OFFICIATING AND SECURITY AS INDICES FOR EFFECTIVE ORGANISATION OF INTER-FACULTY SPORTS COMPETITION IN UNIVERSITY OF PORT HARCOURT, NIGERIA

This study was designed to investigate the indices for effective organisation of inter-faculty sports competition in the University of Port Harcourt with emphasis on officiating and security. Information was gathered through the use of a questionnaire to collate data from students in University of Port Harcourt. A total number of one hundred respondents were used for this study. Simple random sampling technique was used to sample the respondents. The results showed that there is need for adequate knowledge of the rules and regulations guiding every sport to be competed for by both the student-athletes and officials and also adequate security. Based on the findings, it is recommended that emphasis should be on knowledge of reviewed rules and regulations for every sport by officials while adequate security should be provided at competition venues to forestall any breakdown of law and order.  Article visualizations

Safeguarding human–wildlife cooperation

Human–wildlife cooperation occurs when humans and free-living wild animals actively coordinate their behavior to achieve a mutually beneficial outcome. These interactions provide important benefits to both the human and wildlife communities involved, have wider impacts on the local ecosystem, and represent a unique intersection of human and animal cultures. The remaining active forms are human–honeyguide and human–dolphin cooperation, but these are at risk of joining several inactive forms (including human–wolf and human–orca cooperation). Human–wildlife cooperation faces a unique set of conservation challenges, as it requires multiple components—a motivated human and wildlife partner, a suitable environment, and compatible interspecies knowledge—which face threats from ecological and cultural changes. To safeguard human–wildlife cooperation, we recommend: (i) establishing ethically sound conservation strategies together with the participating human communities; (ii) conserving opportunities for human and wildlife participation; (iii) protecting suitable environments; (iv) facilitating cultural transmission of traditional knowledge; (v) accessibly archiving Indigenous and scientific knowledge; and (vi) conducting long-term empirical studies to better understand these interactions and identify threats. Tailored safeguarding plans are therefore necessary to protect these diverse and irreplaceable interactions. Broadly, our review highlights that efforts to conserve biological and cultural diversity should carefully consider interactions between human and animal cultures. Please see AfricanHoneyguides.com/abstract-translations for Kiswahili and Portuguese translations of the abstract

Safeguarding human–wildlife cooperation

Human–wildlife cooperation occurs when humans and free-living wild animals actively coordinate their behavior to achieve a mutually beneficial outcome. These interactions provide important benefits to both the human and wildlife communities involved, have wider impacts on the local ecosystem, and represent a unique intersection of human and animal cultures. The remaining active forms are human–honeyguide and human–dolphin cooperation, but these are at risk of joining several inactive forms (including human–wolf and human–orca cooperation). Human–wildlife cooperation faces a unique set of conservation challenges, as it requires multiple components—a motivated human and wildlife partner, a suitable environment, and compatible interspecies knowledge—which face threats from ecological and cultural changes. To safeguard human–wildlife cooperation, we recommend: (i) establishing ethically sound conservation strategies together with the participating human communities; (ii) conserving opportunities for human and wildlife participation; (iii) protecting suitable environments; (iv) facilitating cultural transmission of traditional knowledge; (v) accessibly archiving Indigenous and scientific knowledge; and (vi) conducting long-term empirical studies to better understand these interactions and identify threats. Tailored safeguarding plans are therefore necessary to protect these diverse and irreplaceable interactions. Broadly, our review highlights that efforts to conserve biological and cultural diversity should carefully consider interactions between human and animal cultures

IMPLEMENTATION OF GOVERNMENT POLICY, EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP AND ENGAGEMENT OF QUALIFIED PERSONNEL AS KEY INDICES FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF SPORT TOURISM IN NIGERIA

Development of sport in Nigeria has taken the centre stage in public discuss most especially at different sport event fora. The need to facilitate and engender sustainable sport development through implementation of sport policies, effective leadership and engagement of qualified personnel to drive this money-spinning industry is becoming a recurring-decima as the sector is seen to be politicised through the engagement of unqualified personnel to run the affairs of the sector thereby creating chaos and instability while the resultant effect has been that of blame game culminating in the failure of our athlete to excel at the international level despite the raw talent available in the county that boasts of over 180 million population. It is on this premise that the study examines the implementation of government policy, effective leadership and qualified personnel as key indices for the development of sport tourism in Nigeria. The study suggests that policy should be implemented to the letter to ensure continuity and sustainability. The study also suggests that effective leadership is not only paramount to sports development but also germane in the drive for a sustainable sport tourism industry. The study also suggests that qualified personnel should not be compromised for mediocrity if development is to be achieved and sustained in the sport tourism industry.  Article visualizations

