Using faecal DNA to investigate the diet of the snakes, Psammophis crucifer and Psammophylax rhombeatus

>Magister Scientiae - MScKnowledge of the feeding ecology of an organism helps us to better understand predator-prey relationships and aspects of species biology, ecology and life-history traits. Understanding the feeding ecologies of snakes is challenging because snakes are generally secretive and often difficult to observe when foraging in the wild. Traditionally, studies attempting to quantify the diets of snakes relied on observing direct predation events, dissecting dead specimens, or microscopy of gut and stomach contents to identify prey species. However, investigations using traditional methods can result in an incomplete understanding of prey utilised by particular snakes. Analysis of prey DNA in snake faeces is a useful method to obtain accurate information on diet

Remote sensing and multispectral imaging of hydrological responses to land use/land cover and climate variability in contrasting agro-ecological systems in Mountainous catchment, Western Cape

>Magister Scientiae - MScWater is a fundamental resource and key in the provision of energy, food and health. However, water resources are currently under severe pressure as a consequence of climate change and variability, population growth and economic development. Two driving factors that affect the availability of water resources are land use land cover (LULC) change and climate variability. Increasing population influences both LULC change and climate variability by inducing changes in key hydrological parameters such as interception rates, evapotranspiration (ET), run-off, surface infiltration, soil moisture, water quality and groundwater availability thereby affecting the watershed hydrology. The effects of LULC change and climate variability on hydrologic parameters have been extensively studied

Spatial characterization of vegetation diversity with satellite remote sensing in the khakea-bray transboundary aquifer

>Magister Scientiae - MScThere have been increasing calls to monitor Groundwater-Dependent Ecosystems (GDEs) more effectively, since they are biodiversity hotspots that provide several ecosystem services. The accurate monitoring of GDEs is an indispensable under Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 15, because it promotes the existence of phreatophytes. It is imperative to monitoring GDEs, since their ecological significance (e.g., as biodiversity hotspots) is not well understood in most environments they exist. For example, vegetation diversity in GDEs requires routine monitoring, to conserve their biodiversity status and to preserve the ecosystem services in these environments. Such monitoring requires robust measures and techniques, particularly in arid environments threatened by groundwater over–abstraction, landcover and climate change. Although in–situ methods are reliable, they are challenging to use in extensive transboundary groundwater resources such as the Khakea-Bray Transboundary Aquifer

Heteroscleromorph demosponge taxonomy and diversity of the Amathole region (Eastern Cape, South Africa)

Philosophiae Doctor - PhDSponges are functionally important and ubiquitous components of the global marine benthos. South Africa accounts for roughly 4% of the global marine sponge diversity, comprising 374 described species and seven varieties/forms, with elevated apparent endemism (59.3%). However, an estimated 900 sponge species are thought to be undescribed, and much work is needed to update and expand our knowledge of the South African sponge fauna. The Amathole region is situated offshore of the Amathole District, around the city of East London, on the south-east coast of South Africa

A retrospective analysis of semen samples and reproductive hormones in Africa and the middle east

Philosophiae Doctor - PhDSemen analysis is the cornerstone for the investigation of male infertility. Semen quality can be influenced by geographical location, age, ejaculatory abstinence, and season. In 2010, the WHO published criteria for human semen characteristics that were markedly lower than those previously reported. Many reports have discussed the methodology used by the WHO to set the 2010 reference values. Some of the limitations of the WHO (2010) study included an undefined ejaculatory abstinence period, the limited representation of different age groups, and a limitation in geographical representation as the study did not include any data from Africa and Middle East. Therefore, the current cohort study was designed to provide retrospective data on semen quality (Africa and Middle East) and reproductive hormones (Middle East) in patients who underwent semen analysis and endocrine investigation at Andrology Laboratories in South Africa and Qatar

The art of counting fish: An analysis of the potential regulation of marine fisheries in areas beyond national jurisdiction

