Diversity of bacteria isolated from the flies Musca domestica (Muscidae) andChrysomya megacephala (Calliphoridae) with emphasis on vectored pathogens
- Authors: Brits, Devon , Brooks, Margot , Villet, Martin H
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/66904 , vital:28998 , ISSN 1021-3589 , https://doi.org/10.4001/003.024.0365
- Description: Publisher version , We evaluated the bacteria occurring externally on Musca domestica and Chrysomya megacephala, the two most common synanthropic flies which may be found at many refuse sites throughout the world. Bacteria cultured from 10 specimens of each species were isolated, Gram-stained and examined microscopically, and divided into morphologically distinct ‘pseudospecies', to avoid excessive duplication of genetic identification. About 350 bp of the 16S ribosomalRNAgene was amplified from genomicDNAextracted from each ‘pseudospecies', sequenced, and bacteria identified using BLASTn. Nineteen different types of colony were identified from M. domestica, with Pseudomonas sp. and Swine Manure Bacterium SP14 being most abundant. Chrysomya megacephala yielded 15 distinct pseudospecies with total colony counts approximating to 10 000 from 10 plates, where 80 % of colonies were non-pathogenic Bacillus pumilus. A total of 18 species were identified genetically: three shared by the fly species; four unique to C. megacephala, and 13 unique to M. domestica. Half of these 18 species were pathogenic, two or three others were food spoilers and the rest were environmental or commensal bacteria from soil or plant matter. This study added three new pathogenic strains of bacteria and one new environmental strain to the list of bacteria reported to be vectored by these flies.
- Full Text: false
- Date Issued: 2016
Dung beetle (Coleoptera Scarabaeoidea) assemblages in the western Italian Alps: benchmark data for land use monitoring
- Authors: Tocco, Claudia , Villet, Martin H
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/441361 , vital:73879 , 10.3897/BDJ.4.e10059
- Description: Traditional agro-pastoral practices are in decline over much of the Alps (MacDonald et al. 2000), leading to shrub and tree encroachment, and this represents one of the main threats for the conservation of alpine biodiversity, as many plant and animal species are dependent on the presence of semi-natural open habitats. However, quantifying this environmental change and assessing its impact on biodiversity may be difficult, especially in the context of sparse historical survey data. The accessibility of contemporary data about local biodiversity surveys in general, and indicator taxa in particular, is an essential consideration for planning future evaluations of conservation status in the Alps and for conservation plans that use ecological indicators to monitor temporal changes in biodiversity. Dung beetles are important ecosystem service providers (Nichols et al. 2008) that have been assessed as a good ecological indicator taxon in several studies (reviewed by Nichols and Gardner 2011), and although the Alps is perhaps one of the best-studied regions in respect of dung beetles, there are still only eight readily-accessible publications. We have augmented and comprehensively reviewed the data from these publications.
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- Date Issued: 2016
Heat accumulation and development rate of massed maggots of the sheep blowfly, Lucilia cuprina (Diptera: Calliphoridae)
- Authors: Kotzé, Zanthé , Villet, Martin H , Weldon, Christopher W
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/442168 , vital:73964 , https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jinsphys.2016.09.009
- Description: Blowfly larvae aggregate on exposed carcasses and corpses and pass through three instars before wandering from the carcass and pupating. The developmental landmarks in this process can be used by forensic entomologists to estimate the time since the insects colonised the carcass, which sets a minimum post mortem interval. Large aggregations of feeding larvae generate a microclimate with temperatures up to 15 °C above ambient conditions, which may accelerate larval development and affect forensic estimates of post-mortem intervals. This study investigated the effects of heat accumulated by maggot masses of Lucilia cuprina at aggregations of 20, 50 and 100 larvae, each at incubation temperatures of 18 °C, 24 °C and 30 °C, using body length and life stage as developmental indicators. Aggregation temperatures reached up to 18.7 °C above ambient temperature, with significant effects of both size and temperature of the aggregation on the development time of its larvae. Survivorship was highest for all life stages at 24 °C, which is near the developmental optimum of L. cuprina. The results of this study provide a broadly applicable method of quantifying heat accumulation by aggregations of a wide range of species of forensic importance, and the results obtained from such studies will demonstrate that ambient temperature cannot be considered the only source of heat that blowfly larvae experience when they develop on a carcass. Neglect of temperatures within larval aggregations will result in an overestimation of post-mortem intervals and thus have far-reaching medicolegal consequences.
