Elizabeth Archer

Ectoparasite Burdens of the Common Mole-Rat (Cryptomys hottentotus hottentotus) From the Cape Provinces of South Africa

Abstract:  The members of the African mole-rat family Bathyergidae are widely distributed across sub-Saharan Africa. Despite their well-studied biology and reproductive physiology, the current knowledge of their ectoparasite fauna is limited and ambiguous due to recent revisions of the bathyergid taxonomy. The common mole-rat (Cryptomys hottentotus hottentotus) is 1 of the most widely distributed species of these subterranean rodents. Ectoparasites were collected from 268 common mole-rats at 2 localities (Western and Northern Cape provinces) in South Africa over the course of 18 mo with the aim to document species richness, prevalence, and abundance of these ectoparasites. The aggregation of parasite species, sex bias within a species, and seasonal variation in ectoparasite burdens were investigated. A total of 4,830 individual parasites from 4 mite species (Androlaelaps scapularis, Androlaelaps capensis, Radfordia ensifera, and 1 undetermined chigger [family Trombiculidae]), 1 flea species (Cryptopsylla ingrami), and 1 louse species (Eulinognathus hilli) were collected. With the exception of R. ensifera and the chigger, all of these ectoparasites appear to be host specific either for the host species or the Bathyergidae. Aggregation indices indicated that with the exception of E. hilli, the distribution of all parasite species was highly aggregated among hosts and sex biased. Seasonal variation in prevalence, abundance, and species richness was apparent, with greater burdens in the rainy winter season. This is likely related to seasonal variation in abiotic factors but may also be affected by the timing of host reproduction and dispersal behavior.

Approaches to Effective Data Use: Does One Size Fit All?

This chapter describes the experiences from the most recent phase of a 7-year research project in South Africa on school-based monitoring of pupil performance in some 22 primary schools. The project aimed to generate knowledge as well as to design and develop a well-functioning feedback system to provide data to schools on learner performance. The feedback system that was developed is known as the South African Monitoring system for Primary schools (SAMP). A key objective of this phase of the project was to evaluate the use of the performance data at school and classroom level and to design an intervention for effective use of the data within the primary school environment. It is hoped that a deeper understanding of how data travel in schools (data paths) and how schools can appropriately use data may assist policymakers in developing monitoring policies and provide guidance to school leaders and teachers. This chapter focuses on the data generated through observations, journals, and interviews in the evaluation of one of these design cycles. The sample consists of three schools participating in SAMP that were purposefully selected. The evaluation data collected during this cycle of development focused particularly on how data were used by schools and how data moved within the schools. Three distinct approaches to data use that appeared to be appropriate for their specific contexts (schools) were identified: Team, Cascade, and Top-down. The data suggest that the most appropriate and effective approach of use may depend on the culture of the school, school leadership approach, level of teacher development, and context and level of functioning of the school. There are, however, certain commonalities in the approaches to effective data use. An effective feedback system should thus try to establish or encourage these conditions for data use. The data in this chapter seem to suggest that policy on data use should be flexible and provide exemplars of various possible approaches, which are appropriate for different contexts. It is important that there are layers of sophistication (different levels of detail, complexity of presentation, and disaggregation) within the data, which the school can access as needed for its particular milieu.

Beyond rhetoric: Leveraging learning from New Zealand's assessment tools for teaching and learning for South Africa

Abstract South Africa and New Zealand have similar outcomes-based education curricula and share an assessment philosophy framework that encourages assessment for learning. There are, however, weighty differences between the two countries, which effect the implementation of assessment for learning in South Africa. In particular, South Africa is still a developing country, with significant infrastructural and economic challenges. Another difference is that academic performance in New Zealand, by international measures, is superior to that of South Africa. Simple adoption of a policy similar to that of a developed nation by a developing country is not guaranteed to produce similar effects. This study, using qualitative analysis of interviews with privileged insiders, investigates the realities behind the rhetoric of assessment for learning in New Zealand. The views and experiences of ministry officials, researchers, professional developers, and school users of the Assessment Tools for Teaching and Learning (...

Feedback of monitoring data and its role in decision making at school and classroom level

This chapter focusses on how data from monitoring systems, such as assessment results, can be used as a form of feedback. Teachers and school leaders can use this feedback in their decision making at school and classroom level.

Sleep in the Cape Mole Rat: A Short-Sleeping Subterranean Rodent

The Cape mole rat Georychus capensis is a solitary subterranean rodent found in the western and southern Cape of South Africa. This approximately 200-gram bathyergid rodent shows a nocturnal circadian rhythm, but sleep in this species is yet to be investigated. Using telemetric recordings of the electroencephalogram (EEG) and electromyogram (EMG) in conjunction with video recordings, we were able to show that the Cape mole rat, like all other rodents, has sleep periods composed of both rapid eye movement (REM) and slow-wave (non-REM) sleep. These mole rats spent on average 15.4 h awake, 7.1 h in non-REM sleep and 1.5 h in REM sleep each day. Cape mole rats sleep substantially less than other similarly sized terrestrial rodents but have a similar percentage of total sleep time occupied by REM sleep. In addition, the duration of both non-REM and REM sleep episodes was markedly shorter in the Cape mole rat than has been observed in terrestrial rodents. Interestingly, these features (total sleep time and episode duration) are similar to those observed in another subterranean bathyergid mole rat, i.e. Fukomys mechowii. Thus, there appears to be a bathyergid type of sleep amongst the rodents that may be related to their environment and the effect of this on their circadian rhythm. Investigating further species of bathyergid mole rats may fully define the emerging picture of sleep in these subterranean African rodents.