Intermediate disturbance promotes diversity and the conservation of dung beetles (Scarabaeoidea: Scarabaeidae and Aphodiidae) in the Eastern Cape, South Africa
- Authors: Tocco, Claudia , Midgley, John M , Villet, Martin H
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/442195 , vital:73966 , https://doi.org/10.1016/j.baae.2020.10.005
- Description: Environmental fluctuations, such as changes in climate, agricultural management and anthropogenic land-use patterns can affect the diversity of organisms inhabiting an area. Losses of biodiversity alter ecosystems processes, eroding their capacity to deliver ecosystem services. Dung beetles are critical ecosystem service providers, making them an ideal ecological indicator to explore the effects of land-use change on biodiversity. Dung beetles were sampled across three land-use types, in the summers of 2015 and 2016 in the Eastern Cape province, South Africa. Game ranching is regarded as a relatively low-intensity land use type. It was compared with cattle ranching (medium intensity) and dairy farming (high intensity) to examine their effect on dung beetle assemblage metrics (abundance, species richness and true Shannon diversity index), guild diversity (as nesting guilds) and spatial turnover. The intermediate grazing intensity of cattle ranching supported a higher abundance and diversity of both whole dung beetle assemblage and the nesting guilds, followed by the game ranches and then dairy farms. Differences between the sampling years were dependent on the beetle nesting guild, and largely correlated with rainfall and temperature. Cattle and game ranches shared a higher number of species than either shared with dairy farms. Whittaker's Beta-diversity index showed the highest species turnover between game ranches and dairy farms. A mix of game and cattle ranching, minimising dairy farming or restricting it to already ecological degraded sites, appears the best alternative for maintenance of dung beetle diversity and their ecosystem services. The year-to-year trends of the data were in general consistent, confirming that dung beetles are reliable ecological indicators; but also suggest that climate change that affects rainfall will result in the reduction of the abundance and diversity of this key ecological group.
- Full Text:
Intraspecific mitochondrial gene variation can be as low as that of nuclear rRNA:
- Authors: Matumba, Tshifhiwa G , Oliver, Jody , Barker, Nigel P , McQuaid, Christopher D , Teske, Peter R
- Date: 2020
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/160401 , vital:40442 , https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.23635.2
- Description: Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) has long been used to date historical demographic events. The idea that it is useful for molecular dating rests on the premise that its evolution is neutral. Even though this idea has long been challenged, the evidence against clock-like evolution of mtDNA is often ignored. Here, we present a particularly clear and simple example to illustrate the implications of violations of the assumption of selective neutrality.
- Full Text:
Introduction “New” theory,“post” North-South representations, praxis
- Authors: Rodrigues, Cae , Payne, Phillip G , Grange, Lesley L , Carvalho, Isabel C , Steil, Carlos A , Lotz-Sisitka, Heila , Linde-Loubser, Henriette
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/182736 , vital:43858 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1080/00958964.2020.1726265"
- Description: At a recent academic conference in the South, nine of us grappled for four days with these “old” questions and their presence within the “new” discourse of “post” environmental education research. We struggled for an additional six-month period of email exchange to see and feel these questions in our own research. That slow, rich, and deeper academic exchange between us culminated in a research agenda, partially (re)presented in a collectively constructed Mindmap (Figure 1), for critiquing the post/new whose framing is described in the remainder of this Introduction to the politics of knowledge production. That politic of slowly and judiciously engaging a collective form of criticism culminates in identifying the research problem, and questions, of this Special Issue (SI) about the role and place of allegedly new theory in the global discourse of allegedly post environmental education research. This specially assembled issue of The Journal of Environmental Education (JEE) is our best effort to (partially) represent a considerable amount of thought about the challenge presented by “post” and “new” Western thought. In translating our collective thought processes to a SI, we anticipate the reflexivity of the field will be critically advanced through engaging a number of emerging debates (Robottom and Hart, 1993) identified in the following pages of this Introduction, and in three “sample” articles specially written by Isabel Carvalho, Carlos Steil and Francisco Abraão Gonzaga, Louise Sund and Karen Pashby, and Phillip Payne, and an “in process” Conclusion written by Cae Rodrigues. There remains much work to do. This SI is only a start of reengaging overdue debates about the post (Hart, 2005).
