Bats are likely natural hosts for a range of zoonotic viruses such as Marburg, Ebola, Rabies, as well as for various Corona- and Paramyxoviruses. In 2009/10, researchers discovered RNA of two novel ...influenza virus subtypes--H17N10 and H18N11--in Central and South American fruit bats. The identification of bats as possible additional reservoir for influenza A viruses raises questions about the role of this mammalian taxon in influenza A virus ecology and possible public health relevance. As molecular testing can be limited by a short time window in which the virus is present, serological testing provides information about past infections and virus spread in populations after the virus has been cleared. This study aimed at screening available sera from 100 free-ranging, frugivorous bats (Eidolon helvum) sampled in 2009/10 in Ghana, for the presence of antibodies against the complete panel of influenza A haemagglutinin (HA) types ranging from H1 to H18 by means of a protein microarray platform. This technique enables simultaneous serological testing against multiple recombinant HA-types in 5 μl of serum. Preliminary results indicate serological evidence against avian influenza subtype H9 in about 30% of the animals screened, with low-level cross-reactivity to phylogenetically closely related subtypes H8 and H12. To our knowledge, this is the first report of serological evidence of influenza A viruses other than H17 and H18 in bats. As avian influenza subtype H9 is associated with human infections, the implications of our findings from a public health context remain to be investigated.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
We relied on local knowledge of fishers in five coastal communities in Ghana to investigate ecological factors that affect fishing for elasmobranchs (sharks and rays) and the changes in the abundance ...of sharks and rays from 1980 to 2020. We gathered data using participant observation, interviews, focus group discussions, and participatory rural appraisal techniques. The results revealed fisher’s understanding of six main ecological conditions, which have been applied over the years to improve fishing and maximize fisher catch: season and weather conditions, lunar phase, bait type, presence of seabirds and fish movement, the color of seawater, and sea current. Most elasmobranch species were abundant in 1980 but became severely depleted as of 2020, except Blue Shark (
Prionace glauca)
and Devil rays (
Mobula
spp.), shared by the fishers. We found fishers’ local ecological knowledge consistent with scholarly knowledge and call for its inclusion in research, decision-making, and management interventions by biologists and policymakers.
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EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, ODKLJ, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
Aquatic macro-invertebrates play a vital role in the food chain of river ecosystem at several trophic guilds and consumer levels, and are used as biomonitoring tools for aquatic ecosystem health. ...However, hydrologic conditions of these ecosystems have been severely altered because of the increase in urban development and agricultural expansion. This study examined benthic invertebrate response to processes that structure their community in the Wewe River, segmented into intact, medium, and severe condition zones. We sampled in 100 stations in a period of 4 months in the wet (June–September, 2019) and 3 months in the dry (January–March, 2020) seasons. Geometric series, rarefaction, and Hill numbers models were used to quantify invertebrate assemblages, while ordination technique, canonical correspondence analysis, was used to evaluate the influence of predictive factors on their assemblages. A total of 2,075 individuals belonging to 20 family taxa were registered. There was no significant difference in benthic assemblages between the dry and wet seasons. Predictive factors accounted for 47.04 and 50.84% variances, respectively. Taxa distribution patterns differed significantly only in the severely disturbed zone during the wet season. Neptidae, Libellulidae, and Chironomidae were the most abundant taxa, indicating their broad range habitat preference and their ability to adapt to seasonal changes. Asellidae and Perlidae were the least detected, suggesting their sensitivity to elevated levels of some water quality parameters. The findings highlight the threats to the benthic community and overall functional state of the Wewe River, with the need to consider the proposed conservation interventions indicated in this study.
