Browsing Ecology by Issue Date
Now showing items 1-20 of 84
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The comparative ecology of Natal's smaller estuaries.
(1983)Fifty one of Natal's 73 estuaries have been almost completely overlooked in terms of any scientific study, despite which a marine nursery function has commonly been attributed to each of them. In the knowledge that many ... -
Comparative water relations of Protea nitida seedlings and sprouters after fire.
(1990)This study was undertaken to determine the effect of vegetation structure (the ratio of re-seeding to re-sprouting plants) on post-fire catchment water yield. Plant communities are the only components of mountain catchments ... -
The ecology and parasitology of small mammals from selected sites in Swaziland.
(2007)The study was initially a long term study of the ecology of small mammals at Mlawula Nature Reserve in the eastern part of Swaziland. Due to the drought and dwindling numbers of rodents in the reserve the study was ... -
The ecological implications of sea-level rise and storms for sandy beaches in KwaZulu-Natal.
(2008)The aesthetic appeal of beaches has made coastal properties prime sites for development. However, this development has been mismanaged and is within the littoral active zone. Beaches retreat landwards as sea levels rise, ... -
Behaviour of bottlenose dolphins : inference for dolphin tourism off Durban, South Africa.
(2008)During long-term studies of dolphins, the number of individuals in the population being studied are constantly monitored using the technique of photo-identification. This constant monitoring makes use of different ... -
Ecology and evolution of the specialized hemipepsis-wasp (Hymenoptera : Pompilidae) pollination guild in South Africa.
(2011)Pollinators are believed to have played a key role in the radiation of flowering plants. The Grant-Stebbins model of pollinator-mediated speciation, in which evolutionary shifts between pollinators result in phenotypic ... -
Changes in adult female white rhino seasonal home ranges in relation to variation in food quality and availability.
(2013)As the dry season progresses across southern Africa, the availability and quality of food declines for large herbivores. Female white rhinos compensate for these declines by expanding and/or shifting their home ranges. ... -
What drives the seasonal movements of african elephants (Loxodonta africana) in Ithala Game Reserve?
(2013)The changes in plant quality and availability in space and time present a substantial problem to mammalian herbivores. As a result, these herbivores need to alter their foraging behaviour to maximize their energy gain at ... -
Spatial and reproductive ecology and population status of the Nile crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus) in the Lake St Lucia estuarine system, South Africa.
(2014)The Lake St Lucia estuarine system, Africa’s largest and oldest protected estuary, also contains the largest Nile Crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus) population in a single waterbody in South Africa. We investigated the ... -
The ecology of black-backed jackal (Canis mesomelas) on farmlands in the Midlands of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
(2014)Agricultural development is progressively being attributed as a cause of biodiversity loss. Despite this development, some species do successfully inhabit these transformed habitats and benefit from increased food and ... -
Aspects of fruit digestion and selection in selected Southern African avain frugivores.
(2014)Fruit-frugivore interactions play a central in maintaining the structure and diversity of ecosystems through their effects on seed dispersal. Because fruit selection and thus fruit removal represents the first stage in the ... -
Flexibility in metabolic rate in a small Afrotropical bird Zosterops virens.
(2014)The scientific literature contains hundreds of studies on avian basal metabolic rate (BMR), many of which assumed that BMR was fixed for each species. Yet those from the last few decades have shown avian BMR to be a flexible ... -
The ecology and conservation biology of Lilian's lovebird Agapornis lilianae in Malawi.
(2014)Despite their popularity, parrots are the world’s most threatened birds. Lovebirds (Agapornis) are very popular pet and aviary birds and as ecologically specialised species in the wild, they are also among the most threatened ... -
Key factors driving the foraging ecology of Oribi : fear, cattle and the quality and quantity of food.
(2015)Body size and digestive physiology are two factors that influence herbivores foraging behaviour, habitat use and potential to compete with other animals. The aim of this study was to determine how seasonal changes in grass ... -
Ecosystem carbon change of shrub-encroached grasslands across a precipitation gradient in South Africa.
(2015)Abstract available in PDF file. -
The ecology of large-spotted genets within an urban landscape.
(2015)Urbanization is one of the most damaging and rapidly expanding forms of anthropogenic landscape modification and is having profound consequences on biodiversity worldwide. The global increase in urbanization has resulted ... -
Aspects of Nile crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus) population ecology and behaviour in Pongolapoort Dam, KwaZulu-Natal.
(2015)Pongolapoort Dam is one of the largest dams in South Africa by volume. It is also home to a breeding population of Nile crocodiles (Crocodylus niloticus). Crocodiles are keystone species which play an important ecological ... -
Aspects of the ecology of feral cats (Felis catus) in urban Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
(2015)With changing land use such as urbanization, certain species thrive and are successful despite changes in the modified landscapes. Therefore, study of the ecology, adaptations and survival of these species in an urban ... -
Population dynamics and relocation success of the oribi antelope (Ourebia ourebi) in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
(2015)In South Africa, oribi (Ourebia ourebi) antelope are listed as vulnerable. The lack of understanding of their population dynamics makes it difficult for oribi conservation. To address these gaps, I used the Oribi Working ... -
Morphometrics, ecotoxicology and stable isotope ecology of Nile crocodiles (Crocodylus niloticus) in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
(2015)Abstract available in PDF.