Local Ecological Knowledge and Communitybased Management of Wildlife Resources: A Study of the Mumbwa and Lupande Game Management Areas of Zambia

The aim of this study was to investigate the scope of local ecological knowledge (LEK) in the Lupande and Mumbwa Game Management Areas (GMAs) of Zambia and to assess the extent to which such knowledge has been used in the management of wildlife resources in the two areas. Quantitative and qualitative data were gathered through interviews and surveys in the two case-study areas. It was found that LEK in the study areas included taboos associated with the sustainable use of natural resources, traditional teachings that guided the local people as to the correct time to harvest their natural resources and providedknowledge of the natural distribution of plants in the two areas. Finally, it is recommended that, in order to complement modern scientific knowledge in the realisation of sustainable wildlife resource management, greater attention be paid to the LEK possessed by communities

Chromhome: a rich internet application for accessing comparative chromosome homology maps.

BACKGROUND: Comparative genomics has become a significant research area in recent years, following the availability of a number of sequenced genomes. The comparison of genomes is of great importance in the analysis of functionally important genome regions. It can also be used to understand the phylogenetic relationships of species and the mechanisms leading to rearrangement of karyotypes during evolution. Many species have been studied at the cytogenetic level by cross species chromosome painting. With the large amount of such information, it has become vital to computerize the data and make them accessible worldwide. Chromhome http://www.chromhome.org is a comprehensive web application that is designed to provide cytogenetic comparisons among species and to fulfil this need. RESULTS: The Chromhome application architecture is multi-tiered with an interactive client layer, business logic and database layers. Enterprise java platform with open source framework OpenLaszlo is used to implement the Rich Internet Chromhome Application. Cross species comparative mapping raw data are collected and the processed information is stored into MySQL Chromhome database. Chromhome Release 1.0 contains 109 homology maps from 51 species. The data cover species from 14 orders and 30 families. The homology map displays all the chromosomes of the compared species as one image, making comparisons among species easier. Inferred data also provides maps of homologous regions that could serve as a guideline for researchers involved in phylogenetic or evolution based studies. CONCLUSION: Chromhome provides a useful resource for comparative genomics, holding graphical homology maps of a wide range of species. It brings together cytogenetic data of many genomes under one roof. Inferred painting can often determine the chromosomal homologous regions between two species, if each has been compared with a common third species. Inferred painting greatly reduces the need to map entire genomes and helps focus only on relevant regions of the chromosomes of the species under study. Future releases of Chromhome will accommodate more species and their respective gene and BAC maps, in addition to chromosome painting data. Chromhome application provides a single-page interface (SPI) with desktop style layout, delivering a better and richer user experience.RIGHTS : This article is licensed under the BioMed Central licence at http://www.biomedcentral.com/about/license which is similar to the 'Creative Commons Attribution Licence'. In brief you may : copy, distribute, and display the work; make derivative works; or make commercial use of the work - under the following conditions: the original author must be given credit; for any reuse or distribution, it must be made clear to others what the license terms of this work are

Spawning and non-breeding activity of adult giant bullfrogs (Pyxicephalus adspersus)

