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Showing papers by "Barend F.N. Erasmus published in 2018"



Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: It is found that extreme weather events are the most noticeable effects to date, especially droughts in the Western Cape, but rises in vector-borne diseases are gaining prominence, and the health sector should assume a greater leadership role in promoting policies that protect the public’s health, address inequities and advance the country's commitments to climate change accords.
Abstract: Given its associated burden of disease, climate change in South Africa could be reframed as predominately a health issue, one necessitating an urgent health-sector response The growing impact of climate change has major implications for South Africa, especially for the numerous vulnerable groups in the country We systematically reviewed the literature by searching PubMed and Web of Science Of the 820 papers screened, 34 were identified that assessed the impacts of climate change on health in the country Most papers covered effects of heat on health or on infectious diseases (20/34; 59%) We found that extreme weather events are the most noticeable effects to date, especially droughts in the Western Cape, but rises in vector-borne diseases are gaining prominence Climate aberration is also linked in myriad ways with outbreaks of food and waterborne diseases, and possibly with the recent Listeria epidemic The potential impacts of climate change on mental health may compound the multiple social stressors that already beset the populace Climate change heightens the pre-existing vulnerabilities of women, fishing communities, rural subsistence farmers and those living in informal settlements Further gender disparities, eco-migration and social disruptions may undermine the prevention—but also treatment—of HIV Our findings suggest that focused research and effective use of surveillance data are required to monitor climate change’s impacts; traditional strengths of the country’s health sector The health sector, hitherto a fringe player, should assume a greater leadership role in promoting policies that protect the public’s health, address inequities and advance the country’s commitments to climate change accords

67 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors used the aDGVM, a dynamic vegetation model for tropical ecosystems, to investigate the risk of biome shifts in South Africa's Limpopo province under a set of IPCC climate change trajectories and found a general trend towards more tree-dominated ecosystems and a particularly high risk of vegetation shift in more open grassland and savanna areas.

20 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
08 May 2018-PLOS ONE
TL;DR: Scales at which animal diversity responds are identified by partitioning regional diversity in a rural African agro-ecosystem between one temporal and four spatial scales to identify processes that maintain diversity in these rapidly changing landscapes.
Abstract: S1 Table. List of bat species, families and foraging groups recorded from manual identifications of a random subset of four sites (two nights each) per village, and the codes given to species-groups defined for subsequent automated identification with minimal overlap in call parameters using scans and filters in Analook v. 4.1t, 2015 (Titley Electronics, www. hoarybat.com). Single asterisk denotes species which were identified very rarely using manual identification but not detected from automated scans. Double asterisk denotes one species which was not manually detected in the sub-sampled sites but detected unequivocally with the automated scans.

13 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Ward et al. as discussed by the authors assessed the species composition of the riparian woodland in 2007/2008 along belt transects, recording living and dead individuals in different size classes plus signs of elephant damage and the presence of juvenile plants.
Abstract: Co-ordinating Editor: David Ward Abstract Questions: How has the composition and diversity of canopy tree species in a riparian woodland changed over time? How are the compositional changes related to impact of elephants? Does the composition of juvenile plants indicate that the woodland retains the potential to recover its former composition? Location: Northern Botswana adjoining the Linyanti River. Methods: We assessed the species composition of the riparian woodland in 2007/2008 along belt transects, recording living and dead individuals in different size classes plus signs of elephant damage and the presence of juvenile plants. We related this current composition to the composition recorded in a previous survey in 1991/1992 and reconstructed the earlier composition by combining living and dead trees recorded in 1991/1992. We established the association between mortality and impact agent, severity, year and size class using model selection statistics. Changes in species diversity were assessed using the Shannon diversity index. Results: The composition of canopy trees changed from the initial dominance of two Acacia spp. towards the current situation with these two species forming <5% of the woodland canopy. Dead trees were strongly associated with severe damage inflicted by elephants, including bark stripping and felling. As the acacia trees declined, elephant impacts shifted onto other canopy tree species. The woodland canopy became progressively more open because recruitment from juvenile and sapling stages to replace trees that had died was also suppressed. Nevertheless, the tree species that had decreased in abundance in the canopy remained abundant as juvenile plants. Conclusion: Substantial changes in woodland composition can occur in the presence of high elephant concentrations because of the selective damage that elephants impose on particular tree species and size classes. The loss of functionally important species may not be reflected by changes in compositional diversity measures.

9 citations