The address sort and other computer sorting techniques

Originally this project was to have been a feasibility study of the use of computers in the library. It soon became clear that the logical place in the library at which to start making use of the computer was the catalogue. Once the catalogue was in machine-readable form it would be possible to work backwards to the book ordering and acquisitions system and forwards to the circulation and book issue system. One of the big advantages in using the computer to produce the catalogue would be the elimination of the "skilled drudgery" of filing. Thus vast quantities of data would need to be sorted. And thus the scope of this project was narrowed down from a general feasibility study, firstly to a study of a particular section of the library and secondly to one particularly important aspect of that section - that of sorting with the aid of the computer. I have examined many, but by no means all computer sorting techniques, programmed them in FORTRAN as efficiently as I was able, and compared their performances on the IBM 1130 computer of the University of Cape Town. I have confined myself to internal sorts, i.e. sorts that take place in core. This thesis stops short of applying the best of these techniques to the library. I intend however to do so, and to work back to the original scope of my thesis

Temporal Dimensions of Data Quality in Bird Atlases: the Case of the Second Southern African Bird Atlas Project

Halting biodiversity loss on land (Sustainable Development Goal [SDG] 15) is an unfolding problem, and as such, requires novel solutions. Citizen science (CS) promises large quantities of data, but introduces the challenge of ensuring these are valuable to conservation research and can inform meaningful action. This paper contributes to this endeavour, examining the impact of systematic as opposed to unstructured fieldwork on the biodiversity monitoring value of data from the Second Southern African Bird Atlas Project (SABAP2). SABAP2 “atlasers” work within a fine-scale grid system to generate avian species checklists that are comprehensive at the time of fieldwork. Though valuable, unstructured fieldwork efforts paint an incomplete picture; effective conservation action requires monitoring—keeping a finger on the pulse of local biodiversity through consistent and systematic data collection. Systematic collection allows for the detection of nuanced biological patterns such as seasonal population trends and movements, rapidly alerting scientists to anomalies and galvanizing swift response. It is, however, a demanding protocol, and implementation requires careful consideration of participant impact and motivations. Here, we used a newly developed approach for measuring temporal data quality to examine the systematic atlasing efforts of a CS community in the Hessequa Atlasing Area, South Africa, assessing the biodiversity monitoring value of structured data collection versus opportunistic checklists. We found that structured data collection increased the temporal resolution of atlas data, and thus its monitoring quality. We discuss challenges in maintaining achievable fieldwork goals for participants, and examine Hessequa’s project structure and participant motivations to provide recommendations for future project management

Secretarybird Sagittarius serpentarius Population Trends and Ecology: Insights from South African Citizen Science Data

Data from two long-term citizen science projects were used to examine the status and ecology of a Red List species, the Secretarybird Sagittarius serpentarius (Vulnerable), in South Africa. The first phase of the Southern African Bird Atlas Project operated from 1987 until 1992, and the second phase began in 2007. The Coordinated Avifaunal Roadcounts (CAR) project began in 1993 and by 1998 had expanded to cover much of the south-eastern half of the country. Data submitted up until April 2013 were used. A new method of comparing reporting rates between atlas projects was developed. Changing reporting rates are likely to reflect changes in abundance; in this instance the data suggest that the Secretarybird population decreased across much of South Africa between the two atlas projects, with a widespread important decrease in the Kruger National Park. Habitat data from the CAR project were analysed to gain insight into the ecology of the species. Secretarybirds tended to avoid transformed habitats across much of the area covered by the CAR project. In the winter rainfall region of the Western Cape, which is characterised by heavily transformed fynbos vegetation, at least 50% of Secretarybirds recorded were in transformed environments. This implies that in the Fynbos biome, at least, Secretarybirds have adapted to transformed environments to some degree. However, in the rest of the country it is likely that habitat loss, largely through widespread bush encroachment but also through agriculture, afforestation, and urbanisation, is a major threat to the species. The methods developed here represent a new approach to analysing data from long-term citizen science projects, which can provide important insights into a species’ conservation status and ecology

Geographic variation in the trophic ecology of an avian rocky shore predator, the African black oystercatcher, along the southern African coastline

International audienceThe reflection of baseline isotopic signals along marine food chains up to higher trophic levels has been widely used in the study of oceanic top predators but rarely for intertidal predators. We investigated variation in the δ13C and δ15N ratios of a sedentary, rocky shore predator, the African black oystercatcher Haematopus moquini, over ~2000 km of the southern African coastline, which is characterized by strong biogeographic patterns in primary productivity and intertidal communities. Blood and feathers from breeding adults and chicks and muscle tissues from primary prey items (mussels and limpets) were sampled between southern Namibia and the southeast coast of South Africa. 15N enrichment was observed between the southeast and west coasts in oystercatcher tissues and their prey, mirroring an isotope shift between the oligotrophic Agulhas Current on the east coast and the eutrophic Benguela upwelling system on the west coast. Oystercatcher blood showed δ13C values that varied between those of the carbon-depleted mussels and the carbon-enriched limpets along the coastline, which reflected changes in the proportion of grazers and filter feeders in the oystercatcher diet across the sampling range. The geographic shift in diet, dominated by mussels on the west coast and composed of mixed proportions of mussels and limpets on the southeast coasts, strongly reflected regionally high abundances of the invasive Mediterranean mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis. Finally, isotope signatures of blood and feathers displayed a strong correlation throughout the study area, indicating seasonal stability in environmental conditions and feeding habits of the adults. There were, however, local discrepancies on the south coast that indicated movement of adults occurred outside the breeding season possibly in response to a lower abundance of food in this region. Overall, the results indicate that the influence of regional oceanic conditions on the base of the food web can penetrate to the predator level, but that local effects can be incorporated within this pattern

