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Goukamma Marine Protected Area
The Goukamma Marine Protected Area is an inshore conservation region near Knysna in the Western Cape province in the territorial waters of South Africa History The Goukamma MPA was originally proclaimed a Marine Protected Area in 1990. The MPA was proclaimed by the Minister of Department of Environmental Affairs, Environmental Affairs and Tourism, Mohammed Valli Moosa, in Government Gazette No. 21948 of 29 December 2000 in terms section 43 of the Marine Living Resources Act, 18 of 1998. Purpose A marine protected area is defined by the IUCN as "A clearly defined geographical space, recognised, dedicated and managed, through legal or other effective means, to achieve the long-term conservation of nature with associated ecosystem services and cultural values". The Goukamma MPA was established to achieve a multi-pronged approach to conservation. This includes protecting the marine and coastal ecosystems, along with the rich biodiversity they hold, within the Goukamma area. Th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Western Cape
The Western Cape ( ; , ) is a provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the List of South African provinces by area, fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , and List of South African provinces by population, the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 2020. About two-thirds of these inhabitants live in the metropolitan area of Cape Town, which is also the provincial capital. The Western Cape was created in 1994 from part of the former Cape Province. The two largest cities are Cape Town and George, Western Cape, George. Geography The Western Cape is roughly L-shaped, extending north and east from the Cape of Good Hope, in the southwestern corner of South Africa. It stretches about northwards along the Atlantic coast and about eastwards along the South African south coast (Southern Indian Ocean). It is bordered on the north by the Northern Cape and on the east by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phytoplankton
Phytoplankton () are the autotrophic (self-feeding) components of the plankton community and a key part of ocean and freshwater Aquatic ecosystem, ecosystems. The name comes from the Greek language, Greek words (), meaning 'plant', and (), meaning 'wanderer' or 'drifter'. Phytoplankton obtain their energy through photosynthesis, as trees and other plants do on land. This means phytoplankton must have light from the sun, so they live in the well-lit surface layers (euphotic zone) of oceans and lakes. In comparison with terrestrial plants, phytoplankton are distributed over a larger surface area, are exposed to less seasonal variation and have markedly faster turnover rates than trees (days versus decades). As a result, phytoplankton respond rapidly on a global scale to climate variations. Phytoplankton form the base of marine and freshwater food webs and are key players in the global carbon cycle. They account for about half of global photosynthetic activity and at least half o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chrysoblephus Laticeps
''Chrysoblephus laticeps'', the red roman or roman seabream, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Sparidae, the seabreams and porgies. This fish is endemic to Southern Africa, ranging from Namibia to the Eastern Cape. Taxonomy ''Chrysoblephus laticeps'' Was first formally described as ''Chrysophrys laticeps'' in 1830 by the French zoologist Achille Valenciennes with its type locality given as the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa. The genus ''Chrysoblephus'' is placed in the family Sparidae within the order Spariformes by the 5th edition of ''Fishes of the World''. Some authorities classify this genus in the subfamily Sparinae, but the 5th edition of Fishes of the World does not recognise subfamilies within the Sparidae. Etymology ''Chrysoblephus laticeps'' has the specific name''laticeps'' which means "broad head", an allusion to the wide forehead of this species. Description ''Chrysoblephus laticeps'' has amore ovate body than other ''Chrysoblephus'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Atractoscion Aequidens
The geelbeck croaker (''Atractoscion aequidens''), also known as the African weakfish or Cape salmon, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Sciaenidae, the drums and croakers. This species is found in the southwestern Indian Ocean off southeastern Africa. Taxonomy The geelbeck croaker was first formally described as ''Otolithus aequidens'' in 1830 by the French zoologist Georges Cuvier with its type locality given as False Bay in the Western Cape. In 1862 Theodore Gill classified ''O. aequidens'' in a new monospecific genus ''Atractoscion'' and designated it as the type species of that genus. Previously it was considered that this species had a wide distribution in the southeastern Atlantic and Indo-West Pacific but in 2017 workers described two new species and resurrected '' A. atelodus'' from the western Pacific, restricting this species to the southwestern Indian Ocean. This species is classified in the family Sciaenidae which is placed within the subo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Argyrosomus Japonicus
''Argyrosomus japonicus'' is a silvery to bronze-green colored saltwater fish of the family Sciaenidae, which may grow up to in length and weigh up to . It is known as Dusky Kob, dusky salmon, salmon, Kob and kabeljou' in South Africa, Japanese meagre (FAO), mulloway or jewfish in the eastern states of Australia and South Australia, kingfish or river kingfish in Western Australia, Ô-nibe (大鮸, オオニベ) in Japan, and ''Sawwa Krokar'' Fish or ''Sawwa Machli'' in Pakistan. The name jewfish refers to its large otoliths, which are prized as "jewels" by some fishermen. Description ''Argyrosomus japonicus'' is a large, slender fish which can grow to . It has a copper-colored head and is silvery with a bronze-green dorsal surface and paler belly. It has a row of distinctive white spots running along the lateral line. The caudal fin is angular in juveniles but becomes more rounded in larger fish. Distribution and habitat ''Argyrosomus japonicus'' has an Indo-Pacific distributio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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] |