- Full Text:
Investigation of electrocatalytic behaviour of low symmetry cobalt phthalocyanines when clicked to azide grafted carbon electrodes
- Authors: Mpeta, Lakethe S , Sen, Pinar , Nyokong, Tebello
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/186304 , vital:44483 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jelechem.2020.113896"
- Description: This work describes the electrochemical properties of low symmetry cobalt phthalocyanines namely, tris-[(4-tert-butylphenoxy)-4-(pent-4-yn-1-yloxy) phthalocyaniato] cobalt (II) (3) and tris-[(4-tert-butylphenoxy)-4-(4-ethybylbenzyl-oxy) phthalocyaniato] cobalt (II) (5). The complexes were characterized by a number of techniques including UV–Vis, mass, and infrared spectra, as well as elemental analysis. The glassy carbon electrodes were first azide functionalized then clicked to low symmetry phthalocyanines. The click reaction was confirmed using X-ray photoelectron spectra. The constructed electrodes showed excellent electrocatalytic activity towards hydrazine oxidation. Oxidation peaks with low potentials of 0.21 V and 0.26 V, for complexes 3 and 5, respectively were obtained. Complex-5 gave a better detection limit of 0.94 μM and electrocatalytic rate constant of 5.6 × 106 M−1 s−1.
- Full Text:
Life after training: Professional experiences of early career clinical and counselling psychologists in South Africa
- Authors: Haine, Phillipa , Booysen, Duane D
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/450703 , vital:74975 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1080/14330237.2020.1821317"
- Description: We aimed to gain an in-depth understanding of the lived professional experiences of early career clinical and counselling psychologists in South Africa. Our informants were four early career psychologists (females = 2, males = 2; clinical = 2, counselling = 2; period in service = 1 to 7 years). They completed semi-structured interviews on their critical early career professional experiences, as well as the meanings they attributed to these experiences. Interpretative phenomenological analysis of the data yielded four super-ordinate themes: (i) training as a ‘rite of passage’; (ii) expectations for a professional future; (iii) entering the professional psychology workspace; and (iv) future career directions. Findings suggest employment opportunities in the healthcare system to influence the professional socialisation of early career psychologists in addition to their personal choices. Systemic factors appear to explain why South African psychologists would opt to practice privately, and why debates on the profession’s relevance, accessibility, and credibility may continue unabated.
- Full Text:
Lions do not change rivers: complex African savannas preclude top-down forcing by large carnivores
- Authors: Comley, Jessica , Joubert, Christoffel J , Mgqatsa, Nokubonga , Parker, Daniel M
- Date: 2020
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/149215 , vital:38816 , https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnc.2020.125844
- Description: Trophic cascade theories such as the ‘behaviourally-mediated trophic cascade hypothesis’ (BMTCH), have mainstreamed as ecological tools for conserving biodiversity and restoring ecosystems. The BMTCH relies on indirect negative effects of large carnivores through suppression of mesocarnivore activity and habitat use. Importantly, effects of top carnivores on mesocarnivores varies over time and space, is dependent on the species involved, and local context. In South Africa, there are very few free-ranging carnivores, as populations are often restricted to enclosed reserves. While predator-proof fences reduce human-wildlife conflict, they also influence space use within communities. We used an enclosed reserve with a relatively full complement of carnivores to test the generality of the BMTCH in the African context. Using single-species, multi-season occupancy models we investigated the spatial dynamics of multiple carnivores. We also investigated spatial partitioning by vegetation type and temporal partitioning.