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- Date Issued: 2016
Monitoring of invertebrate and fish recovery following river rehabilitation using rotenone in the Rondegat River
- Authors: Weyl, Olaf L F , Barrow, S , Bellingan, Terence A , Dalu, Tatenda , Ellender, Bruce R , Esler, K , Impson, D , Gouws, Jeanne , Jordaan, M , Villet, Martin H , Wasserman, Ryan J , Woodford, Darragh J
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/442411 , vital:73982 , https://www.wrc.org.za/wp-content/uploads/mdocs/2261.pdf
- Description: Fish invasions have been cited as a primary threat to imperilled South African fishes and other aquatic fauna. As a result, the management and control of alien invasive species is a legislated priority in South Africa. From a river rehabilitation perspective, eradicating alien fish allows for the rehabilitation of several kilometres of river, with very significant benefits for the endangered fish species present and for the associated aquatic biota. In South Africa, the piscicide rotenone is one of the preferred methods for achieving eradication.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
Optimising design and effort for environmental surveys using dung beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae):
- Authors: Tocco, Claudia , Quinn, Danielle , Midgley, John M , Villet, Martin H
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/140670 , vital:37908 , DOI: 10.4039/tce.2016.48
- Description: In biological monitoring, deploying an effective standardised quantitative sampling method, optimised by trap design and sampling effort, is an essential consideration. To exemplify this using dung beetle (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae and Aphodiinae) communities, three pitfall trap designs (un-baited (TN), baited at ground level (flat trap, TF), and baited above the trap (hanging trap, TH)), employed with varying levels of sampling effort (number of traps = 1, 2, 3… 10; number of days = 1, 2, 3), were evaluated for sampling completeness and efficiency in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. Modelling and resampling simulation approaches were used to suggest optimal sampling protocols across environmentally diverse sites. Overall, TF recovered the greatest abundance and species richness of dung beetles, but behavioural guilds showed conflicting trends: endocoprids preferred TH while paracoprids and telocoprids preferred TF. Resampling simulation of trap type and the two components of sampling effort suggested that six TF traps left for three days was most efficient in obtaining a representative sample and allowed differentiation between trap types, allowing the improved efficiency to be recognised. The effect of trap type on non-target specimens, particularly ants, was also investigated. TF and TH caught almost no by-catch, which is ethically desirable.
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- Date Issued: 2016
Overview and revision of the extant genera and subgenera of Trogidae (Coleoptera Scarabaeoidea).
- Authors: Strümpher, Werner P , Villet, Martin H , Sole, Catherine L , Scholtz, Clarke H
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , book chapter
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/442743 , vital:74029 , ISBN , https://brill.com/view/journals/ise/47/1/article-p53_4.xml
- Description: Extant genera and subgenera of the Trogidae (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea) are reviewed. Contemporary classifications of this family have been based exclusively on morphological characters. The first molecular phylogeny for the family recently provided strong support for the relationships between morphologically defined genera and subgenera. On the basis of morphological, molecular and biogeographical evidence, certain taxonomic changes to the genus-level classification of the family are now proposed. The family is confirmed as consisting of two subfamilies, Omorginae Nikolajev and Troginae MacLeay, the former with two genera, Omorgus Erichson and Polynoncus Burmeister, and the latter with two genera, Trox Fabricius and Phoberus MacLeay stat. rev. Phoberus is restored to generic rank to include all Afrotropical (including Madagascan endemic) species; Afromorgus is confirmed at subgeneric rank within the genus Omorgus ; and the monotypic Madagascan genus Madagatrox syn. n. is synonymised with Phoberus. The current synonymies of Pseudotrox Robinson (with Trox ), Chesas Burmeister, Lagopelus Burmeister and Megalotrox Preudhomme de Borre (all with Omorgus ) are all accepted to avoid creating speculative synonyms before definitive phylogenetic evidence is available.
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- Date Issued: 2016
Phylogenetic radiation of the greenbottle flies (Diptera, Calliphoridae, Luciliinae).
