Polychaete worms are used widely as bait in South Africa, but common names are not used consistently among fishers or in the literature. This can have implications for conservation, since different polychaete species will not be equally vulnerable to exploitation, and uncertainties about the names of species make it difficult to monitor harvests to assess catch rates. This study develops a consensus view of English and Afrikaans common names for known bait species, building on names already used by fishers and in the literature. The greatest (but not complete) consensus in use of names among fishers and in the literature was for species in the families Arenicolidae, Eunicidae and Nereididae. However, most species are known by multiple common names, some common names are used for multiple species in different families, and the use of at least one name has changed. By applying principles like those used to develop scientific names, we propose a binomial naming system that includes a collective common name that applies to the family or genus, and which, for most species, is already used by fishers, as well as qualifying names that apply to the individual species. The qualifying names may refer to a morphological character that can be observed in the field, its distribution, ecology or the specific name. Research is needed to develop consensus names in isiXhosa.

The Rose-ringed Parakeet Psittacula krameri (Scopoli, 1769) has become invasive in several countries, including South Africa, mainly through the pet trade releases and escapees. We conducted an online questionnaire survey targeting the residents in Durban, eThekwini Municipality, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. We aimed to determine the distribution, habitat and diet of the Rose-ringed Parakeet. We also determined if the public perceived parakeets as pests and if control measures were supported. We found that many parakeet sightings were reported in Durban North, primarily in and around shopping centres. Approximately 64.5% of respondents provided feeding stations for parakeets, with most providing seeds and grains. A total of 173 (55.4%) respondents considered parakeets as a pest. Rose-ringed parakeets were reported to chase nine bird species, of which seven were native and two non-natives. Most respondents stated that parakeets should not be controlled. However, most of those who supported their control suggested shooting and destruction of eggs. We concluded that the distribution of parakeets is likely expanding and associated with anthropogenic activities in this urban landscape. However, public perceptions may make invasive Rose-ringed Parakeet management difficult.

Lamproglena monodi Capart, 1944 adult females were first described from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and have been redescribed seven times from different cichlid species in Egypt, Burkina Faso and Brazil, all showing morphological variation. The adult male was first described from Lake Victoria and the Victoria Nile in Uganda. Copepods from the present study were collected from the gills of Oreochromis niloticus (Linnaeus, 1758) from Kibos Fish Farm, Kenya (between December 2017 and April 2018) and Sharqia Governorate (June 2019) and El-Minia (between July and December 2018) in Egypt. They were identified as L. monodi based on morphology and genetic data. Parasites were studied morphologically with the aid of light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and female infection levels calculated. Genetically, the specimens were studied using fragments of 18S and 28S rDNA. SEM analyses revealed additional diagnostic morphological features for the three adult males (elusive) and 249 females. These data were used to update the identification key for male Lamproglena species. Prevalence, mean intensity and mean abundance of the females were calculated as 13.5%, 8.6 and 1.2 respectively. Both 18S and 28S rDNA fragments confirmed the distinctness of L. monodi from previously characterised Lamproglena species, with distances of 1.22–1.94% (17–27 bp) for 18S rDNA and 15.66–18.1% (111–128 bp) for 28S rDNA. Haplotypes obtained from male and female specimens were identical, confirming the identity of the male specimens. This is the first genetic study of Lamproglena from Africa, the first SEM and genetic study of male L. monodi, and the first geographical report of this parasite from Kenya. The male and molecular data reported herein provide a useful point of reference for future Lamproglena studies.

The gill monogeneans from the genus Ligophorus Euzet et Suriano, 1977 are parasites strictly host specific to mugilid fishes, occurring on a number of mullet species. In South Africa, monogeneans from marine and estuarine teleost fishes are still poorly known. During 2020, five individuals of the South African mullet Chelon richardsonii (Smith) were collected from the Groot River estuary on the south coast of South Africa (south-western Indian Ocean). Monogeneans collected from the gills were preserved for morphological and phylogenetic analyses. The monogeneans found were morphologically identified as Ligophorus minimus Euzet et Suriano, 1977. This study provides the first record of L. minimus from South Africa and the first record on the host C. richardsonii. Furthermore, sequences of the partial 28S rRNA gene and the entire ITS1 region for this species were obtained from the sampled locality in the south-western Indian Ocean for the first time. Phylogenetic analyses confirmed the morphological identification of L. minimus in the present study. The phylogenetic relationships of L. minimus with its congeners corroborate previous studies, providing more insights into the monophyly of the genus, routes of new host colonisation, and distribution patterns.

Information on animal diversity and distribution is essential for designing management plans for conservation. This study aimed to investigate primate diversity and species' distributions in the Maze National Park, southern Ethiopia. The study was conducted during the dry season (January–March) and wet season (June–August) in 2020. Fourteen line transects in four stratified habitats were followed, and 613 individual primates belonging to three species [olive baboon Papio anubis (Lesson, 1827), mantled guereza Colobus guereza (Rüppell, 1835), and vervet monkey Chlorocebus pygerythrus (F. Cuvier, 1821)] were identified. Papio anubis was the most frequently observed primate species in both the dry and wet season in the riverine forest (n = 99 and n = 97, respectively) and in woodland (n = 43 and n = 40, respectively), whereas fewer C. pygerythrus were observed in the riverine forest in both seasons (n = 38 and n = 34 in the dry and wet season, respectively). The highest numbers of primates were recorded in the wet and dry season in the riverine forest (n = 194 and n = 204, respectively), followed by woodland (n = 78 and n = 80, respectively), open grassland (n = 10 and n = 17, respectively), and wooded grassland (n = 8 and n = 18, respectively). During the dry season, the riverine forest habitat had the highest diversity index (H′ = 1.25). These findings will be useful for the urgent prioritisation of primate conservation programmes in the park.

Anthropogenic habitat conversion through urban sprawl is driving mesocarnivores to modify their behaviour and ecology. Thorough knowledge of their feeding ecology is fundamental in understanding the pressures imposed on mesocarnivores by urbanisation. The diet of the water mongoose Atilax paludinosus has been studied in natural habitats of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. However, its urban conspecifics have been mostly overlooked. We used scat analysis to investigate the feeding ecology of water mongooses in the urban greenspace matrix of the Upper Highway Area of eThekwini, KwaZulu-Natal Province. We analysed dietary intake trends using relative percentage of occurrence, based on 105 scat samples collected in 2018–2019. Urban water mongooses opportunistically consumed a wide array of prey items. Their diet was dominated by three main categories: crustaceans 35.9%, rodents 19.6%, and invertebrates 18.4%. Seasonal variation was only detected for crustaceans and rodents. We found chicken bones, plastic particulates and cigarette butts in the scat samples. This indicated that water mongooses in an urban landscape were supplementing their diet by foraging on anthropogenic waste. Our study highlights the generalist and flexible feeding habits of water mongooses in an urban matrix.