Ocular morphology of the fruit bat, Eidolon helvum, and the optical role of the choroidal papillae in the megachiropteran eye: a novel insight

Background: This work was designed to provide a morphologic, morphometric and histochemical description of the eye of the African straw-coloured fruit bat (Eidolon helvum). An explanation of the optical role of the choroidal papillae in the vision of megachiropteran bats was provided. Materials and methods: Enucleated eyes of captured fruit bats were measured and processed for light microscopy. Results: Typical gross features of the mammalian eye including an anterior transparent cornea, posterior whitish sclera and a golden-brown iris surrounding a round pupil were observed in the eye. Presence of undulating retina typically found in megachiropterans were also seen. The ratio of mean corneal diameter to mean axial eye diameter was 0.58 ± 0.08. The histochemical investigation of the eye indicated the presence of mucins, proteoglycans, hyaluronic acid, glycogen and/or glycoproteins in the corneal, scleral, choroidal and retinal tissues. Conclusions: The presence of reflective materials of the tapetum lucidum on the undulating retina was shown to be a morphological adaptation for increased light sensitivity as each parabolic surface of the choroidal papillae served as a convex mirror, reflecting the light rays to the adjacent parabolic surface, thus sensitizing photoreceptors in affected regions. This phenomenon thus empowers megachiropteran bats with improved scotopic visual capability and could explain why most of them are reliant on their vison without the need for echolocation

The ecology and evolution of human-wildlife cooperation

1. Human-wildlife cooperation is a type of mutualism in which a human and a wild, free-living, animal actively coordinate their behaviour to achieve a common beneficial outcome. 2. While other cooperative human-animal interactions involving captive coercion or artificial selection (including domestication) have received extensive attention, we lack integrated insights into the ecology and evolution of human-wildlife cooperative interactions. 3. Here, we review and synthesise the function, mechanism, development, and evolution of human-wildlife cooperation. 4. Active cases involve people cooperating with greater honeyguide birds and with two dolphin species, while historical cases involve wolves and orcas. 5. In all cases, a food source located by the animal is made available to both species by a tool-using human, coordinated with cues or signals. 6. The mechanisms mediating the animal behaviours involved are unclear, but they may resemble those underlying intraspecific cooperation and reduced neophobia. 7. The skills required appear to develop at least partially by social learning in both humans and the animal partners. As a result, distinct behavioural variants have emerged in each type of human-wildlife cooperative interaction in both species, and human-wildlife cooperation is embedded within local human cultures. 8. We propose multiple potential origins for these unique cooperative interactions, and highlight how shifts to other interaction types threaten their persistence. 9. Finally, we identify key questions for future research. We advocate an approach that integrates ecological, evolutionary, and anthropological perspectives to advance our understanding of human-wildlife cooperation. In doing so, we will gain new insights into the diversity of our ancestral, current, and future interactions with the natural world.Natalie Uomini was supported by the Max Planck Society and grant #0271 from the Templeton World Charity Foundation. The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of Templeton World Charity Foundation. Mauricio Cantor was supported by the Department for the Ecology of Animal Societies, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior. Fábio Daura-Jorge was supported by CAPES (#88887.374128/2019-00), CNPq (#308867/2019-0)

Safeguarding human-wildlife cooperation

Human–wildlife cooperation occurs when humans and free-living wild animals actively coordinate their behavior to achieve a mutually beneficial outcome. These interactions provide important benefits to both the human and wildlife communities involved, have wider impacts on the local ecosystem, and represent a unique intersection of human and animal cultures. The remaining active forms are human–honeyguide and human–dolphin cooperation, but these are at risk of joining several inactive forms (including human–wolf and human–orca cooperation). Human–wildlife cooperation faces a unique set of conservation challenges, as it requires multiple components—a motivated human and wildlife partner, a suitable environment, and compatible interspecies knowledge—which face threats from ecological and cultural changes. To safeguard human–wildlife cooperation, we recommend: (i) establishing ethically sound conservation strategies together with the participating human communities; (ii) conserving opportunities for human and wildlife participation; (iii) protecting suitable environments; (iv) facilitating cultural transmission of traditional knowledge; (v) accessibly archiving Indigenous and scientific knowledge; and (vi) conducting long-term empirical studies to better understand these interactions and identify threats. Tailored safeguarding plans are therefore necessary to protect these diverse and irreplaceable interactions. Broadly, our review highlights that efforts to conserve biological and cultural diversity should carefully consider interactions between human and animal cultures