Ecology and Diversity of Wild Bees and Wasps in An Urban Landscape

Bees are a diverse group of essential pollinators and useful for studying the impacts of urban environmental change on local biodiversity. A subset of solitary bee species widespread in cities the cavity-nesters nest in plant stems and bored holes in wood and readily use human-made nest boxes comprised of these materials or similar ones. Many solitary wasps that predate on abundant and pest arthropod species also use these nest boxes. Nest boxes provide information on diversity, parasitism, and a plethora of other data on cavity-nesting bees and wasps. The main objective was to detect patterns in cavity-nesting bee and wasp diversity using nest boxes and determine the urban factors that impact their populations. A primary goal was to connect urban gardening, land use planning, and policy more directly with bee populations. Nest boxes were set up at 200 home gardens, community gardens, urban parks, and green roofs and each monitored by a member of a large network of citizen scientists. Nest boxes were set out in April and retrieved in October over three years (2011-2013). From October to March, bee, wasp, and parasite larvae were removed, then reared and identified to species. From over 27,000 records, 84 species of bees, wasps, and parasites were identified from three years including new records for the Toronto region. More native species were recorded than exotic ones, however the most abundant colonizers were exotic [Megachile rotundata Fabricius, Osmia caerulescens (Linnaeus)] and half of the colonizers were wasps. The type of urban green space surveyed and increasing habitat availability index (HAI), which included high resolution mapping of seven different land use types within 200m of the nest box, were important for increasing colonization. Diversity and abundance in nest boxes and in particularly that of bees was positively influenced by the luxury effect, while wasps and parasites responded negatively to increasing human population density. Nest boxes are useful tools for study of populations of cavity-nesting bees and wasps and can become catalysts for conversation regarding bee populations, diversity, and declines

THE APPLICATION OF COLLABORATIVE PLANNING PRINCIPLES WITH A CONTENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM AND WEB 2.0 TECHNOLOGIES

As urban planners have sought to move away from the rationalist approach that has been employed for decades, and to encourage more public participation than has traditionally existed in the planning process, they have consistently encountered obstacles in successfully communicating with other stakeholders. Likewise, many citizens do not feel they have enough access to planning-related information or adequate means of participation. These systemic problems are due in large part to the limitations of the media on which planning documents have always been printed; the structure and content of the paper-based comprehensive plan has meant that the rationalist process has, at least until recently, been planners\u27 only feasible option for conveying information to the public. However, the ubiquity of the Internet and the development of structured wikis and content management systems have arguably overcome this barrier, as these tools offer the communication power that planners have long needed. The purpose of this thesis is to research these collaborative technologies, study their functionality and practical feasibility, and propose that they be implemented as an alternative approach to a document and decision making model that is rapidly becoming obsolete

Assessing the Efficacy of Incorporating Game Dynamics in a Learning Management System

The goal of the study was to see if gamification of a Learning Management System (LMS) would increase a number of desirable outcomes: student interest, motivation, satisfaction, student learning and perception of pedagogical affect. These constructs were measured in a survey, except for learning, which was measured by grades. Gamification of the LMS included the addition of all of the following: (1) An illustrated hero’s adventure storyline with monsters to overcome by completing quests (assignments and assessments), (2) Olympic colored badges to represent individual grades as well as overall progress, (3) Points earned on a game-like scale—e.g., 100,000 points for the course, (4) A leaderboard with anonymous names and avatars, (5) Lives which allowed students to turn in a fixed number of late assignments without penalty. While open-ended responses suggested that students appreciated some gamification aspects, the quantitative data suggested that gamification has virtually no effect on the constructs measured. Only relatedness (a sub-construct of motivation) and student interest were found to be significant, although with small effect sizes. This study contributes to existing literature by exploring the impact of gamification of an LMS for a required introductory course in information systems

The distribution and hosts of Rhipicephalus glabroscutatum

Three domestic and 12 wild species of ungulate have been recorded as hosts of Rhipicephalus glabroscutatum. The major site of attachment for larvae, nymphs and adults is around the hooves and on the lower legs. This tick is virtually confined to the eastern Cape Province, Republic of South Africa. Classed as an obligative xerophile it inhabits non-coastal areas of low rainfall characterized by Karoo and Karoid vegetation.The articles have been scanned in colour with a HP Scanjet 5590; 600dpi. Adobe Acrobat XI Pro was used to OCR the text and also for the merging and conversion to the final presentation PDF-format.Council for Scientific and Industrial Research. Meat Board. Mohair Board. Rhodes University

