Habitat requirements affect genetic variation in three species of mayfly (Ephemeroptera, Baetidae) from South Africa:
- Authors: Taylor, Chantal L , Barker, Nigel P , Barber-James, Helen M , Villet, Martin H , Pereira-da-Conceicoa, Lyndall L
- Date: 2020
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/149314 , vital:38824 , https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.936.38587
- Description: This study investigates genetic diversity in three species of Ephemeroptera, one eurytopic and therefore widespread (Afroptilum sudafricanum) and two stenotopic and thus endemic (Demoreptus natalensis and Demoreptus capensis) species, all of which co-occur in the southern Great Escarpment, South Africa. Mitochondrial DNA was analysed to compare the genetic diversity between the habitat generalist and the two habitat specialists. Afroptilum sudafricanum showed no indication of population genetic structure due to geographic location, while both Demoreptus species revealed clear genetic differentiation between geographic localities and catchments, evident from phylogenetic analyses and high FST values from AMOVA.
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Deeper knowledge of shallow waters: reviewing the invertebrate fauna of southern African temporary wetlands
- Authors: Bird, Matthew S , Mlambo, Musa C , Wasserman, Ryan J , Dalu, Tatenda , Holland, Alexandra J , Day, Jenny A , Villet, Martin H , Bilton, David T , Barber-James, Helen M , Brendonck, Luc
- Date: 2019
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/140784 , vital:37918 , DOI: 10.1007/s10750-018-3772-z
- Description: Temporary lentic wetlands are becoming increasingly recognised for their collective role in contributing to biodiversity at the landscape scale. In southern Africa, a region with a high density of such wetlands, information characterising the fauna of these systems is disparate and often obscurely published. Here we provide a collation and synthesis of published research on the aquatic invertebrate fauna inhabiting temporary lentic wetlands of the region. We expose the poor taxonomic knowledge of most groups, which makes it difficult to comment on patterns of richness and endemism.
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Cryptic variation in an ecological indicator organism: mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequence data confirm distinct lineages of Baetis harrisoni Barnard (Ephemeroptera: Baetidae) in Southern Africa
- Authors: Pereira-da-Conceicoa, Lyndall L , Price, Benjamin W , Barber-James, Helen M , Barker, Nigel P , de Moor, Ferdy C , Villet, Martin H
- Date: 2012
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6535 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1005976 , https://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1471-2148-12-26
- Description: Baetis harrisoni Barnard is a mayfly frequently encountered in river studies across Africa, but the external morphological features used for identifying nymphs have been observed to vary subtly between different geographic locations. It has been associated with a wide range of ecological conditions, including pH extremes of pH 2.9–10.0 in polluted waters. We present a molecular study of the genetic variation within B. harrisoni across 21 rivers in its distribution range in southern Africa.
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