- Full Text:
Living phosphatic stromatolites in a low-phosphorus environment: Implications for the use of phosphorus as a proxy for phosphate levels in paleosystems
- Authors: Buttner, Steffen H , Isemonger, Eric W , Isaacs, Michelle , van Niekerk, Deon , Sipler, Rachel E , Dorrington, Rosemary A
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/429450 , vital:72611 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1111/gbi.12415"
- Description: In the geological record, fossil phosphatic stromatolites date back to the Great Oxidation Event in the Paleoproterozoic, but living phosphatic stromatolites have not been described previously. Here, we report on cyanobacterial stromatolites in a supratidal freshwater environment at Cape Recife, South African southern coast, precipitating Ca carbonate alternating with episodes of Ca phosphate deposition. In their structure and composition, the living stromatolites from Cape Recife closely resemble their fossilized analogues, showing phosphatic zonation, microbial casts, tunnel structures and phosphatic crusts of biogenic origin. The microbial communities appear to be also similar to those proposed to have formed fossil phosphatic stromatolites. Phosphatic domains in the material from Cape Recife are spatially and texturally associated with carbonate precipitates, but form distinct entities separated by sharp boundaries. Electron Probe Micro-Analysis shows that Ca/P ratios and the overall chemical compositions of phosphatic precipitates are in the range of octacalcium phosphate, amorphous tricalcium phosphate and apatite. The coincidence in time of the emergence of phosphatic stromatolites in the fossil record with a major episode of atmospheric oxidation led to the assumption that at times of increased oxygen release the underlying increased biological production may have been linked to elevated phosphorus availability. The stromatolites at Cape Recife, however, form in an environment where ambient phosphorus concentrations do not exceed 0.28μM, one to two orders of magnitude below the previously predicted minimum thresh-old of >5 μM for biogenic phosphate precipitation in paleo-systems. Accordingly, we contest the previously proposed suitability of phosphatic stromatolites as a proxy for high ambient phosphate concentrations in supratidal to shallow ocean settings in earth history.
- Full Text:
Low-frequency observations of the giant radio galaxy NGC 6251:
- Authors: Cantwell, T M , Bray, J D , Croston, J H , Scaife, A M M , Mulcahy, D D , Best, P N , Brüggen, M , Brunetti, G , Callingham, J R , Clarke, A O , Hardcastle, M J , Harwood, J J , Heald, G , Heesen, V , Iacobelli, M , Jamrozy, M , Morganti, R , Orru, E , O’Sullivan, S P , Riseley, C J , Röttgering, H J A , Shulevski, A , Sridhar, S S , Tasse, C , Van Eck, C L
- Date: 2020
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/149931 , vital:38913 , https://0-doi.org.wam.seals.ac.za/10.1093/mnras/staa1160
- Description: We present LOFAR observations at 150 MHz of the borderline FRI/FRII giant radio galaxy NGC 6251. This paper presents the most sensitive and highest resolution images of NGC 6251 at these frequencies to date, revealing for the first time a low-surface-brightness extension to the northern lobe, and a possible backflow associated with the southern lobe. The integrated spectra of components of NGC 6251 are consistent with previous measurements at higher frequencies, similar to results from other LOFAR studies of nearby radio galaxies.
- Full Text:
Maintenance of public and private urban green infrastructure provides significant employment in Eastern Cape towns, South Africa:
- Authors: King, Andrew , Shackleton, Charlie M
- Date: 2020
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/176074 , vital:42657 , https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2020.126740
- Description: Urban green infrastructure (UGI) provides numerous environmental, social and economic benefits through direct and indirect use of ecosystem services. The maintenance of UGI also provides work opportunities for skilled and unskilled workers in the public and private sectors, so-called green collar jobs. However, the extent and benefit of such employment has rarely been examined, especially in a developing country context where unemployment is often high. We quantified the number of green collar jobs and wage levels across all green collar categories in 12 towns of the Eastern Cape via means of questionnaires and interviews. Overall, we enumerated 17 429 jobs, receiving approximately ZAR503 million (US$37 million) per year. The number of jobs was strongly linked to town size, but the number of jobs per unit area was inversely related to the level of underdevelopment or deprivation per town.
- Full Text:
Making visible the affective dimensions of scholarship in postgraduate writing development work
- Authors: Clarence, Sherran
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/439495 , vital:73601 , https://doi.org/10.47989/kpdc63
- Description: Many university writing and student academic development centres serve both under-and postgraduate student-writers. However, it is not always clear that the training and development of those who work with writers accounts fully for the affective dimensions of postgraduate writing, specifically. Especially at the doctoral level, where an original contribution to knowledge is required, writers need to take on a confident authorial voice in their work, both written and in conversation with others. Research, however, shows that many doctoral students struggle with this. This paper argues that, to be truly successful and fit for purpose, peer writing development work needs to understand the nature of postgraduate learning and writing from more than just the technical perspective of writing a successful thesis. Writer-focused work at this level needs to account for the affective dimensions of writing and research as well, to engage students in more holistic, critical, and forward-looking conversations about their writing, and their own developing scholarly identity. The paper offers insights into the different affective dimensions of postgraduate writing, especially those under-considered in much practical work with postgraduate writers, and offers suggestions for a whole-student tutoring approach at this level.