An ecological study of the ixodid tick rhipicephalus glabroscutatum (Du Toit, 1941)

An intensive study was conducted on the free-living larvae and parasitic life stages of R.glabroscutatum on Angora and Boer goats in the Uitenhage district. Free-living larvae exhibited periods of maximum relative abundance during months of generally lower rainfall, from the end of autumn to the beginning of spring. Relative larval abundance in open and gully sites was low while larvae were rarely found in bush sites. Relative abundance was higher at 20h00 than at 08h00 and 14h00. Repeated sampling in the same areas did not reduce larval numbers. Over 99% of parasitic ticks removed from Angora and Boer goats were located on the feet. The annual occurrence of a low and variable number of parasitic immatures was synchronous with the occurrence of free-living larvae. High, less variable numbers of adult ticks were removed from goat feet from September to December, the highest numbers being recorded during October and November. The occurrence of a single period of parasitic adult abundance annually indicated a life cycle with 1 generation per anum. There were higher numbers of adult ticks on the feet of the Angora goats than on the Boer goats. Adult numbers were higher on the hind feet of both breeds of goats than on the front feet. R.glabroscutatum adults seem to be implicated in the aetiology of foot abscesses since more infections were observed in Angora goats than in Boer goats and on the hind feet rather than the front feet within both goat groups. In addition R.glabroscutatum adults attached at interdigital sites where abscesses also originated and reached highest numbers in October and November when abscesses were most frequently observed. A review of distribution and host records indicated that R.glabroscutatum was limited in its distribution to the eastern Cape Province, being primarily located in South Africa's major mohair producing areas. R.glabroscutatum was classed an obligative xerophile on the basis of its recorded occurrence in non coastal areas with a low annual rainfall and Karoo and Karroid Bush vegetation. Host records for R.glabroscutatum included 10 species of wild ungulate, sheep, goats and cattle. The common site of occurrence on small stock and on small to medium sized wild animals appeared to be the legs and feet

Plant Species and Functional Group Combinations Affect Green Roof Ecosystem Functions

Green roofs perform ecosystem services such as summer roof temperature reduction and stormwater capture that directly contribute to lower building energy use and potential economic savings. These services are in turn related to ecosystem functions performed by the vegetation layer such as radiation reflection and transpiration, but little work has examined the role of plant species composition and diversity in improving these functions.We used a replicated modular extensive (shallow growing- medium) green roof system planted with monocultures or mixtures containing one, three or five life-forms, to quantify two ecosystem services: summer roof cooling and water capture. We also measured the related ecosystem properties/processes of albedo, evapotranspiration, and the mean and temporal variability of aboveground biomass over four months. Mixtures containing three or five life-form groups, simultaneously optimized several green roof ecosystem functions, outperforming monocultures and single life-form groups, but there was much variation in performance depending on which life-forms were present in the three life-form mixtures. Some mixtures outperformed the best monocultures for water capture, evapotranspiration, and an index combining both water capture and temperature reductions. Combinations of tall forbs, grasses and succulents simultaneously optimized a range of ecosystem performance measures, thus the main benefit of including all three groups was not to maximize any single process but to perform a variety of functions well.Ecosystem services from green roofs can be improved by planting certain life-form groups in combination, directly contributing to climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies. The strong performance by certain mixtures of life-forms, especially tall forbs, grasses and succulents, warrants further investigation into niche complementarity or facilitation as mechanisms governing biodiversity-ecosystem functioning relationships in green roof ecosystems

Biodiversity in the city: key challenges for urban green space management

Cities play important roles in the conservation of global biodiversity, particularly through the planning and management of urban green spaces (UGS). However, UGS management is subject to a complex assortment of interacting social, cultural, and economic factors, including governance, economics, social networks, multiple stakeholders, individual preferences, and social constraints. To help deliver more effective conservation outcomes in cities, we identify major challenges to managing biodiversity in UGS and important topics warranting further investigation. Biodiversity within UGS must be managed at multiple scales while accounting for various socioeconomic and cultural influences. Although the environmental consequences of management activities to enhance urban biodiversity are now beginning to be addressed, additional research and practical management strategies must be developed to balance human needs and perceptions while maintaining ecological processes

Are urban systems beneficial, detrimental, or indifferent for biological invasion?

