Stable isotope-based community metrics as a tool to identify patterns in food web structure in east African estuaries

1.Quantitative tools to describe biological communities are important for conservation and ecological management. The analysis of trophic structure can be used to quantitatively describe communities. Stable isotope analysis is useful to describe trophic organization, but statistical models that allow the identification of general patterns and comparisons between systems/sampling periods have only recently been developed. 2.Here, stable isotope-based Bayesian community-wide metrics are used to investigate patterns in trophic structure in five estuaries that differ in size, sediment yield and catchment vegetation cover (C3/C4): the Zambezi in Mozambique, the Tana in Kenya and the Rianila, the Betsiboka and Pangalanes Canal (sampled at Ambila) in Madagascar. 3.Primary producers, invertebrates and fish of different trophic ecologies were sampled at each estuary before and after the 2010–2011 wet season. Trophic length, estimated based on δ15N, varied between 3·6 (Ambila) and 4·7 levels (Zambezi) and did not vary seasonally for any estuary. Trophic structure differed the most at Ambila, where trophic diversity and trophic redundancy were lower than at the other estuaries. Among the four open estuaries, the Betsiboka and Tana (C4-dominated) had lower trophic diversity than the Zambezi and Rianila (C3-dominated), probably due to the high loads of suspended sediment, which limited the availability of aquatic sources. 4.There was seasonality in trophic structure at Ambila and Betsiboka, as trophic diversity increased and trophic redundancy decreased from the prewet to the postwet season. For Ambila, this probably resulted from the higher variability and availability of sources after the wet season, which allowed diets to diversify. For the Betsiboka, where aquatic productivity is low, this was likely due to a greater input of terrestrial material during the wet season. 5.The comparative analysis of community-wide metrics was useful to detect patterns in trophic structure and identify differences/similarities in trophic organization related to environmental conditions. However, more widespread application of these approaches across different faunal communities in contrasting ecosystems is required to allow identification of robust large-scale patterns in trophic structure. The approach used here may also find application in comparing food web organization before and after impacts or monitoring ecological recovery after rehabilitation.

Developing programs for African families, by African families: engaging African migrant families in Melbourne in health promotion interventions

Obesity is an emerging problem for African migrants in Australia, but few prevention programs incorporate their cultural beliefs and values. This study reports on the application of community capacity-building and empowerment principles in 4 workshops with Sudanese families in Australia. Workshop participants prioritized health behaviors, skill and knowledge gaps, and environments for change to identify culturally centered approaches to health promotion. The workshops highlighted a need for culturally and age-appropriate interventions that build whole-of-family skills and knowledge around the positive effects of physical activity and nutrition to improve health within communities while reducing intergenerational and gender role family conflicts.

A social-cultural reading: the Melbourne Savage Club through its collections

This thesis looks at how the collection(s) of a private club located in the Melbourne Central Business District have been shaped by the bohemian attitude of its founding members and examines the contributing factors to the collection which make it distinctive and significant to Australian cultural heritage.

Creating a space and place for culture bearers within tertiary institutions: Experiencing East African dance songs in South Africa

This paper highlights the intersections between formal and informal African music and dance within a tertiary setting. Reflective practice, journaling and survey data within case study methodology provide a snapshot of the teaching and learning that took place at North West University in South Africa in October 2012. I argue for the inclusion of informal pedagogy of indigenous musics within the formal context of university courses. The experience provided a pathway to connect local community and university to celebrate the rich diversity of African music and culture. The teaching and learning experiences served as onsite professional development for tertiary students, music staff and myself.

Preservice music students explore African music in an Australian tertiary context

--[if gte mso 9]> marshall 0 0 2014-10-08T21:19:00Z 2014-10-08T23:14:00Z 1 215 1229 10 2 1442 14.0 --> --[if gte mso 9]> Normal 0 false false false EN-US JA X-NONE -->--[if gte mso 9]> --> --[if gte mso 10]> --> --StartFragment-->

Response of inflation to shocks: new evidence from Sub-Saharan African countries

In this paper, we investigate whether or not the inflation rate of 17 Sub-Saharan African countries can be modelled as a stationary process. We achieve this goal through using univariate and panel stationarity tests for data over the period 1966 to 2002. We use the Kwiatkowski, Phillips, Schmidt and Shin (KPSS, 1992) univariate test and allow for multiple structural breaks. We find that except for Burkina Faso, Burundi and Gambia, the inflation rate is stationary for the rest of the 14 countries. We then apply the panel version of the KPSS test, developed by Carrion-i-Silvestre et al. (2005), which accounts for multiple structural breaks. We find strong evidence of panel stationarity of the inflation rate. However, for a panel consisting of Burkina Faso, Burundi and Gambia, we could not find evidence that the inflation rate is stationary. © 2013 Elsevier B.V.

Migration-related influences on obesity among sub-Saharan African migrant adolescents in Melbourne, Australia

Aim: The aim of the present study was to examine migration- and socioeconomic-related influences on obesity among African migrant adolescents in Melbourne, Australia. Methods: Anthropometric data were collected from 99 parents and 100 adolescent offspring who also completed questionnaires eliciting demographic, socioeconomic and migration data. Multiple linear regressions were used to assess the relationship between migration- and socioeconomic-related factors and adolescent body mass index (BMI). Results: Only gender and parental BMI were associated with adolescent BMI after adjusting for adolescent age, adolescent gender, religion, parental BMI, parental education level and annual income. Boys (β=-1.45; P < 0.05) had lower BMI than girls. Parental and adolescent BMI were positively associated (β = 0.11; P < 0.05). In examining migration-related factors and adolescent BMI, after adjusting for gender and parental BMI, parental acculturation patterns and pre-migration life environment were associated with adolescent BMI, explaining, respectively, 6.5 and 4.0% of the variance in BMI. An integrated parental acculturation pattern was negatively associated with adolescent BMI (β=-0.17; P < 0.05) while adolescents whose parents came from rural areas had a higher BMI (β = 1.48; P < 0.05) than those whose parents came from urban areas. Adolescent acculturation patterns and length of stay in Australia were non-significantly associated with their BMI. Conclusions: Gender, pre-migration life environment and parental acculturation patterns seem to influence the prevalence of overweight and obesity among African migrant adolescents. Culturally competent obesity prevention programmes targeted towards African adolescents should consider these aspects in their design and delivery; however, further research is required to determine their relative contributions to African adolescent obesity in Australia.

Validation of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale on a cohort of South African women.

Postnatal depression occurs in 10-15% of women. The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) is a 10-item self-report scale designed specifically as a screening instrument for the postnatal period. It was initially validated for use in the UK, but has subsequently been validated for other communities. It has not been validated for an African community.