- Authors: Williams, Kristin A , Lamb, Jennifer , Villet, Martin H
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/441431 , vital:73887 , 10.3897/zookeys.568.6696
- Description: The subfamily Luciliinae is diverse and geographically widespread. Its four currently recognised genera (Dyscritomyia Grimshaw, 1901, Hemipyrellia Townsend, 1918, Hypopygiopsis Townsend 1916 and Lucilia Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830) contain species that range from saprophages to obligate parasites, but their pattern of phylogenetic diversification is unclear. The 28S rRNA, COI and Period genes of 14 species of Lucilia and Hemipyrellia were partially sequenced and analysed together with sequences of 11 further species from public databases. The molecular data confirmed molecular paraphyly in three species-pairs in Lucilia that hamper barcode identifications of those six species. Lucilia sericata and Lucilia cuprina were confirmed as mutual sister species. The placements of Dyscritomyia and Hypopygiopsis were ambiguous, since both made Lucilia paraphyletic in some analyses. Recognising Hemipyrellia as a genus consistently left Lucilia s.l. paraphyletic, and the occasionally-recognised (sub)genus Phaenicia was consistently paraphyletic, so these taxa should be synonymised with Lucilia to maintain monophyly.
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- Date Issued: 2016
Soil biota in a megadiverse country current knowledge and future research directions in South Africa
- Authors: Janion-Scheepers, Charlene , Measey, John , Braschler, Brigitte , Chown, Steven L , Coetzee, Louisee , Colville, Jonathan F , Dames, Joanna F , Davies, Andrew B , Davies, Sarah J , Davis, Adrian L V , Dippenaar-Schoeman, Ansi S , Duffy, Grant A , Fouries, Driekie , Griffiths, Charles , Haddad, Charles R , Hamer, Michelle , Herbert, David G , Hugo-Coetzee, Elizabeth A , Jacobs, Adriaanas , Jacobs, Karin , Jansen van Rensburg, Candice , Lamani, Siviwe , Lotz, Leon N , vdm Louw, Schalk , Lyle, Robin , Malan, Antoinette P , Marais, Mariette , Neethling, Jan-Andries , Nxele, Thembeka , Plisko, Danuta J , Prendini, Lorenzo , Rink, Ariella N , Swart, Antionette , Theron, Pieter , Truter, Mariette , Ueckermnn, Eddie , Uys, Vivienne M , Villet, Martin H , Willows-Munro, Sandy , Wilson, R U
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/448682 , vital:74751 , https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pedobi.2016.03.004
- Description: Soils are integral to agricultural productivity, biodiversity, and the maintenance of ecosystem services. However, soil ecosystem research depends on foundational biological knowledge that is often missing. In this review, we present a comprehensive, cross-taxa overview of the soil biota of South Africa. We discuss the literature and sampling methods used to assess soil biota, the available taxonomic expertise and main collections within South Africa, the availability of identification guides and online resources, and the status and distribution of described species. We include species lists for all South African soil biota and, for groups with sufficient distribution records, species richness maps. Despite South Africa being only 0.8% of the earth’s terrestrial area, it contains nearly 1.8% of the world’s described soil species (mean per taxon 3.64%, range 0.17–15%; n = 36 groups), with nematodes and earthworms showing a remarkable (6.4 and 7.7%) proportion of globally described diversity. Endemism is high for most groups, ranging from 33–92%. However, major knowledge gaps exist for most soil biota groups. While sampling has been relatively comprehensive in some areas for a few groups (particularly those with direct socioeconomic impacts), the Nama-Karoo, Northern Cape and Eastern Cape are poorly sampled. Natural soils in biodiversity hotspots, such as the Fynbos Biome, are also understudied. We argue that a more integrative approach to acquiring foundational knowledge in soil biodiversity is needed if applied soil research is to be effective in ensuring sustainable soil health. Considerable investment will be required to bring our understanding of the soil biodiversity in this megadiverse region to a level where the Millennium Development Goals can be reached.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
Song analysis of South African pygmy bladder cicadas (Hemiptera: Cicadidae: Cicadettinae: Tettigomyiini).
