but it also occurs in the wetter sub-tropical woodlands in the eastern parts of the country. owie 2005). It is an active sunbird that feeds in association with other conspecifics including White-bellied Sunbird C. talatala and Dusky Sunbird C. fuscus. This paper describes how the range is expanding into the Northern Cape and Free State provinces in central South Africa
More on the pre-copulatory display of the Red-faced Mousebird
Get PDFA common feature of the pre-copulatory displays of mousebirds (Coliidae) is their peculiar ?bouncing? or ?bobbing? display. During this display a bird bobs rhythmically at approximately 1 second intervals on a sturdy branch or platform. Although the bobbing bird usually clears the branch by between 2 and 4 cm, it will occasionally bob by simply extending the legs upward without its feet leaving the branch. Other pre-copulatory activities of mousebirds include feather fluffing (raising) by the bobbing bird, allopreening (mainly by the male), and bill rubbing (by both sexes)
European Pied Flycatcher Ficedula hypoleuca - the first confirmed record for the southern African subregion
Get PDFEye-witness account of the discovery of European Pied Flycatcher Ficedula hypoleuca in southern Africa
Reed banks used regularly as a day time roost by White-backed Night-Herons in the Kruger National Park
Get PDFjust after sunset I watched a single adult emerge from reed banks and start hunting in a pool nearb
Productive value of farmland in Gauteng with implications for land reform
Get PDFInformation about the productive value of farmland is essential for willing buyer, willing seller land reform. We used the farm census to investigate the demand for land for two statistical regions in Gauteng over the period 1983 to 2002. With values in constant 2010 prices throughout, comparable demand curves were constructed from gross farm revenues. Although gross revenue varied from year to year and site to site, it usually fell in a band of R2,000 to R3,000 per hectare for this maize growing and cattle rearing area. During the study period maize production shrank by three quarters in both areas, while cattle numbers stayed constant at one site and fell by 67% at the other site. While one would expect some decline in agriculture due to urbanization, it is likely that the census no longer attains sufficient coverage to be considered a census. The minimum land reform grant can typically buy less than a hectare of farmland in this area while the maximum grant plus substantial own contribution barely achieves a farm size of thirty hectares. It is therefore unsurprising that land reform is failing
Cape Sparrows nesting in a Black-collared Barbet nest cavity
Get PDFwe have not found any record of this species using the excavated nest of a primary cavity nesting specie
Foraging behaviour of some members of the gleaning guild in southern Africa
Get PDFThe object of this study is to describe the foraging behaviour of certain foliage gleaners ..
The impacts of the Pied Crow Corvus albus on other species need to be determined
Get PDFIf it is confirmed that Pied Crows are having substantial negative impacts on prey and/or competitor species, as seems to be inevitable where the abundance of crows has increased massively, remedial action to prevent or minimise damage should be taken
Quantification of Leishmania major parasites in dendritic cells deficient for IL-4Rα signalling in BALB/c mice
Get PDFSusceptibility and resistance in cutaneous Leishmania major infection, is characterised by induction of distinct subsets of immunological response. BALB/c mice display susceptibility to L. major infection, developing T helper 2 (Th2) cell dominated responses with production of cytokines Interleukin-4 (IL-4) and IL-13. In contrast, resistant C57BL/6 mice catalyse Th1 dominated immune responses with increased IL-12 and Interferon-gamma (IFNγ). Th1 responses are associated with classical macrophage activation and parasite killing via inducible nitrous oxide synthase(iNOs). Paradoxically IL-4 administration during dendritic (DC) priming has been demonstrated to induce IL-12 production by these DC’s and instruct a Th1 dominant response. To elucidate the role of endogenous IL-4 levels on DC mediated T cell education, BALB/c mice deficient for the IL-4 receptor α chain (a receptor shared between IL-4 and IL-13) specifically on DCs were generated by gene rearrangement. These CD11ccreIL-4Rα-/lox mice show hypersusceptibility to L. major infection with increased footpad swelling, peripheral parasite load and reduced iNOS in both macrophages and DCs. Confocal microscopy shows these DCs to be major etiological factors in disease dissemination due to their migratory capacity and reduced parasite killing functions in the absence of early IL-4Rα mediated response
Comparing reporting rates between the First and Second Southern African Bird Atlas Projects
No full textIn this paper I will synthesise the problems with comparisons between the two bird atlas projects