Bats, a globally distributed group of mammals with high ecological importance, are increasingly recognized as natural reservoir hosts for viral agents of significance to human and animal health. In ...the present study, we evaluated pools of blood samples obtained from two phylogenetically distant bat families, in particular from flying foxes (Pteropodidae), Eidolon helvum in West Africa, and from two species of New World leaf-nosed fruit bats (Phyllostomidae), Artibeus jamaicensis and Artibeus lituratus in Central America. A sequence-independent virus discovery technique (VIDISCA) was used in combination with high throughput sequencing to detect two novel parvoviruses: a PARV4-like virus named Eh-BtPV-1 in Eidolon helvum from Ghana and the first member of a putative new genus in Artibeus jamaicensis from Panama (Aj-BtPV-1). Those viruses were circulating in the corresponding bat colony at rates of 7-8%. Aj-BtPV-1 was also found in Artibeus lituratus (5.5%). Both viruses were detected in the blood of infected animals at high concentrations: up to 10E8 and to 10E10 copies/ml for Aj-BtPV-1 and Eh-BtPV-1 respectively. Eh-BtPV-1 was additionally detected in all organs collected from bats (brain, lungs, liver, spleen, kidneys and intestine) and spleen and kidneys were identified as the most likely sites where viral replication takes place. Our study shows that bat parvoviruses share common ancestors with known parvoviruses of humans and livestock. We also provide evidence that a variety of Parvovirinae are able to cause active infection in bats and that they are widely distributed in these animals with different geographic origin, ecologies and climatic ranges.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Land-use change from forest to cocoa agroforestry and other tree-based farming systems alters the structure of forest stands and influences the magnitude of canopy water fluxes and subsequent ...bio-element inputs to the forest floor. The partitioning of incident rainfall (IR) into throughfall (TF), stemflow (SF) and canopy interception loss (IL
C
) and their associated nutrient element concentrations and fluxes was examined along a replicated chrono-sequence: forest, 3, 15 and 30-year-old smallholder shaded-cocoa systems in Ashanti Region, Ghana. Mean annual precipitation during the 2-year observational period (2007 and 2008) was 1376.2 ± 93.8 mm. TF contributed between 76.5–90.4%, and SF between 1.4–1.7% of the annual IR to the forest floor. There were significant differences in IR, TF and SF chemistry. While TF and SF were enriched in phosphorus (1.33–5.67-fold), potassium (1.1–5.69 fold), calcium (1.35–2.65 fold) and magnesium (1.4–2.68 fold) relative to IR, total N (NH
4
+
+NO
3
−
) declined (0.5–0.91) of IR values in TF and SF in forest and shaded cocoa systems. Incident rainfall was significantly more acidic than TF and SF in both forest and shaded-cocoa systems. Mean annual total N, P, K, Ca and Mg inputs to the forest floor through IR were 5.7, 0.14, 13.6, 9.43 and 5.6 kg ha
−1
year
−1
respectively. Though an important source of available nutrients for plant growth, incident rainfall provides only a small percentage of the annual nutrient requirements. With declining soil fertility and pervasive low cocoa yields, possible effects of the reported nutrient fluxes on nutrient budgets in cocoa systems merit further investigation. Against the background of increased TF and decreased IL
C
following forest conversion to shaded-cocoa, it is also recommended that more studies be carried out on rainfall partitioning and its impact on ground water recharge as a way of establishing its influence on the availability of moisture for agriculture in these systems.
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EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OBVAL, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
Soil fertility decline caused by deforestation, soil degradation and low input use has become a primary factor limiting sustainable utilization of soil resources in cocoa agroforestry systems on acid ...soils in lowland humid Ghana. Changes in and responses of soil physico-chemical properties and soil quality to land-use change was investigated along a chronosequence of farm fields on a Ferric Lixisol in the Ashanti region of Ghana. Soil bulk density increased significantly only in the top 0–10 cm soil layer. Concentrations and stocks of soil organic carbon (SOC) and total N decreased significantly in the top 0–10 and 10–20 cm soil depths. By 30 years after forest conversion, cocoa system had re-accumulated up to 38.8 Mg C ha⁻¹ or 85 % of initial forest carbon stock values. Total porosity (%) decreased significantly in shaded-cocoa fields in comparison with the natural semi-deciduous forest. An assessment of soil deterioration using degradation indices (DIs) revealed that total soil quality (0–20 cm) deteriorated significantly (DI = –60.6) in 3-year-old of cocoa system but improved in 15 and 30-year-old systems. Available P stocks declined consistently while soil exchangeable Ca, K and Mg stocks as well as cation exchange capacity (CEC) and base saturation remained more or less stable with a tendency to improve. The inclusion of leguminous shade trees during early plantation development, development of mechanisms for the integration of cover crops and enhancement of farmer capability in improved farm management are required to maintain high C and nutrient base, minimize soil quality degradation during plantation development phase and sustain long-term productivity.
