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White-fronted Plover
The white-fronted plover or white-fronted sandplover (''Charadrius marginatus'') is a small (45-50 g) shorebird of the family Charadriidae that inhabits sandy beaches, dunes, mudflats and the shores of rivers and lakes in sub-saharan Africa and Madagascar. It nests in small shallow scrapes in the ground and lays clutches of one to three eggs. The species is monogamy in animals, monogamous and long-lived, with a life expectancy of approximately 12 years. The vast majority of pairs that mate together stay together during the following years of breeding and retain the same territory. The white-fronted plover has a similar appearance to the Kentish plover, with a white fore crown and dark bands connecting the eyes to the bill. Subspecies Four or five subspecies are recognized, which vary in the colour shade of the neck collar and breast: * ''C. m. arenaceus'' (Clancey, 1971) occurs from southern Mozambique to the south-western Cape Province in South Africa. * ''C. m. marginatus'' (Vi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
ISimangaliso Wetland Park
iSimangaliso Wetland Park is situated on the east coast of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, about north of Durban by road. It is South Africa's third-largest protected area, spanning of coastline, from the Mozambique, Mozambican border in the north to Mapelane south of the Lake St. Lucia estuary, and made up of around of natural ecosystems, managed by the iSimangaliso Authority. The park was previously known as the Greater St. Lucia Wetland Park, but was renamed on 1 November 2007. The word means "a miracle" or "something wondrous" in Zulu language, Zulu. The name came as a result of Shaka's subject having been sent to the land of the Tsonga people, Tsonga. When he came back he described the beauty that he saw as a miracle. The park includes: * Lake St. Lucia * St Lucia Game Reserve, St. Lucia Game Reserve * False Bay Park * Kosi Bay * Lake Eteza Nature Reserve * Lake Sibhayi * St. Lucia Marine Reserve * St. Lucia Marine Sanctuary * Sodwana Bay Nation ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Isopod
Isopoda is an Order (biology), order of crustaceans. Members of this group are called isopods and include both Aquatic animal, aquatic species and Terrestrial animal, terrestrial species such as woodlice. All have rigid, segmented exoskeletons, two pairs of Antenna (biology), antennae, seven pairs of jointed limbs on the Thorax#In_arthropods, thorax, and five pairs of branching appendages on the Abdomen#In other animals, abdomen that are used in Respiration (physiology), respiration. Females brood their young in a pouch under their thorax called the Brood pouch (Peracarida), marsupium. Isopods have various feeding methods: some eat dead or decaying plant and animal matter, others are Grazing (behaviour), grazers or filter feeders, a few are Predation, predators, and some are internal or external parasites, mostly of fish. Aquatic species mostly live on the seabed or the bottom of freshwater body of water, bodies of water, but some Taxon, taxa can swim for short distance. Terre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Birds Of Sub-Saharan Africa
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweight skeleton. Birds live worldwide and range in size from the bee hummingbird to the common ostrich. There are over 11,000 living species and they are split into 44 orders. More than half are passerine or "perching" birds. Birds have wings whose development varies according to species; the only known groups without wings are the extinct moa and elephant birds. Wings, which are modified forelimbs, gave birds the ability to fly, although further evolution has led to the loss of flight in some birds, including ratites, penguins, and diverse endemic island species. The digestive and respiratory systems of birds are also uniquely adapted for flight. Some bird species of aquatic environments, particularly seabirds and some waterbirds, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anarhynchus
''Anarhynchus'' is a genus of plovers consisting of 24 species. Many ''Anarhynchus'' species are characterised by partial collars, rather than full breast bands or collars which are characteristic of ''Charadrius''. Taxonomy French naturalists Jean René Constant Quoy and Joseph Paul Gaimard described this genus to accommodate the Wrybill. The name is from Ancient Greek ana- (, means "backward") and rhunkhos (, means "bill"). ''Anarhynchus'' was previously considered monotypic, consisting only of the wrybill. Studies in 2015 and 2022 confirmed that ''Charadrius'' is polyphyletic, with some species more closely related to the wrybill rather than the common ringed plover. In IOC 14.1, 23 species were transferred to this genus. ''Anarhynchus'' now contains the following species: * Caspian plover, ''Anarhynchus asiaticus'' (Pallas, 1773) * Oriental plover, ''Anarhynchus veredus'' (Gould, 1848) * Tibetan sand plover, ''Anarhynchus atrifrons'' (Wagler, 1829) * Siberian sand pl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Walvis Bay
Walvis Bay (; ; ) is a city in Namibia and the name of the bay on which it lies. It is the List of cities in Namibia, second largest city in Namibia and the largest coastal city in the country. The city covers an area of of land. The bay is a haven for sea vessels due to its natural deep-water harbour, protected by the Pelican Point sand spit, which is the only natural harbour of any size along the country's coast. Being rich in plankton and marine life, these waters also draw large numbers of southern right whales, attracting whalers and fishing vessels. A succession of colonists developed the location and resources of this strategic harbour settlement. The harbour's value about the sea route around the Cape of Good Hope had caught the attention of world powers since it was discovered by the outside world in 1485. The importance of the harbour, combined with its extreme isolation by land, explains the complicated political history of the town. For much of its history, Walvis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Land Degradation