Urban environments are often seen as unique or degraded habitats that both present hardships for some sensitive species and provide opportunities to others. Non-indigenous species (NIS) are commonly referenced in the latter group, and are comprised of species that can tolerate the unique conditions or capitalize on the opportunities found in urban environments. Moreover, these urban beneficiaries may be those that normally cannot overcome competitive interactions in intact native communities, but find opportunity to flourish in urban habitats. We ask the question: do NIS benefit from urbanization? We answer this question using three strategies. First, we explore the problem conceptually, using community assembly theory. Second, we perform a broad literature review. Finally, we analyze studies with sufficient information using a meta-analysis. We show that the available evidence supports the proposition that NIS benefit from urbanization, with NIS obtaining higher abundances and greater diversity in more urbanized habitats. There were only 43 studies that measured NIS abundance and diversity while adequately quantifying the degree of urbanization surrounding plots, and effect sizes (measured by Hedge’s D) reveal that NIS obtain higher abundances in more urbanized habitats, and especially for invertebrates. Despite the intense interest in NIS dynamics and impacts, we note a general dearth of robust studies that adequately quantify ‘urbanization’, and we end with a general call for more detailed research

Parasites of domestic and wild animals in South Africa XXXIX : helminth and arthropod parasites of Angora goats in the southern Karoo

Parasites were collected from 160 Angora goats and kids on the Jansenville Experimental Farm, Eastern Cape Province. Six nematodes were identified to species level and three to generic level. Nematodirus spathiger was the most numerous of the economically important nematodes recovered. It was always present, and fourth stage larvae were collected from untreated goats from August to March, while animals used as tracers also picked up most infection from August to March. Kids born on the farm during October acquired their first nematode infections between 2 and 3 months of age and the intensity of infection increased erratically thereafter to reach a plateau once the kids were 14 months of age. Eight of the nine kids between 3 and 5 months of age and examined between January and March were infected with Moniezia expansa. Five ixodid tick species were collected from the goats of which Rhipicephalus glabroscutatum was the most numerous and prevalent. Its immature stages were present mainly from March to September and adults from July to January. The goats also harboured the biting louse Damalinia limbata and the sucking louse Linognathus africanus. The greatest intensity of infestation with L. africanus occurred on the kids during the first few months of their lives. The larvae of the nasal bot fly, Oestrus ovis were present in kids at 1 month of age, and infestation took place mainly from spring to late summer.The articles have been scanned in colour with a HP Scanjet 5590; 600dpi. Adobe Acrobat v.9 was used to OCR the text and also for the merging and conversion to the final presentation PDF-format.Mohair Board. Department of Agriculture and Water Supply. Foundation for Research Development. Rhodes University.mn201

Helminth parasites of grysbok, common duikers and Angora and Boer goats in the Valley Bushveld in the eastern Cape Province

Helminth parasites were collected from 13 grysbok, Raphicerus melanotis, 12 common duikers, Sylvicapra grimmia, 24 Angora goats and 24 Boer goats killed on a farm in Valley Bushveld in the eastern Cape Province. Nematodes belonging to 9 species and a further 2 genera and cestodes belonging to 1 species and a further genus were recovered from the grysbok. Of these, worms of the genus Skrjabinema, Trichostrongylus rugatus, Trichostrongylus pietersei and Nematodirus spathiger were the most prevalent and the most numerous. An amended list of the helminths of grysbok is included. Seven nematodes, identified to species and 1 identified to genus were recovered from the common duikers. N. spathiger and Setaria scalprum were the most prevalent, while N. spathiger and Trichostrongylus axei were the most abundant. The Angora goats were infested with at least 10 nematode species and 2 cestodes and the Boer goats with at least 14 nematode species. With the exception of Trichostrongylus pietersei, the Boer goats harboured more nematodes of each species than did the Angora goats. Nematodirus spp. and worms of the genus Skrjabinema were most numerous in Angora goats, and Nematodirus spp. and Teladorsagia circumcincta in the Boer goats. No clear pattern of seasonal abundance was evident for any of the helmith species in the various hosts.The articles have been scanned in colour with a HP Scanjet 5590; 600dpi. Adobe Acrobat XI Pro was used to OCR the text and also for the merging and conversion to the final presentation PDF-format.lmchunu2014mn201