Populations of the giant bullfrog (Pyxicephalus adspersus) have been poorly monitored due to the unpredictable appearance of this species aboveground. To better understand the activity of P. adspersus we quantified spawning by a population during five summers, and the activity of twenty adult frogs radio-tracked at the same site ca. twice weekly during the first three summers. In addition we examined animal activity, and population spawning in relation to meteorological variables, day of season, and moonlight. During the six-month summer period, males and females, respectively, spent 10±7 and 3±2 days at water, and 22±5 and 13±5 nights active. Greater proportions of radio-tracked animals moved overland, and/or foraged at night, around full moon, after heavy rainfall, when cooler, and less windy conditions prevailed. More animals were found at water, or on land during the day, and population spawning was more likely, earlier in summer, following heavier rainfall. Spawning occurred most frequently, in descending order, during December, January, and November, and was triggered by 40±16 mm rain in 24h. Spawning events lasted 2±1 days, but were prolonged around full moon. Numbers of males at spawning events varied between 30 and 500 males, and were positively correlated with the previous day's rainfall. Annually 6±1 spawning events occurred, and numbers of annual spawning events were positively correlated with total summer rainfall. Results of this study show that single counts of spawning adults will often result in gross underestimates of population size, and therefore, long-term adult counts are necessary to detect real population trends. Due to the unpredictable activity of adults, however, it may be more practical to monitor, within certain areas, the number of aquatic sites where breeding occurs, for improved conservation management of P. adspersus.The study was funded through the Endangered Wildlife Trust by Rand Merchant Bank, the Pretoria East branch of the South African Hunter’s and Game Conservation Association, Arrow Bulk Marketing, Cellar Rats Wine Club, Bill Flynn and Diaz Films.http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/ther2

The evolution of imprinting: chromosomal mapping of orthologues of mammalian imprinted domains in monotreme and marsupial mammals.

BACKGROUND: The evolution of genomic imprinting, the parental-origin specific expression of genes, is the subject of much debate. There are several theories to account for how the mechanism evolved including the hypothesis that it was driven by the evolution of X-inactivation, or that it arose from an ancestrally imprinted chromosome. RESULTS: Here we demonstrate that mammalian orthologues of imprinted genes are dispersed amongst autosomes in both monotreme and marsupial karyotypes. CONCLUSION: These data, along with the similar distribution seen in birds, suggest that imprinted genes were not located on an ancestrally imprinted chromosome or associated with a sex chromosome. Our results suggest imprinting evolution was a stepwise, adaptive process, with each gene/cluster independently becoming imprinted as the need arose.RIGHTS : This article is licensed under the BioMed Central licence at http://www.biomedcentral.com/about/license which is similar to the 'Creative Commons Attribution Licence'. In brief you may : copy, distribute, and display the work; make derivative works; or make commercial use of the work - under the following conditions: the original author must be given credit; for any reuse or distribution, it must be made clear to others what the license terms of this work are

Community visioning in a transfrontier conservation area in Southern Africa paves the way towards landscapes combining agricultural production and biodiversity conservation

This study employed participatory approaches to establish ways of engaging local communities within a transfrontier conservation area, towards achieving the goals of integrated agricultural production and biodiversity conservation at a landscape level, known as ecoagriculture. We facilitated farmers’ meetings to create charts of local environmental and livelihood concerns and of their vision of the future. Water scarcity, bad road conditions, unemployment and low harvests emerged among the most prevalent concerns. Through a visioning process, participants arrived at a desired future that was largely inclined towards improved livelihoods, with comparatively little attention on biodiversity enhancement. We conclude that stakeholder-driven ecoagriculture could be a sustainable strategy to simultaneously achieve the community’s vision and the goals of transfrontier conservation areas, provided biodiversity management strategies are linked to infrastructure improvement and income generating activities. We recommend a community visioning process as an effective approach to encourage collective action and to support local ownership of development programmes.The International Foundation for Science (IFS), the National Research Foundation (South Africa), CIRAD (France) and the University of Pretoria.http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/cjep2

Unique combinations of stakeholders in a transfrontier conservation area promote biodiversity-agriculture integration

The world seeks to balance biodiversity protection and food production. Transfrontier conservation areas (TFCAs) provide unique opportunities for strategies that combine agriculture with biodiversity conservation at a landscape level, known as ecoagriculture. We identified and consulted ecoagriculture stakeholders in a smallholder farming community within a TFCA. Data were obtained through key informant interviews and questionnaire surveys. Eighty-eight percent of key informants indicated that planned ecoagriculture was feasible in the area and 95% of interviewed farmers positively considered to plan the integration of biodiversity conservation and farming. Potential conflicts of interest were revealed among stakeholders but to a large extent, stakeholder roles and interests were complementary, creating an environment conducive to effective coordinated ecoagriculture planning.The National Research Foundation (South Africa), CIRAD (France), the International Foundation for Science (IFS), the French Institute of South Africa (IFAS), and the University of Pretoria. Ezemvelo-KZN Wildlife and the Wildlands Conservation Trust.http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/wjsa2

Does sexual selection explain the courtship song of field crickets (Gryllus bimaculatus)?

