University of Port Elizabeth

About: University of Port Elizabeth is a based out in . It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Estuary. The organization has 1067 authors who have published 1538 publications receiving 38560 citations. The organization is also known as: UPE & Universiteit van Port Elizabeth.

Diet of small mammals from the Karoo. South Africa

Abstract: The feeding habits of seven rodent, and an elephant shrew species from the semi-arid Karoo, South Africa were determined by microscopic examination of stomach contents. The elephant shrew Macroscelides proboscideus was found to consume significant amounts of vegetation, making it a functional herbivore/ insectivore. Two of the rodents (Otomys unisulcatus and Parotomys brantsii) formed a herbivorous guild, while the remainder (Gerbillurus paeba, Mus minutoides, Rhabdomys pumilio, Desmodillus auricularis and Saccostomus campestris) were omnivorous. The paucity of granivorous small mammals in the Karoo contrasts the patterns of trophic specialization for North American and Israeli semi-arid communities, but is similar to that of South American and Australian semi-arid communities.

A Method to Assess the Freshwater Inflow Requirements of Estuaries and Application to the Mtata Estuary, South Africa

Abstract: The National Water Act (Act 36 of 1998) in South Africa recognizes basic human water requirements as well as the need to sustain the country's freshwater and estuarine ecosystems in a healthy condition for present as well as future generations. In this Act, provision is made for a water reserve to be estimated prior to the authorization of water use (e.g., for agriculture, large volume residential and industrial uses) through licensing. This reserve is the water required to satisfy basic human needs (i.e., 25 1 person−1 d−1) and to protect aquatic ecosystems to ensure present and future sustainable use of the resource. This led the Departments of Water Affairs and Forestry and estuarine scientists throughout South Africa to develop a method to determine the freshwater inflow requirements of estuaries. The method includes documenting the geographical boundaries of the estuary and determining estuarine health by comparing the present state of the estuary with a predicted reference condition with the use of an Estuarine Health Index. The importance of the estuary as an ecosystem is taken from a national rating system and together with the present health is used to set an Ecological Reserve Category for the estuary. This category represents the level of protections afforded to an estuary. Freshwater is then reserved to maintain the estuary in that Ecological Reserve Category. The Reserve, the quantity and quality of freshwater required for the estuary, is determined using an approach where realistic future river runoff scenarios are assessed, together with data for present state and reference conditions, to evaluate the extent to which abiotic and biotic conditions within an estuary are likely to vary with changes in river inflow. Results from these evaluations are used to select an acceptable river flow scenario that represents the highest reduction in freshwater inflow that will still protect the aquatic ecosystem of the estuary and keep it in the desired Ecological Reserve Category. The application of the Reserve methodology to the Mtata estuary is described.

The effects of river flooding on the fish populations of two eastern Cape Estuaries

Abstract: The effect of river flooding during July and August 1979 on fish populations in two eastern Cape estuaries is compared. It is shown that floods of varying intensity occur regularly in these estuaries. Fish populations in the two estuaries, namely the Swartkops and the Sundays, were differently affected: members of the family Mugilidae increased in numbers in the Swartkops estuary after the floods but decreased to insignificant numbers in catches in the Sundays estuary for a number of months after the floods. It is postulated that mud and silt which are deposited in the Swartkops during the flood serve as a food source for the mullet whereas the rich surface benthos layer of a channel-like estuary like the Sundays is washed away by heavy floods.

Surviving Unemployment without State Support: Unemployment and Household Formation in South Africa

Abstract: High unemployment in many OECD countries is often attributed, at least in part, to the generosity and long duration of unemployment compensation. It is therefore instructive to examine a country where high unemployment exists despite the near complete absence of an unemployment insurance system. In South Africa unemployment stood at 23% in 1997 and the unemployed have no unemployment insurance nor informal sector activities to fall back on. This paper examines how the unemployed are able to get access to resources without support from unemployment compensation. Analysing a household survey from 1995, we find that the household formation response of the unemployed is the critical way in which they assure access to resources. In particular, unemployment delays the setting up of an individual household of young people, in some cases by decades. It also leads to the dissolution of existing households and a return of constituent members to parents and other relatives and friends. Access to state transfers (in particular, non- contributory old age pensions) increases the likelihood of attracting unemployed persons to a household. Some unemployed do not benefit from this safety net, and the presence of unemployed members pulls many households supporting them into poverty. We also show that the household formation responses draw some unemployed away from employment opportunities and thus lowers their employment prospects. The paper discusses the implications of these findings for debates about unemployment and social policy in South Africa and in OECD countries.