African Oystercatcher
The African oystercatcher or African black oystercatcher (''Haematopus moquini'') is a large charismatic wader resident to the mainland coasts and offshore islands of southern Africa. This oystercatcher has a population of over 6,000 adults, which breed between November and April. The scientific name ''moquini'' commemorates the French naturalist Alfred Moquin-Tandon who discovered and named this species before Charles Lucien Bonaparte, Bonaparte. Description The African oystercatcher is a large, noisy Charadriiformes, wader, with completely black plumage, red legs and a strong broad red beak, bill. The sexes are similar in appearance, however, females are larger and have a slightly longer beak than males. Juveniles have soft grey plumage and do not express the characteristic red legs and beak until after they fledged. The bird call, call is a distinctive loud piping, very similar to Eurasian oystercatchers. As the Eurasian oystercatcher is a bird migration, migratory species the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hawksbill Turtle
The hawksbill sea turtle (''Eretmochelys imbricata'') is a critically endangered sea turtle belonging to the family Cheloniidae. It is the only extant species in the genus ''Eretmochelys''. The species has a global distribution that is largely limited to tropical and subtropical marine and estuary ecosystems. The appearance of the hawksbill is similar to that of other marine turtles. In general, it has a flattened body shape, a protective carapace, and flipper-like limbs, adapted for swimming in the open ocean. ''E. imbricata'' is easily distinguished from other sea turtles by its sharp, curving beak with prominent tomium, and the saw-like appearance of its shell margins. Hawksbill shells slightly change colors, depending on water temperature. While this turtle lives part of its life in the open ocean, it spends more time in shallow lagoons and coral reefs. The World Conservation Union, primarily as a result of human fishing practices, classifies ''E. imbricata'' as critica ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Green Turtle
The green sea turtle (''Chelonia mydas''), also known as the green turtle, black (sea) turtle or Pacific green turtle, is a species of large sea turtle of the family Cheloniidae. It is the only species in the genus ''Chelonia''. Its range extends throughout tropical and subtropical seas around the world, with two distinct populations in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, but it is also found in the Indian Ocean. The common name refers to the usually green fat found beneath its carapace, due to its diet strictly being seagrass, not to the color of its carapace, which is olive to black. The dorsoventrally flattened body of ''C. mydas'' is covered by a large, teardrop-shaped carapace; it has a pair of large, paddle-like flippers. It is usually lightly colored, although in the eastern Pacific populations, parts of the carapace can be almost black. Unlike other members of its family, such as the hawksbill sea turtle, ''C. mydas'' is mostly herbivorous. The adults usually inhabit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Loggerhead Turtle
The loggerhead sea turtle (''Caretta caretta'') is a species of oceanic turtle distributed throughout the world. It is a marine reptile, belonging to the family Cheloniidae. The average loggerhead measures around in carapace length when fully grown. The adult loggerhead sea turtle weighs approximately , with the largest specimens weighing in at more than . The skin ranges from yellow to brown in color, and the shell is typically reddish brown. No external differences in sex are seen until the turtle becomes an adult, the most obvious difference being the adult males have thicker tails and shorter plastrons (lower shells) than the females. The loggerhead sea turtle is found in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans, as well as the Mediterranean Sea. It spends most of its life in saltwater and estuarine habitats, with females briefly coming ashore to lay eggs. The loggerhead sea turtle has a low reproductive rate; females lay an average of four egg clutches and then become ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bottlenose Dolphin
The bottlenose dolphin is a toothed whale in the genus ''Tursiops''. They are common, cosmopolitan members of the family Delphinidae, the family of oceanic dolphins. Molecular studies show the genus contains three species: the common bottlenose dolphin (''Tursiops truncatus''), the Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin (''Tursiops aduncus''), and Tamanend's bottlenose dolphin (''Tursiops erebennus''). Others, like the Burrunan dolphin (''Tursiops (aduncus) australis''), may be alternately considered their own species or be subspecies of ''T. aduncus''. Bottlenose dolphins inhabit warm and temperate seas worldwide, being found everywhere except for the Arctic and Antarctic Circle regions. Their name derives from the Latin ''tursio'' (dolphin) and ''truncatus'' for the truncated teeth (the type specimen was old and had worn down teeth; this is not a typical characteristic of most members of the species). Numerous investigations of bottlenose dolphin intelligence have bee ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