- Authors: Sanborn, Allen F , Phillips, Polly K F , Villet, Martin H
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/442319 , vital:73975 , https://doi.org/10.1093/aesa/saw024
- Description: The callings songs of five species from three genera of South African pygmy bladder cicadas are analyzed. The call of each species has a distinct temporal pattern and frequency spectrum. The songs are of significantly lower frequency than would be predicted based on body mass or body length. Comparison of bladder cicada calls from Australia and South Africa show similar lower than predicted frequencies in species of independent evolutionary origin. The inflated abdomen found in these cicadas appears to be a convergent adaptation to permit more efficient song production at lower carrier frequencies that increase the distance the songs will travel.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
Sperm ultrastructure and spermatodesm morphology of the spittle bug Locris transversa (Thunberg 1822)(Hemiptera: Cercopidae)
- Authors: Hodgson, Alan N , Ridgeway, Jaryd A , Villet, Martin H
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/442333 , vital:73976 , https://doi.org/10.1080/07924259.2016.1157104
- Description: The structure of the spermatozoon and spermatodesm of the spittlebug Locris transversa (Thunberg 1822) was investigated by light and transmission electron microscopy. Males produced only one size class of sperm, which was 93–106 μm long. During spermatogenesis groups of spermatozoa are arranged around, and attached by their acrosomes to, a small central extracellular matrix to form a ball-shaped spermatodesm. Spermatodesmata were found in the testis, vas deferens and seminal vesicle of males and spermatheca of females. The sperm are filiform, each consisting of a ~15-μm-long head containing an anteriorly positioned conical ~2-μm-long acrosome and ~13-μm-long nucleus, and a midpiece and tail with a 9+9+2 axoneme. The acrosome, which has two posterior extensions that lie along one side of the anterior region of the nucleus, contains longitudinally orientated microfilaments. The nucleus has two unequal anterior extensions, whereas posteriorly it is flattened laterally to accommodate a putative centriolar adjunct and anterior ends of the two mitochondrial derivatives. The basal body lies posterior to the nucleus. The mitochondrial derivatives are elongated and extend for almost the entire length of the tail. The tail has glycogen within its centre, and towards its terminal end large deposits of glycogen surround the mitochondrial derivatives and axoneme. Compared to other members of the Cicadomorpha, the spermatozoa and spermatodesms of cercopids so far studied have some structural features in common with cicadellids and others in common with cicadas; therefore, if sperm features are to be useful in phylogenetic studies of cicadomorphs, attention must be given to examining key taxa to establish which character states are plesiomorphic or apomorphic.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
Two new species of Xosopsaltria Kirkaldy, 1904, with a key to the species of South African pygmy bladder cicadas (Hemiptera Cicadidae Cicadettinae Tettigomyiini)
- Authors: Sanborn, Allen F , Villet, Martin H
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/441274 , vital:73873 , https://mapress.com/zt/article/view/zootaxa.4092.2.3
- Description: Two species, Xosopsaltria brachyptera n. sp. and Xosopsaltria vitripennis n. sp., are described as new. Notes on their biology and a key to the South African pygmy bladder cicadas are also provided.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
Connectivity through allochthony: Reciprocal links between adjacent aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems in South Africa
- Authors: Richoux, Nicole B , Moyo, Sydney , Chari, Lenin D , Bergamino, Leandro , Carassou, Laure , Dalu, Tatenda , Hean, Jeff W , Sikutshwa, Likho , Gininda, Simphiwe , Magoro, Mandla , Perhar, Gurbir , Ni, Felicity , Villet, Martin H , Whitfield, Alan K , Parker, Daniel M , Froneman, P William , Arhonditsis, George , Craig, Adrian J F K
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , report
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/438363 , vital:73454 , ISBN 978-1-4312-0679-7 , https://wrcwebsite.azurewebsites.net/wp-content/uploads/mdocs/2186-1-15.pdf
- Description: An important aspect of the dynamics of nutrients and pollutants in natural systems is captured in the concept of allochthony, founded on the observation that nutrients and energy in a variety of forms are transferred between adjacent habitats, com-munities and ecosystems that are not routinely considered as connected. Different forms of nutrients and energy move across the conceptual boundaries of habitats via organisms’ activities or physical processes such as wind or water currents, and these transfers can represent important food subsidies. Such cross-partition ecolog-ical subsidies can augment the nutritional condition, biomass and biodiversity of communities, particularly where local production (or autochthony) alone may be inadequate to support local food webs. Furthermore, organic subsidies can influ-ence population dynamics, community interactions and ecosystem processes, and can represent dominant flux inputs in ecosystem budgets. Our intention was to ex-plore organic nutrient fluxes in relation to a primarily lotic (i.e. flowing) aquatic sys-tem at the scale of a hydrological catchment.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