This study evaluates the factors that may potentially affect the courtship songs of Gryllus bimaculatus, (including: wing morphology, male body size and the male’s current nutritional condition) and whether female crickets assess male courtship song.This paper was initially delivered at the Annual Congress of the Biological Sciences Division of the South African Academy for Science and Art, ARC-Plant Protection Research Institute, Roodeplaat, Pretoria, South Africa on 01 October 2010.http://www.satnt.ac.zaam2014ab201

Conservation implications of the age/size distribution of giant bullfrogs (Pyxicephalus adspersus) at three pen-urban breeding sites

Nothing is known about the age of wild Giant Bullfrogs (Pyxicephalus adspersus); yet this information has important conservation implications for this regionally threatened species. We quantified and compared the age, body size and body condition of adult male and female P. adspersus caught during spawning events at peri-urban breeding sites in Diepsloot and at Glen Austin and Bullfrog pans in Gauteng Province, South Africa. Age was estimated from lines of arrested growth (LAG) counted in cross-sections of animal phalanges. Males and females from all three sites possessed 6±2 (max. 16) and 4±1 (max. 11) LAG, respectively, suggesting shorter female longevity. Individuals with <3 LAG were not encountered at the breeding sites, implying that newly metamorphosed P. adspersus require at least three years to reach sexual maturity. There was no significant difference in the LAG counts of same-sex animals between the three sites. However, mean male snout-vent length, mass, and body condition was greatest at Glen Austin Pan, and lowest at Bullfrog Pan. The latter is possibly explained by chemical contamination of Bullfrog Pan from an adjacent disused landfill. At Glen Austin Pan males and females sampled in 2004-06 for this study were significantly shorter than those sampled at the same site in 1992-93 for a different study. Our results suggest that male P. adspersus may live for 20 years or more in the wild, but at some peri-urban breeding sites adult life expectancy is declining. Juvenile P. adspersus are most threatened by terrestrial habitat transformation because they take ≥3 years to mature, during which period they may move great distances from their natal site. Differences in the size and condition of P. adspersus between the study sites suggests that the species requires site-specific management in addition to conservation at larger spatial scales.Rand Merchant Bank, the Pretoria East branch of the South African Hunter’s and Game Conservation Association, and Arrow Bulk Marketing.http://www.thebhs.org/pubs_journal.htmlam2017Paraclinical SciencesZoology and Entomolog

Inadequate community engagement hamstrings sustainable wildlife resource management in Zambia

We propose improvements for addressing the inadequate sustainable use of wildlife resources in the community‐based natural resource management (CBNRM) programme in game management areas (GMAs) using case study data from Mumbwa and Lupande GMAs in Zambia. Firstly, we assess the sustainability of wildlife resources in these GMAs using design principles for enduring common pool institutions. Secondly, we propose the steps required to address the lack of sustainability of wildlife resources in the CBNRM programme in the two GMAs by building on indicators suggested by Ostrom's principles. The resource use patterns in the two GMAs were assessed according to their socio‐economic and institutional factors. Comparisons were made between the two GMAs in relation to Ostrom's design principles. Accordingly, the combination of socio‐economic and institutional factors restrains the sustainable use of wildlife resources in the two GMAs. Unless the Zambian government provides local communities with meaningful decision‐making powers and benefits for the utilisation and management of wildlife, this resource is likely to disappear outside national parks.The STRECC Programme of Maastricht University in the Netherlands and the Association of African Universities in Ghana. Michael John Somers also thanks the National Research Fund (NRF) Incentive Fund.https://wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/aje2020-07-27hj2019Centre for Wildlife ManagementMammal Research Institut