The primary focus of this thesis was to investigate the movement patterns of the South African West Coast rock lobster, Jasus lalandii, using a diverse range of techniques. These were (1) an examination of long-term data from an ongoing tag-recapture program, (2) observations on rock lobsters in a mesocosm aquarium, (3) surveys that monitored the seasonal fluxes in activities and abundance of rock lobsters in the field, (4) video recordings of movement behaviour in small aquaria and (5) acous...
ABSTRACT A revised generic diagnosis of the genus Rheotanytarsus Thienemann et Bause is given. Seven new Afrotropical species are described, R. kjaerandseni sp. n. as male, female, pupa and larva; R. plerusunguisus sp. n. as male and female; R. aquilus sp. n., R. atrius sp. n., R. saetheri sp. n., R* abonae sp. n., and R, weijensis sp. n. as males only. One species is redescribed, R. fuscus (Freeman, 1954). The genus can be divided into 7 species groups primarily based on the pupal morphology...
ABSTRACT Bats are reservoirs for many emerging zoonotic RNA viruses, including rabies virus (RABV), SARS-like coronavirus, henipaviruses and filoviruses. Several bat species have been associated with Lagos bat virus (LBV) infection. They include Wahlberg‟s epauletted fruit bat (Epomorphorus wahlbergi), the straw-colored fruit bat (Eidolon helvum), the Egyptian fruit bat (Rousettus aegyptiacus), and an insectivorous bat, the Gambian slit-faced bat (Nycteris gambiensis). Bats are important fo...
ABSTRACT Insects associated with citronella were surveyed in the south-eastern part of Ghana for 11 months. Using two different sweep nets, intensive and extensive surveys showed that the foliage of citronella was associated with a diverse insect fauna comprising 10 orders and 102 families as follows: Hymenoptera (29), Diptera (32), Homoptera (8), Hemiptera (12), Coleoptera (10), Dictyoptera (2), Orthoptera (3), Lepidoptera (2), Dermaptera (1), and Neuroptera (3). The shoot of citronella was ...
ABSTRACT The behavioural responses o f two schistosom e host snails (Bitlinus Iruncattts and Biomphalaria pfeifferi) to tw enty-six naturally occurring (crude and sem i-processed) products weic measured in diffusion olfactom eters. 15 out o f these 26 m aterials (i.e. 57% ) were found to act as statistically significant attractants for adult 13. pfeifferi w hile only 5 (19%) o f the lest materials clicited statistically significant responses from the adults o f B. truncatus. The juveniles oil...
The malaria drug policy for Ghana is chloroquine, Fansidar and quinine as the first line, second line and third line drugs respectively. However, the burden o f malaria has been complicated by the emergence of resistance especially to chloroquine, which is a cheap and effective drug. It has therefore become imperative that the levels o f resistance o f Plasmodium falciparum to anti-malarial drugs (chloroquine and Fansidar) in Ghana be established and the information used to develop an a...
Malaria remains a life-threatening disease in the tropical and sub-tropical world, affecting mostly children and pregnant women. One of the biggest threats to malaria control is the ability of the causative parasite to develop resistance to anti-malarials and how quickly the resistance spreads. This makes it necessary for further research to discover new anti-malarial drugs. Plant products offer a great promise in this direction. This study tested the anti-plasmodial activities of crude ...
A B S T R A C T The b io lo g y o f th r e e s p e c ie s o f Oxycarenus found in Southern Ghana has been s tu d ied . T h e i r h o s t p la n t s are l i s t e d and host p r e fe r en c e s examined. The sea sonal p opula t io n changes o f two s p e c ie s have been fo l low e d . The n a tu ra l enemies and d e fen s iv e mechanisms have been s tu d ie d . A d e t a i l e d d e s c r ip t io n o f the immature s ta g e s o f the th r e e Oxycarenus sp e c ie s has been g iv en f o r th e...
ABSTRACT Studies on the distribution patterns, dispersal and population genetics of Anopheles gambiae (Diptera: Culicidae) and Anopheles funestus (Diptera: Culicidae) were conducted at two sites, i.e Jaribuni and Mtepeni in Kilifi, along the Kenyan Coast. Longitudinal sampling of mosquito populations was conducted during the period 2002 - 2003. Day resting indoor collections and all night human biting catches revealed the presence of An. funestus, An. gambiae s.s, An. squamosus, An. coustani...
Abstract Malaria is a mosquito-borne protozoal disease caused by species o f the genus Plasmodium. It is characterised by acute febrile illness which may be expressed as periodic paroxysms occurring every' 48 or 72 hours with afebrile and relatively asymptomatic intervals and the tendency to recrudesce or relapse over a period of months to many years (Gilles and Warrel. 1993). Other major symptoms of malaria are rigors/chills, vomiting, convulsion, headache, drowsiness and muscleskeletal pain...
ABSTRACT A revised generic diagnosis of the genus Nilothauma Kieffer, 1921a, is given. Four new Afrotropical species, N. loba sp. n., N. tricaudata sp. n., N. flabella sp. n., and N. insolita sp. n., are described as male imagines. N. pictipenne Kieffer, 1921a is redescribed as male and female imagines. Two Neotropical species (N. aleta Roback,1960 and N. Buena Roback, 1960) are regarded as nominal dubia and placed in Paratendipes. A key to male imagines of the Nilothauma pictipenne group is...
ABSTRACT Biology of cowpea flower thrips Megalurothrips sjostedti, was studied under field conditions. Population studies showed that the trend of thrips populations was closely tied with the flowering cycle of the cowpea crop. Peak thrips populations coincided with peak flowering of the crop. The seasonal abundance of thrips was mainly governed by weather factors. Thrips were found to oviposit mainly in the calyx of the cowpea flower. Evaluation of different sampling methods for thrips on co...
ABSTRACT Control of onchocerciasis over the past 3 decades has brought great relief to millions of people living in endemic communities, by substantially reducing blindness and other dermatological lesions. However, there are still areas where infections in human populations are high and vector transmission is ongoing, requiring a further understanding into the transmission dynamics of the disease in such communities. Furthermore the status of animal onchocerciasis is still unknown in Ghana ...
ABSTRACT Control of lymphatic filariasis (LF) in Ghana is based on annual mass drug administration (MDA) with a combination of ivermectin and albendazole, in order to halt transmission. It is expected that 5-6 rounds of MDA should result in the interruption of transmission. This research present findings from a study in two endemic rural communities in Western Ghana, after ten rounds of MDA. The study was conducted in Agona Princess and Akonu in the Ahanta West District and Nzema East Municip...
ABSTRACT Studies on toxicological and sedative effects of Datura innoxia plant parts (leaf, seed, stem, pod and root) on Clarias gariepinus fingerlings were conducted under laboratory conditions using the static bioassays and continuous aeration. The aim was to develop an effective anaesthetic from an indigenous plant material that will be available at low cost to aquaculturists and which would be non-toxic to the fish and consumers. The active ingredients and their compositions in the plant ...