Magister Legum - LLMThe 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (1982 UNCLOS) is ineffective in ensuring the conservation and long-term sustainability of marine fisheries in Areas beyond national Jurisdiction (ABNJ). This is a result of the lacuna in Part VII of the 1982 UNCLOS containing the framework provisions governing the conservation and management of marine living resources in ABNJ. The lacuna relates to the fact that the 1982 UNCLOS fails to address the threats posed by high seas fisheries to the long-term sustainability of the marine environment and the marine biological diversity found therein. The lacuna has not gone unnoticed by the international community as international laws and policies have been developed to address the issues plaguing the fisheries regime in ABNJ

An investigation of the perceptions and attitudes of postgraduate students interacting with Turnitin: The case of the University of Stellenbosch Business School

Magister Artium - MAGlobally there is growing concern around increased levels of plagiarism. Gullifer and Tyson (2010, p. 463) claim that plagiarism is growing at a rapid rate, and universities are now required to devote enough time and resources to combating it. South African universities have also found themselves to be victims of plagiarism. To prevent increased levels of plagiarism in South Africa, Stellenbosch University (SU) promotes the use of Turnitin. The study described in this thesis investigated postgraduate students’ and lecturer’s perceptions and attitudes regarding plagiarism and interacting with Turnitin at the University of Stellenbosch Business School to fill a research gap, as up to this point, this topic has not been studied. The study adopted a mixed methods approach, which combined both quantitative and qualitative methods. Moreover, the theory of planned behaviour informed the study. The results show that a majority of the students and lecturers in the study were aware of plagiarism and anti-plagiarism software, particularly Turnitin. However, the majority of students still plagiarised intentionally, owing to factors that influenced their intention to plagiarise, such as laziness and poor time management, and unintentionally, owing to poor language, writing and referencing skills. The majority of students (98%) agreed that they made use of anti-plagiarism software. Moreover, 80% of the students indicated that the use of antiplagiarism software contributed to the promotion of academic integrity. Similarly, all lecturers interviewed indicated that anti-plagiarism software helped to promote and improve academic integrity

Tyrosol production of Candida species by plant extracts used for skin treatment remedies

>Magister Scientiae - MScThe fungal genus Candida is a collection of approximately 150 asporogenous yeast species which are able to cause life-threatening diseases when the normal host defences have been compromised. The most commonly isolated species is Candida albicans (C. albicans), which is a dimorphic fungus that exists in the blastopore and mycelial phase. Factors which are critical for the pathogenicity of Candida are morphological transition between yeast and hyphal forms, thigmotropism, biofilm formation, expression of adhesins, invasins on the cell surface and the secretion of hydrolytic enzymes such as phospholipases, proteases, and haemolysin

Investigating novel aspects of the blood-brain barrier using high resolution electron microscopy

Philosophiae Doctor - PhDThe blood-brain barrier (BBB) is a restrictive interface located between the blood circulation and the central nervous system (CNS), regulating the homeostatic environment of the neuronal milieu, by controlling the permeability of the cerebrovasculature. Currently, we cannot fully comprehend the regulatory features and the complexity of BBB morphology to allow for intervention clinically. The thesis consists of four publications. The methodology paper proposes a novel experimental design to visualize the morphological architecture of immortalized mouse brain endothelial cell lines (bEnd3/bEnd5). The brain endothelial cells (BECs) were grown on cellulose matrices and fixed in 2.5 % glutaraldehyde in preparation for visualization of the paracellular (PC) spaces between adjacent BECs, employing high-resolution electron microscopy (HREM), with vested interest in the morphological profile of the developing BEC

Influence of a selected endophyte consortium on salinity responses in Medicago sativa

>Magister Scientiae - MScSalinity is one of the major limiting factors to crop production, which consequently contributes to the risk of reduced food security. Among other factors, food security depends on availability of sufficient and nutritious food for humans. Livestock such as cattle and sheep are fed with various plant-based feeds; with Medicago sativa (commonly known as alfalfa or lucerne) being a very important forage/feed crop, so much that it is regarded as the queen of forage crops. However, alfalfa is severely affected by high soil salinity and thus its growth and yield are drastically reduced in soils with high NaCl content. Among the various alfalfa genotypes/varieties examined in this study, Agsalfa was identified as salt tolerant because it performed better under salt treatment compared to Magna601