African savanna

Strontium, barium, manganese, copper, molybdenum, and nickel are elements of strong accumulation in plant species of African Savanna ecosystems, in spite of different content in soils and soil-forming rocks. The Cb values are >1. The other elements, like beryllium, zirconium, titanium and vanadium, are less taken up by plants and their Cb values are less than 0.5. These refer to various exposure pathways to both microbes and plants as links in biogeochemical food webs. 

Bryant JP, Kuropat PJ, Cooper SM, Frisby K, Owen-Smith N (1989) Resource availability hypothesis of plant antiherbivore defence tested in South African savanna ecosystem. Nature 340 227-228... 

Cooper, S. M. and Owen-Smith, N. (1985). Condensed tannins deter feeding by browsing ruminants in a South African savanna. Oecologia 67,142-146. 

I agree with Ehrenfest and particularly enjoy questions from children. But I sometimes wonder if scientists will be able to answer humanity s deepest questions. Perhaps our brains, which evolved to make us run from lions on the African savanna, are not constructed to penetrate the fabric of the universe. Imagine an alien with an IQ a hundred times our own. What profound concepts might be available to this creature in areas of awareness to which we are now totally closed The average poodle cannot understand Fourier transforms, the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, or gravitational wave theory. Human forebrains are a few ounces bigger than a poodle s, and we can ask many more questions than a poodle. Are there facets of the universe we can never know Are there questions we can t even ask Michael Murphy discusses a related idea in The Future of the Body. 

The roots of pharmacology extend backward in time to our earliest Pleistocene hominid ancestors on the African savanna, approximately five to ten million years ago. These primitive forebearers grubbed for existence in the brush, where berries, shoots, leaves, tubers, flowers, seeds, nuts, and roots were plentiful. Our predecessors became specialized vegetarians who only later acquired an appetite for meat. It was their vegetarian diet that served to join gastronomic needs with pharmacological discovery. 

Manlay, R.J. Kaire, M. Masse, D. Chotte, J.L. Ciornei, G. and C. Floret (2002) Carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus allocation in agro-ecosystems of a West African savanna. I. The plant component under semi-permanent cultivation.-Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 88, 215-232. 

Zepp R. G., Miller W. L., Burke R. A., Parsons D. A. B., and Scholes M. C. (1996) Effects of moisture and burning on soil-atmosphere exchange of trace carbon gases in a southern African savanna. J. Geophys. Res. 101, 23699-23706. 

M. Taniguchi and I. Kubo, Ethnobotanical drug discovery based on medicine men s trials in African savanna Screening of East African plants for antimicrobial activity II, J. Nat. Prod, in press. 

A limited amount of data on field-testing of strigol analogs has been reported, primarily involving GR-7 and GR-24. GR-7 was reported to be stable when incorporated in dry soil and to decompose slowly in wet soil (38). It was concluded that GR-7 was satisfactory for controlled stimulation of S. hermonthica in the African savanna. 

Zeng, N. and Neelin, J. D. (2000). The role of vegetation-climate interaction and interannual variability in shaping the African savanna. /. Climate, in press. 

Scholes, R. J. and Walker, B. H. (1993). An African Savanna Synthesis of the Nylsvley Study. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. 

Trollope, W. S. W. (1982). Ecological effects of fire in South African savannas. In Ecology of Tropical Savannas (B. j. Huntley and B. H. Walker, Eds.), pp. 292-306. Ecological Stiidie.s, No. 42, Springer-Verlag, Berlin. 

Elemental balances for atmospheric particles indicate that trace metals comprise only a small fraction of the total aerosol mass. Even in a highly industrialized city such as Linz (Austria), the relative contribution of trace metal compounds (Cd, Cr, Cu, Mn, V, Zn, and Pb compounds) to the total suspended particles (TSP) was found to be about 1%, while Ee-compounds comprised 1-8% of the TSP mass (Puxbaum etal. 1985). The major part of the TSP is formed by electrolytes (Na, K" ", NH, Cl , NOj, SO ) (25-35%), carbonaceous material (8-11%), and mineralic components (Ca, Mg, Si, Al compounds) (16-18%). Similar results were found for aerosols collected at a background site in the South African savanna (Puxbaum et al. 2000). 

Cubitermes species are soil feeders which do not usually venture to the surface. They construct hard earthen nests, which are common in African savannas, and usually take the form of small tumuli or are mushroom-shaped. The cap of the mushroom-shaped nest of C. sankurensis contains 58% of the free space of the nest but a minority of the colony (Bouillon and Lekie, 1964). The cap may help in insulating the stem of the nest from high daytime temperatures caused by... 

In South America, the shorter period of human occupation is likely to mean that, in the long term, fire frequency has been lower than in Africa. However, many of the trees in both African savannas and South American cerrado show similar features, such as thick corky bark, that can be interpreted as adaptations that increase fire resistance. 

Today the close relationship between art, animals and the zoo is strong. In fact nowhere is this more the case than in zoo exhibitry. At the Toronto Zoo virtually all the exhibit designs for the five (5) major habitats in the African Savanna project were tied directly to the author s field sketches from Kenya. Indeed, the original creative resort to nature through field work, sketches, photographs and casts of objects supported the final design development experience. This experience and knowledge... 

Toronto Zoo Exhibit Design and Replication of Place Gorilla Rainforest, African Savanna, and Tundra Trek Projects... 

The African Savanna, a major capital project during early planning, was the subject of a perception of environment survey designed to test zoo visitor knowledge and perceptions of actual East African landscapes. Response to notions of Western conceptions of nature and savannas, recreation of landscapes and related issues, and their planning value to exhibit designs and interpretations were probed. 

The African Savanna, a 30 acre (12.1 ha) redevelopment project, resulted in an existing rolling field, drop moat, and a fenced original African paddock landscape re-designed to simulate natural African geomorphologic formations, and plant and animal species associations and habitats (Fig. 67.4). The project won the Canadian Landscape Architects Annual Design award in 2001. 

Recreation of Place The African Savanna Project— Metaphor and the Visitor Survey Device... 

Fig. 67.4 African Savanna very early illustrative concept 1987. (Credit Coe, Lee, Robinson, Roesche Design)...

Fig. 67.5 African Savanna project, baobob tree. (Photo by Author)...

These are keys to authenticity of recreation of place. Clearly, with issues of post colonialism, the politics of representation and cultural sensitivity are issues every zoo should be aware of if they are representing human culture in their exhibitry. This is particularly important for zoos whose exhibits are usually large and do not get up-dated for many years. Rigorous and appropriate, social science based research, and formal liaison with the local cultural community members and academics is essential to avoid current and future problems. At the Toronto Zoo, establishment of an African Cultural Advisors Committees was set up to mediate the planning and design of these features of the African Savanna and the Gorilla Rainforest. 

Fig. 67.10 Models and sketches used in Toronto zoo projects (a) African Savanna lion Kopje Model (b) Gorilla Rainforest Concept Sketch, Dja Reserve Research Station (c) Hudson Bay Tundra Trek Project Sketch (d) Inuit Node Design Sketch, Tundra Trek Project. (Photos by...

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