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EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OBVAL, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
This study assessed invertebrate response to disturbances in the riparian zone of the Wewe river, using geometric series, rarefaction, Renyi diversity, and CCA models. We sampled 2,077 individuals ...(dry season) and 2,282 (wet season) belonging to 16 invertebrate orders. The severely disturbed habitat registered the highest individuals (
= 1,999), while the least was the moderately disturbed habitat (
= 740). Seasonal assemblages were not significantly different. Fire, farming, tree felling, and erosion explained 66.8% and 60.55% in the dry and wet seasons, respectively, of variations in invertebrate assemblages. This suggests threats to the invertebrate community and the riparian ecosystem health by anthropogenic interventions.
Anthropogenic activities as predictors of species assemblages in the Owabi Ramsar Wetland were investigated between May and September 2019. Data were collected in 154 plots at five different sites. ...The prevalence index method was used to categorise the species into wetland and non-wetland indicators. Log series and Hill number models were applied to quantify community assemblages, whereas the CCA technique was used to examine the relationship between anthropogenic activities and species presence or absence. In all, 2 185 individuals, belonging to 32 families and 68 species were recorded. Paspalum orbiculare and Persicaria lanigera were the most abundant, indicating their wide distribution. Mean number of individuals were highest at Atafua and lowest at Owabi. An abundance of terrestrial species (41.2%; i.e. plant species not listed as obligate wetland plants) and facultative species (30.9%), compared with obligate wetland species (27.9%), suggests a dominance of species from dryland habitats into the wetland. Farming activities, increased levels of NH
4
+
, PO
4
3+
and NO
3
-N, were the predictors that explained 72.01% of the overall variability in community assemblages. The results revealed the impact of the anthropogenic activities on the ecological integrity of the Owabi Ramsar Wetland and the need to institute conservation measures outlined in this study.
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BFBNIB, GIS, IJS, KISLJ, NUK, PNG, UL, UM, UPUK
Levels of biodiversity are globally underestimated, especially in tropical ecosystems. This is particularly so for bats compared to other mammalian taxa, due to morphological conservatism. Here, we ...investigate West African bats of the Hipposideros caffer complex, an insectivorous bat group occurring throughout the Afrotropics. From samples collected in Ghana, we aim to resolve the cryptic diversity identified by mitochondrial (mt) DNA using nuclear genetic, acoustic, and external morphometric data. We confirmed the presence of four previously established mtDNA lineages within the H. caffer complex and found significant genetic divergence among lineages based on nuclear microsatellite data and significant differences in frequencies of echolocation calls and morphometric measures. From these new data, we conclude that H. caffer complex in West Africa consists of at least four distinct species. While the small‐sized species from coastal savanna could be assigned to H. caffer tephrus, the taxonomic identity of the three sympatric, similarly sized species pertaining to H. ruber from the forest zone of Central Ghana is yet to be assessed.
Zusammenfassung
Die Artenvielfalt vieler Ökosysteme wird generell oft unterschätzt, insbesondere in den Tropen. Dies trifft besonders für Fledermäuse zu, bei denen sich, im Vergleich zu anderen Säugetiergruppen, zahlreiche morphologisch sehr ähnliche Arten finden. Wir untersuchten die westafrikanischen Vertreter des Hipposideros caffer ‐ Komplexes, einer in der gesamten Afrotropis verbreiteten Gruppe insektivorer Fledermausarten. Basierend auf Material aus Ghana untersuchten wir vier über mtDNA zuvor bereits identifizierte Linien mittels Kernmikrosatelliten‐Daten sowie akustischer und morphometrischer Daten. Unsere Ergebnisse bestätigen die Existenz von vier mtDNA‐Linien innerhalb des H. caffer‐Komplexes und zeigen nun auch anhand von Kernmikrosatellitendaten eine signifikante genetische Divergenz der einzelnen Linien, sowie signifikante Unterschiede in Echoortungsfrequenzen und morphometrischen Parametern. Unsere neuen Daten belegen, dass der H. caffer‐Komplex in Westafrika aus mindestens vier Arten besteht: Während relativ kleine Individuen der Küstensavanne Ghanas wohl zur Art H. tephrus gehören, kann die taxonomische Identität der drei ähnlich großen, sympatrischen Arten aus der Waldzone von Zentralghana, die aktuell H. ruber zugeordnet werden, bislang noch nicht abschließend beurteilt werden.
We investigated bats of the Hipposideros caffer complex from Ghana in order to resolve their cryptic diversity. We confirmed presence of four previously established mtDNA lineages and demonstrated significant divergence among them based on nuclear microsatellites, frequency distribution of echolocation calls, and external morphometry. We showed that H. caffer complex in West Africa consists of at least four distinct species and highlighted the potential presence of further cryptic species.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
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