- Full Text:
Mapping subtidal estuarine habitats with a remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV):
- Authors: Wasserman, J , Claassens, Louw , Adams, J B
- Date: 2020
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/150163 , vital:38945 , DOI: 10.2989/1814232X.2020.1731598
- Description: Subtidal habitats have not yet been accounted for in habitat maps of South African estuaries. In this study, a novel method for mapping subtidal estuarine habitats, using a remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV) piloted from a boat, was developed and tested in the Knysna Estuary. Video footage was recorded along 48 transects across the width of the estuary, and then reviewed to identify, classify and map habitats. Using the method developed in this study, 21 hours of footage was recorded over 15 days of sampling, and about 30 hours of post-processing was carried out to map an area exceeding 850 ha. This study has produced the first baseline dataset of subtidal habitats for a South African estuary. Additionally, the study revealed the previously unknown distribution of the invasive red seaweed Asparagopsis taxiformis, and the underestimation in previous studies of the estuary of area cover of eelgrass Zostera capensis by 130 ha.
- Full Text:
Maximal-entropy initial state of the Universe as a microscopic description of inflation:
- Authors: Brustein, Ram , Medved, A J M
- Date: 2020
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/149682 , vital:38874 , https://0-doi.org.wam.seals.ac.za/10.1103/PhysRevD.101.123502
- Description: We propose that the initial state of the Universe was an isotropic state of maximal entropy. Such a state can be described in terms of a state of closed, interacting, fundamental strings in their high-temperature Hagedorn phase, which constitutes a novel microscopic model for the state of the Universe when it is at the highest sustainable temperature. This state resolves the big-bang singularity by replacing the past of the hot big-bang Universe and sets inflationary initial conditions for the subsequent evolution of the thermal radiation and the semiclassical cosmological geometry. The entropy density in this state is equal to the square root of the energy density in Planck units, while the pressure is positive and equal to the energy density.
- Full Text:
Meeting a diversity of needs through a diversity of species: Urban residents’ favourite and disliked tree species across eleven towns in South Africa and Zimbabwe
- Authors: Shackleton, Charlie M , Mograbi, Penelope J
- Date: 2020
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/176321 , vital:42684 , https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2019.126507
- Description: Understanding of urban residents’ preferences and dislikes for tree species and attributes is necessary to provide them with the species they most favour. Yet there is relatively little understanding of local species preferences, the reasons underlying them and how they vary with context and scale. We interviewed 1100 urban residents in eleven towns (four in Zimbabwe, four in Limpopo Province and three in the Eastern Cape of South Africa) to determine what were their favourite and least favourite tree species and the reasons for such. Fifty-nine species were listed amongst the preferred species (the four most common being Jacaranda mimosifolia (10% or respondents), Mangifera indica (10%), Adonsonia digitata (7%) and Colophospermum mopane (7%)), and 29 as disliked (the four most common being Vachellia spp, J. mimosifolia, Euphorbia spp. and Melia azedarach), with 16 in common between the two.
- Full Text:
Men in Women’s Clothes
- Authors: Jones, Ward E
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/275658 , vital:55067 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1111/sjp.12394"
- Description: The descriptive phrase that comprises my title can refer both to a pervasive comic trope and a mode of self-expression. There is a tension here, insofar as the comic trope leads us not to take cross-dressing, or drag, seriously. The first half of the comic film Some Like It Hot (1959), with its cross-gender plot and its (sophisticated but) straightforward use of the comic trope of men-in-women’s clothes, appears to fall foul of this tension and to be susceptible to criticism in this regard. However, the film rectifies itself, portraying the cross-dressing relationship which develops through the second half of the film as a potentially meaningful one for both partners. In this article, I interpret the film as inviting its viewers to adopt a (particular kind of) skeptical ironic (that is, Pyrrhonian) attitude toward gender-presentation practices. While the film in no way attempts to discourage us from participating in such practices, it does invite us—through our partiality toward the characters Osgood and Jerry/Daphne, as we follow their budding, transgressive relationship—to acknowledge that a violation of gender-presentation practices can be a meaningful feature of sincere relationships.