Effect of temperature on development of the blowfly, Lucilia cuprina (Wiedemann)(Diptera: Calliphoridae)
- Authors: Kotzé, Zanthé , Villet, Martin H , Weldon, Christopher W
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/442116 , vital:73960 , https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-015-1153-y
- Description: The blowfly Lucilia cuprina is a primary colonizer of decaying vertebrate carrion, and its development provides a temperature-dependent clock that may be used to estimate the post-mortem interval of corpses and carcasses in medicolegal forensic investigations. This study uses the development of L. cuprina raised on a substrate of chicken liver at six constant temperatures from 18 to 33 °C to calibrate a thermal accumulation model of development for forensic applications. Development was optimal near 24 °C; above this temperature, survival of post-feeding life stages was increasingly compromised, while below it, development was increasingly retarded. The lower developmental threshold (~12 °C) and thermal summation constants of L. cuprina are distinct from those reported for Lucilia sericata, verifying that it is essential to identify African Lucilia specimens accurately when using them to estimate post-mortem intervals.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
Global Cicada Sound Collection I: Recordings from South Africa and Malawi by BW Price and MH Villet and harvesting of BioAcoustica data by GBIF
- Authors: Baker, Ed , Price, Benjamin W , Rycroft, Simon , Villet, Martin H
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/441420 , vital:73886 , https://bdj.pensoft.net/articles.php?id=5792
- Description: Sound collections for singing insects provide important repositories that underpin existing research (eg Price et al. 2007 at http://bio. acousti. ca/node/11801; Price et al. 2010) and make bioacoustic collections available for future work, including insect communication (Ordish 1992), systematics (eg David et al. 2003), and automated identification (Bennett et al. 2015). The BioAcoustica platform (Baker et al. 2015) is both a repository and analysis platform for bioacoustic collections: allowing collections to be available in perpetuity, and also facilitating complex analyses using the BioVeL cloud infrastructure (Vicario et al. 2011). The Global Cicada Sound Collection is a project to make recordings of the world's cicadas (Hemiptera: Cicadidae) available using open licences to maximise their potential for study and reuse. This first component of the Global Cicada Sound Collection comprises recordings made between 2006 and 2008 of Cicadidae in South Africa and Malawi.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
Human myiasis in rural South Africa is under-reported
- Authors: Kuria, Simon K , Villet, Martin H , Kingu, H J C , Dhaffala, A
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/442425 , vital:73983 , https://www.ajol.info/index.php/samj/article/view/114028
- Description: Background. Myiasis is the infestation of live tissue of humans and other vertebrates by larvae of flies. Worldwide, myiasis of humans is seldom reported, although the trend is gradually changing in some countries. Reports of human myiasis in Africa are few. Several cases of myiasis were recently seen at the Mthatha Hospital Complex, Mthatha, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa (SA).
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- Date Issued: 2015
Rapid bioassessment of the effects of repeated rotenone treatments on invertebrate assemblages in the Rondegat River, South Africa
- Authors: Bellingan, Terence A , Woodford, Darragh J , Gouws, Jeanne , Villet, Martin H , Weyl, Olaf L F
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/442279 , vital:73972 , https://doi.org/10.2989/16085914.2014.984651
- Description: The potential collateral effects of eradicating invasive fishes in streams necessitate the monitoring of invertebrate communities during treatment. In an environmental rehabilitation programme, non-native smallmouth bass were removed from the lower reaches of the Rondegat River, Western Cape, South Africa, in 2012 and again in 2013 using the piscicide rotenone. A monitoring programme tracked the ecological response of organisms to these activities using quantitative sampling of macroinvertebrates on stones and the ISO-certified SASS5 rapid bioassessment method for assessing macroinvertebrate community integrity. We recorded a significant decrease in macroinvertebrate densities from the stones-in-current biotope following both rotenone treatments. The average score per taxon (ASPT) declined after the first treatment, indicating a loss of taxa sensitive to diminished water quality, then recovered prior to the second treatment, and subsequently no decline was detected after the lower dose used in the 2013 treatment. The SASS values were too variable to reveal trends. The ASPTs indicated that the community may have been resistant to low dose and resilient to high dose, due to inter-treatment recovery following the 2012 treatment, suggesting that the invertebrate assemblage is resilient to the conservative use of rotenone for localised river rehabilitation when upstream sources of recruitment exist.