Breeding phenology of African Black Oystercatchers Haematopus moquini on Robben Island, South Africa

The timing of the start and duration of breeding and the effect of these on breeding productivity were analysed for African Black Oystercatchers Haematopus moquini on Robben Island, South Africa, over three breeding seasons from 2001 to 2004. African Black Oystercatchers have a long breeding season, from November to March, enabling a second or sometimes a third nesting attempt after depredation or a natural disaster that destroys nests. The incubation starting date was known or estimated for 205 African Black Oystercatcher clutches over three breeding seasons. Using the estimated starting date of incubation for each nest we found that the 2001/02 and 2002/03 breeding seasons started approximately two weeks earlier than the 2003/04 season and that the 2002/03 breeding season ended approximately one month later than the other two. The late start of the 2003/04 breeding season may be a consequence of greater predation compared to the previous two breeding seasons. The 2003/04 breeding season was the shortest and had the lowest breeding productivity. The 2002/03 breeding season had a lower breeding productivity than 2001/02 because of the loss of a large number of nests during storm surge and spring high tides. The start and duration of the egg-laying period are influenced by predation risk and weather conditions.Ostrich 2008, 79(2): 141–14

The SABAP2 legacy: A review of the history and use of data generated by a long-running citizen science project

Significance:• The Second Southern African Bird Atlas Project (SABAP2) – initiated in 2007 – is one of the region’s longest-running citizen science programmes and collects spatial and temporal data on birds. • Data from the project are publicly available and used extensively by environmental impact assessment practitioners, conservationists, authors, protected area managers, scientists and the general public.• The project is the template for other established projects that now operate across the continent, collectively now falling under the ‘African Bird Atlas Project’ umbrella.• We show that since the initiation of SABAP2, there has been a three-fold increase in publications, with over 150 papers that can be attributed to SABAP2. • The contribution of citizen scientists to the published scientific domain has been enormous

The role of cultural norms in shaping attitudes towards amphibians in Cape Town, South Africa.

Urban ecosystems are increasingly viewed as an important component within strategies for wildlife conservation but are shaped as much by natural systems as they are by social and political processes. At the garden scale, attitudes and preferences govern design and maintenance choices including the decision to encourage or discourage specific faunal presence. At the global scale, charismatic taxa that are well-liked attract more conservation funding and volunteer stewardship. Amphibians are a class of animals that are both loved and loathed making them a suitable subject for comparing and unpacking the drivers of preference and attitudes towards animals. We conducted a mixed methods survey of 192 participants in three adjacent neighbourhoods in Cape Town, South Africa. The survey included both quantitative and qualitative questions which were analysed thematically and used to explain the quantitative results. The results revealed that attitudes formed during childhood tended to be retained into adulthood, were shaped by cultural norms, childhood experiences and the attitudes of primary care-givers. The findings are significant for environmental education programmes aimed at building connectedness to nature and biophilic values

Counts of quarter degree grid cells (QDGCs, 15'×15') in the Southern African Bird Atlas Project (SABAP) comparison map for Secretarybirds for 19 April 2013 (Figure 1).

<p>QDGCs are coloured if the species was observed there in either project. Reporting rates are compared using a <i>z</i>-statistic (see text). SABAP2 reporting rates were lower than SABAP1 in red, orange and yellow grid cells, and higher than SABAP1 for light and dark green and blue grid cells (see <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0096772#pone-0096772-g001" target="_blank">Figure 1</a>). Pink grid cells are those that had not yet been covered in SABAP2. Therefore, red, orange and yellow grid cells indicate areas of potential conservation concern, whereas green and blue grid cells indicate areas of apparent population increase. Columns labelled with colours give the percentage of the total for that province, with the actual number of QDGCs in parentheses. Columns to the right of the Total column present summaries of reporting rate data not presented in <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0096772#pone-0096772-g001" target="_blank">Figure 1</a> but available in <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0096772#pone.0096772.s001" target="_blank">Figure S1</a>.</p

Coordinated Avifaunal Roadcounts (CAR) project survey routes and precincts.

<p>Routes are indicated by thick grey lines, and precincts are outlined in black. CAR routes covered c. 19 000“KZN”, KwaZulu-Natal. Precincts were defined on the basis of ecological characteristics by Young et al. <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0096772#pone.0096772-Young1" target="_blank">[13]</a> (within precincts the natural vegetation type and climatic conditions are more similar than between precincts) and precinct names follow Young et al. <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0096772#pone.0096772-Young1" target="_blank">[13]</a>.</p

Habitat selection by Secretarybirds observed in the Coordinated Avifaunal Roadcounts (CAR) project in the 16 precincts for which there were sufficient data, in summer (S) and winter (W) counts.

<p>Jacobs index <i>D</i> values indicate selection for natural habitats if positive, and for transformed land if negative. The Natural and Transformed columns give the numbers of routes on which Secretarybirds showed a preference for natural or transformed habitats respectively. Sign test <i>p</i> values refer to tests of whether the number of routes with positive or negative Jacobs index <i>D</i> values was significantly different from that expected if zero selection had been shown.</p