- Full Text:
Metabarcoding Analysis of Bacterial Communities Associated with Media Grow Bed Zones in an Aquaponic System
- Authors: Kasozi, Nasser , Kaiser, Horst , Wilhelmi, Brendan S
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/429461 , vital:72612 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1155/2020/8884070"
- Description: The development of environmentally sustainable plant and fish production in aquaponic systems requires a complete understanding of the systems’ biological components. In order to better understand the role of microorganisms in this association, we studied the bacterial communities in the dry, root, and mineralized zones of a flood-and-drain media bed aquaponic system. Bacterial communities were characterized using metabarcoding of the V3-V4 16S rRNA regions obtained from paired-end Illumina MiSeq reads. Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, and Bacteroidetes accounted for more than 90% of the total community in the dry zone and the effluent water. These phyla also accounted for more than 68% of the total community in the root and mineralized zones. The genera Massilia, Mucilaginibacter, Mizugakiibacter, and Rhodoluna were most dominant in the dry, root, and mineralized zones and in the effluent water, respectively. The number of shared operational taxonomic units (OTUs) for the three zones was 241, representing 7.15% of the total observed OTUs. The number of unique OTUs in samples from dry zone, root zone, mineralized zone, and effluent water was 485, 638, 445, and 383, respectively. The samples from the root zone harbored more diverse communities than either the dry or mineralized zones. This study is the first to report on the bacterial community within the zones of a flood-and-drain media bed. Thus, this information will potentially accelerate studies on other microbial communities involved in the bioconversion of nitrogen compounds and mineralization within these types of aquaponic systems.
- Full Text:
Microplastic leachates induce species-specific trait strengthening in intertidal mussels:
- Authors: Seuront, Laurent , Nicastro, Katy R , McQuaid, Christopher D , Zardi, Gerardo I
- Date: 2020
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/158200 , vital:40162 , https://0-doi.org.wam.seals.ac.za/10.1002/eap.2222. https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.905qftthq
- Description: Plastic pollution is ubiquitous with increasing recognition of its direct effects on species’ fitness. Little is known, however, about its more subtle effects, including the influence of plastic pollution on the morphological, functional and behavioural traits of organisms that are central to their ability to withstand disturbances. Among the least obvious but most pernicious forms of plastic-associated pollution are the chemicals that leach from microplastics. Here, we investigate how such leachates influence species’ traits by assessing functional trait compensation across four species of intertidal mussels, through investigations of byssal thread production, movement and aggregation behaviour for mussels held in natural seawater or seawater contaminated by microplastic leachates.
- Full Text:
Modern supratidal microbialites fed by groundwater: functional drivers, value and trajectories
- Authors: Rishworth, Gavin M , Dodd, Carla , Perissinotto, Renzo , Bornman, Thomas G , Adams, Janine B , Anderson, Callum R , Cawthra, Hayley C , Dorrington, Hayley C , du Toit, Hendrik , Edworthy, Carla , Gibb, Ross-Lynne A , Human, Lucienne R D , Isemonger, Eric W , Lemley, David A , Miranda, Nelson A , Peer, Nasreen , Raw, Jacqueline L , Smith, Alan M , Steyn, Paul-Pierre , Strydom, Nadine A , Teske, Peter R , Welman, Peter R
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/426008 , vital:72306 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2020.103364"
- Description: Microbial mats were the dominant habitat type in shallow marine environments between the Palaeoarchean and Phanerozoic. Many of these (termed ‘microbialites’) calcified as they grew but such lithified mats are rare along modern coasts for reasons such as unsuitable water chemistry, destructive metazoan influences and competition with other reef-builders such as corals or macroalgae. Nonetheless, extant microbialites occur in unique coastal ecosystems such as the Exuma Cays, Bahamas or Lake Clifton and Hamelin Pool, Australia, where limitations such as calcium carbonate availability or destructive bioturbation are diminished. Along the coast of South Africa, extensive distributions of living microbialites (including layered stromatolites) have been discovered and described since the early 2000s. Unlike the Bahamian and Australian ecosystems, the South African microbialites form exclusively in the supratidal coastal zone at the convergence of emergent groundwater seepage. Similar systems were documented subsequently in southwestern Australia, Northern Ireland and the Scottish Hebrides, as recently as 2018, revealing that supratidal microbialites have a global distribution. This review uses the best-studied formations to contextualise formative drivers and processes of these supratidal ecosystems and highlight their geological, ecological and societal relevance.