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- Date Issued: 2015
Standard Practices
- Authors: Amendt, Jens , Anderson, G , Campobasso, Carlo P , Dadour, I R , Gaudry, E , Hall, Martin J R , Moretti, T C , Sukontason, K L , Villet, Martin H
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , book chapter
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/442821 , vital:74036 , ISBN , https://www.routledge.com/Forensic-Entomology-International-Dimensions-and-Frontiers/Tomberlin-Benbow/p/book/9780367575885
- Description: The use of forensic entomology has become established as a global science. Recent efforts in the field bridge multiple disciplines including, but not limited to, microbiology, chemistry, genetics, and systematics as well as ecology and evolution. The first book of its kind, Forensic Entomology: International Dimensions and Frontiers provides an inclusive summary of worldwide research on this body of knowledge that integrates aspects of a wide range of scientific realms. The book first reviews the history of forensic entomology, its accomplishments, and future challenges in nations around the world. It then provides perspectives of other scientific disciplines that are shaping the questions being addressed in the field.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
Advantages of using development models of the carrion beetles Thanatophilus micans (Fabricius) and T. mutilatus (Castelneau)(Coleoptera Silphidae) for estimating minimum post mortem intervals, verified with case data
- Authors: Ridgeway, Jaryd A , Midgley, John M , Collett, Isabel J , Villet, Martin H
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/441737 , vital:73911 , https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-013-0865-0
- Description: Some beetles are as useful as blow flies for estimating the minimum post mortem interval (PMImin) or time since death. Examples include Thanatophilus micans (Fabricius) and Thanatophilus mutilatus (Castelneau), two geographically and ecologically overlapping African beetles. Molecular means of identifying these species, descriptions of their natural history, thermal summation models for the development of each species, and a case in which T. micans was recovered are presented. These beetles colonise bodies soon after death, their development spans more time than that of flies, and they may be little affected by maggot-generated heat. From an experimental perspective, they can be reared individually, which allows the identification of sick individuals and has analytical advantages relative to fly larvae that must be reared in groups. Estimating minimum post mortem intervals for both species using the case data strongly suggests that developmental models parameterised for one species should not be used to make forensic estimates for closely related species for which no specific model is available and emphasises the need for correct identifications.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
Climate change effects on animal and plant phylogenetic diversity in southern Africa
- Authors: Pio, Dorothea V , Engler, Robin , Linder, H Peter , Monadjem, Ara , Cotterill, Fenton P D , Taylor, Peter J , Schoeman, M Corrie , Price, Benjamin W , Villet, Martin H , Eick, Geeta , Salamin, Nicholas , Guisan, Antoine
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/441874 , vital:73930 , https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.12524
- Description: Much attention has been paid to the effects of climate change on species' range reductions and extinctions. There is however surprisingly little information on how climate change driven threat may impact the tree of life and result in loss of phylogenetic diversity (PD). Some plant families and mammalian orders reveal nonrandom extinction patterns, but many other plant families do not. Do these discrepancies reflect different speciation histories and does climate induced extinction result in the same discrepancies among different groups? Answers to these questions require representative taxon sampling. Here, we combine phylogenetic analyses, species distribution modeling, and climate change projections on two of the largest plant families in the Cape Floristic Region (Proteaceae and Restionaceae), as well as the second most diverse mammalian order in Southern Africa (Chiroptera), and an herbivorous insect genus (Platypleura) in the family Cicadidae to answer this question. We model current and future species distributions to assess species threat levels over the next 70 years, and then compare projected with random PD survival. Results for these animal and plant clades reveal congruence. PD losses are not significantly higher under predicted extinction than under random extinction simulations. So far the evidence suggests that focusing resources on climate threatened species alone may not result in disproportionate benefits for the preservation of evolutionary history.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
IziNambuzane: isiZulu names for insects
- Authors: Cockburn, Jessica J , Khumalo-Seegelken, B , Villet, Martin H
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Insects -- South Africa -- KwaZulu-Natal -- Nomenclature , Zulu language -- Revival , Language policy -- South Africa -- KwaZulu-Natal , Native language and education -- Research -- South Africa -- KwaZulu-Natal , Ethnoentomology
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6972 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1014581
- Description: We provide a tool for communicating about insects in isiZulu to facilitate research and knowledge sharing in the fields of indigenous knowledge, cultural entomology, environmental education and community extensioninvolving isiZulu speakers. A total of 213 different names for 64 insect specimens were encountered among a sample of 67 respondents in 11 communities distributed across the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. This list includes 93 names that can be considered core isiZulu vocabulary and which are widely used to identify insects that are agriculturally, medically, domestically, culturally or ecologically common or significant. Substantial variation was found regarding the names for particular insects, especially between regions, suggesting dialectal differences between isiZulu speakers. Grammatical and social variation in names was also recorded. This study highlights interdisciplinary teamwork in the field of indigenous knowledge research and the influences affecting the standardisation of South African languages for technical and scientific work.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014