Land degradation is a process where land becomes less healthy and productive due to a combination of Human impact on the environment, human activities or natural conditions. The causes for land degradation are numerous and complex. Human activities are often the main cause, such as unsustainable land management practices. Natural hazards are excluded as a cause; however human activities can indirectly affect phenomena such as floods and wildfires. One of the impacts of land degradation is that it can diminish the natural capacity of the land to store and filter water leading to water scarcity. Human-induced land degradation and water scarcity are increasing the levels of risk for agricultural production and ecosystem services. The United Nations estimate that about 30% of land is degraded worldwide, and about 3.2 billion people reside in these degrading areas, giving a high rate of environmental pollution. Land degradation reduces agricultural productivity, leads to biodiversity l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
IUCN
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status of the natural world and the measures needed to safeguard it. It is involved in data gathering and Data analysis, analysis, research, field projects, advocacy, and education. IUCN's mission is to "influence, encourage and assist societies throughout the world to conserve nature and to ensure that any use of natural resources is equitable and ecologically sustainable". Over the past decades, IUCN has widened its focus beyond conservation ecology and now incorporates issues related to sustainable development in its projects. IUCN does not itself aim to mobilize the public in support of nature conservation. It tries to influence the actions of governments, business and other stakeholders by providing information and advice and through buildin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Least-concern Species
A least-concern species is a species that has been evaluated and categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as not being a focus of wildlife conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. They do not qualify as threatened, near threatened, or (before 2001) conservation dependent. Species cannot be assigned the "Least Concern" category unless they have had their population status evaluated. That is, adequate information is needed to make a direct, or indirect, assessment of its risk of extinction based on its distribution or population status. Evaluation Since 2001 the category has had the abbreviation "LC", following the IUCN 2001 Categories & Criteria (version 3.1). Before 2001 "least concern" was a subcategory of the " Lower Risk" category and assigned the code "LR/lc" or lc. Around 20% of least concern taxa (3261 of 15,636) in the IUCN database still use the code "LR/lc", which indicates they have not been re- ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fledging
Fledging is the stage in a flying animal's life between hatching or birth and becoming capable of flight. This term is most frequently applied to birds, but is also used for bats. For altricial birds, those that spend more time in vulnerable condition in the nest, the nestling and fledging stage can be the same. For precocial birds, those that develop and leave the nest quickly, a short nestling stage precedes a longer fledging stage. All birds are considered to have fledged when the feathers and wing muscles are sufficiently developed for flight. A young bird that has recently fledged but is still dependent upon parental care and feeding is called a fledgling. People often want to help fledglings, as they appear vulnerable, but it is best to leave them alone. The USA National Phenology Network defines the phenophase (or life cycle stage) of fledged young for birds as "One or more young are seen recently departed from the nest. This includes young incapable of sustained flig ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Egg Incubation
Egg incubation is the process by which an egg, of oviparous (egg-laying) animals, develops an embryo within the egg, after the egg's formation and ovipositional release. Egg incubation is done under favorable environmental conditions, possibly by brooding and hatching the egg. Multiple and various factors are vital to the incubation of various species of animal. In many species of reptile for example, no fixed temperature is necessary, but the actual temperature determines the sex ratio of the offspring. In birds, the sex of offspring is genetically determined, but in many species a constant and particular temperature is necessary for successful incubation. Especially in poultry, the act of sitting on eggs to incubate them is called brooding. The action or behavioral tendency to sit on a clutch of eggs is also called broodiness, and most egg-laying breeds of poultry have had this behavior selectively bred out of them to increase production. Avian incubation A wide range o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kittlitz's Plover
Kittlitz's plover (''Anarhynchus pecuarius'') is a small shorebird (35–40 g) in the family Charadriidae that breeds near coastal and inland saltmarshes, sandy or muddy riverbanks or alkaline grasslands with short vegetation. It is native to much of Sub-Saharan Africa, the Nile Delta and Madagascar. It is thought to be mainly polygamous and has Polymorphism (biology), monomorphic plumage. Description Kittlitz's plover is a small shorebird weighing between 35 and 40 grams.Hockey, P.A.R., Dean, W.R.J. and Ryan, P. G. 2005. Roberts – Birds of Southern Africa. The Trustees of the John Voelcker Bird Book Fund. Both males and females share similar physical characteristics, with a black bill, dark brown eyes framed by black eyelids, and black legs, although at times, the legs can appear greenish or grey. During the breeding season, During the breeding season, the male displays distinct features, including a white forehead, a blackish bar followed by a narrow white bar on the forecrow ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Courtship Display
A courtship display is a set of display behaviors in which an animal, usually a male, attempts to attract a mate; the mate exercises choice, so sexual selection acts on the display. These behaviors often include ritualized movement ("dances"), vocalizations, mechanical sound production, or displays of beauty, strength, or agonistic ability. Male display In some species, males will perform ritualized movements to attract females. The male six-plumed bird-of-paradise ( ''Parotia lawesii'') exemplifies male courtship display with its ritualized " ballerina dance" and unique occipital and breast feathers that serve to stimulate the female visual system. In '' Drosophila subobscura,'' male courtship display is seen through the male's intricate wing scissoring patterns and rapid sidestepping. These stimulations, along with many other factors, result in subsequent copulation or rejection. In other species, males may exhibit courtship displays that serve as both visual and auditor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