- Full Text:
Monitoring and evaluation in a changing world: A Southern African perspective on the skills needed for a new approach
- Authors: Rosenberg, Eureta , Kotschy, Karen
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/370711 , vital:66369 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/ 10.4102/aej.v8i1.472"
- Description: Background: As science and modern technology have brought many advances, we have also come to overshoot planetary boundaries, while still falling short of development goals to eradicate poverty and inequality. A growing recognition of the complexity of development problems and contexts calls for new framings, including a new approach to monitoring and evaluation (M and E) as one of the mechanisms by which modern societies aim to steer towards a more sustainable future. New approaches to M and E mean new skills for the M and E practitioner. Objectives: This article proposed a framing for M and E skills, comprising of technical, relational and transformational (T-R-T) competences. Method: Adapted from the literature, this competence framework was tested in a broader learning needs assessment and then applied retrospectively to author’s experience in developmental evaluations in complex social–ecological contexts in southern Africa. Results: The emerging insights were that not only technical competence is needed, but also relational competence that goes beyond interpersonal skills, to enable the production and uptake of evaluation findings. In addition, the limitations of mainstream M and E methods in the face of complexity seemed to create a need for ‘transformational’ competence, which included evaluators’ ability to develop credible M and E alternatives. Conclusion: The T-R-T framework helped to advance the notions of ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ skills and expanded on existing M and E competence frameworks. Recommendations included a call for innovative educational and professional development approaches to develop relational and transformational competencies, in addition to training for technical competence.
- Full Text:
Movement patterns of the epizoic limpet Lottia tenuisculpta on two host snails Omphalius nigerrimus and Reishia clavigera:
- Authors: Nakano, Tomoyuki , Okumura, Yousuke , Nakayama, Ryo , Seuront, Laurent
- Date: 2020
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/160268 , vital:40429 , DOI: 10.1080/13235818.2020.1808280
- Description: The tiny epizoic limpet Lottia tenuisculpta lives on rocky surfaces and shells of the snails Omphalius nigerrimus and Reishia clavigera. The movement patterns of the limpet on host snails was observed during 24 h under controlled laboratory conditions. A specific behaviour, referred to as returning behaviour and reminiscent of homing behaviour, was observed in seven out of 20 individuals, and two out of 15 individuals on O. nigerrimus and R. clavigera, respectively.
- Full Text:
Multi-layered risk management in under-resourced antenatal clinics
- Authors: Feltham-King, Tracey , Macleod, Catriona I
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/298561 , vital:57716 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1080/13698575.2019.1697432"
- Description: In this article we contribute to critical risk approaches to studying pregnancy and childbirth in the global South. Following Sarah Rudrum’s work, our approach focusses on sociocultural inequalities amid the regulation of individuals. We draw on data from our Foucauldian-inspired ethnography of two antenatal clinics in an under-resourced area of South Africa to illustrate how multi-layered risk management operates in these spaces. These data were collected over a period of six months in the form of semi-structured interviews, observations of consultations and waiting room interactions, documents used in the clinic, and posters appearing on the clinic walls. Our findings show how a scientific-bureaucratic approach to pregnancy risk management, as encoded in international, national and institutional guidelines, is well known, highly visible, and practised through surveillance and reporting mechanisms in clinics. This approach incites healthcare practitioners to achieve particular performance standards and to monitor their professional agency. Managing pregnancy risk thus entails regulating the healthcare practitioners themselves. In implementing approved pregnancy risk management strategies in an over-subscribed and under-resourced public healthcare setting, however, healthcare practitioners face potential risk to their professional reputation and integrity. In managing this risk, they resist the scientific-bureaucratic approach through: depicting themselves as victims of unfair institutional arrangements or unreasonable patients; instituting street-level bureaucracy to control access to the clinics; and controlling patients’ actions in authoritarian ways. Our research shows that without engagement with the on-the-ground realities of the antenatal clinic in resource-poor environments, a scientific-bureaucratic approach to pregnancy risk management is inevitably limited in its effectiveness.
- Full Text: