April 2017 Monthly Report April brought about a distinct change of season, with the weather starting to produce colder days and the Aloes revealing their red bloom en mass. This month’s report shares the increase in number of fisherman to the area in the usual compliance management section, an article on biological control that may have led to human health issues in our area, environmental education activities in the form of radio talk shows and posters centred around plant appreciation day, and a short video that highlights some of the activities we get involved in. The Conservancy also saw some turtle and bird rescues which we report on, after which we then round off with our featured monthly species profile. A drone image captured the ocean, land and sky coming together on Fransmanshoek Peninsula Aloes are blooming! In April the Bitter Aloe, Aloe ferox, has adorned the Fransmanshoek Conservancy with its fine, fiery bloom. The Rangers spotted the first flowering Aloe at Springerbaai and soon the rest followed in a westward blooming sequence. The flowers came at a time when little else was flowering, gracing us with a satisfactory display of nectar drinking birds. Its flowers also attract various insects, which in turn attract a larger variety of birds.
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April 2017 Monthly Report
April brought about a distinct change of season, with the weather starting to produce colder days and
the Aloes revealing their red bloom en mass. This month’s report shares the increase in number of
fisherman to the area in the usual compliance management section, an article on biological control that
may have led to human health issues in our area, environmental education activities in the form of radio
talk shows and posters centred around plant appreciation day, and a short video that highlights some
of the activities we get involved in. The Conservancy also saw some turtle and bird rescues which we
report on, after which we then round off with our featured monthly species profile.
A drone image captured the ocean, land and sky coming together on Fransmanshoek Peninsula
Aloes are blooming!
In April the Bitter Aloe, Aloe ferox, has adorned the Fransmanshoek Conservancy with its fine, fiery
bloom. The Rangers spotted the first flowering Aloe at Springerbaai and soon the rest followed in a
westward blooming sequence. The flowers came at a time when little else was flowering, gracing us with
a satisfactory display of nectar drinking birds. Its flowers also attract various insects, which in turn attract
a larger variety of birds.
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Aloe ferox usually only starts blooming from May to August and in colder areas it may even be delayed
until September, so keep a look out for the late bloomers. Aloe is derived from the Latin languages and
refers to the dried juice of the leaves. Ferox refers to spiny appearance on the leaves and means ‘fierce’
or ‘war-like’.
The start of the Aloe’s bloom.
Compliance Management
The Rangers were kept very busy this month during their marine compliance patrols along the
Conservancy coastline. During the month of April, a total of 236 recreational fishing, spearfishing and
bait collecting permits were checked by Kei and Anton. Of the 236 permits checked, 45 persons (19%)
did not have a valid permit in their possession and were issued a friendly warning.
A strange and rather unpleasant deposit of large amounts of Redbait, Pyura stolonifera, washed ashore
on our beaches, particularly along the Kanon beach in Visbaai. The large quantities of dislodged and
beached Redbait caused a bit of a stir and had people questioning the reason behind this smelly
phenomenon. Typically, during storms out at sea, the weather can cause the waves close to the coast
to increase in size and intensity. The waves break with increased force and the Redbait are positioned
right in the frontline and stand no chance as they get knocked off the rocks they are attached to and
wash ashore.
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It is important to keep in mind that even though these animals are washed out, a person may still only
take out 2 kilograms of any size per day. Redbait is a popular bait choice for anglers, but it is also a
source of food for the various animals found on the beach and to some people of the southeast coast.
A graveyard of redbait lining the beaches’ highwater mark.
Biological Control: out of control
Sometimes the history of our decision-making and the consequences thereof do not stop us from
repeating the same patterns of mistakes.
Historically in South Africa and particular over the last 100 years, conservationists, naturalists and
agriculturalists introduced alien plants and animals for a whole host of reasons that may improve the
livelihood of mankind. Regardless of their intention, we are today taught in Natural Resource
Management and commonly know that these decisions were often short-sighted and have had
perceived negative environmental consequences that we are still having to deal with today. A well-
known example is the introduction of a whole suite of Australian plant species for purposes of dune
stabilisation. The consequences of invasive alien introductions include habitat and species loss or
biodiversity loss, increased fire regimes, system changes and whole habitat transformations. All these
environmental issues are of concern to us as they affect the world around us which sustains us. However,
these affects are akin to the ‘Boiling frog’ parable whereby our lives are negatively affected unseen or
on too large a time scale for us to realise.
More recently, to deal with these consequences, a host of methods have been employed by scientists
and managers in managing the situation. One such popular method is biological control, or biocontrol.
This is when a biological organism, usually an alien organism itself originating from the same area as
the alien invader, is employed to try to slow the spread of the invasion through various means, such as
parasitizing the seed producing parts of the invader plant or weakening the plants growth through
disease. Often these alien bio-control organisms go through extensive trials to determine if they will be
a hazard or a help the situation. The problem is that these trials usually only predict the impact for 10
to 20 year periods, and don’t necessarily forecast centuries into the future.
What if these introductions of alien organisms to control out-of-control organisms are a short-sighted
response that carry their own unforeseen consequences? What if these consequences have a direct or
indirect effect on human health?
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Over the past three years, and particularly recently, we have begun to witness a series of reports and
experienced first-hand an outbreak of skin irritations or “bites” on nearly all persons that work or live
near dense stands of Rooikrans trees, Acacia cyclops, from around February to April each year. These
incidents have been occurring in the Fransmanshoek Conservancy on the Southern Cape coast near
Mossel Bay, and I cannot talk for the other areas with similar Rooikrans infestations. The bites tend to
occur all over the body and cause uncomfortable itching. In some cases, the bites have led to
hospitalisation following serious allergic reactions. There is an association and somewhat of an
assumption that it is being formulated by local inhabitants that the same insect responsible for causing
the immeasurable amount of galls (a vegetative-type looking growth) on the Rooikrans flowers is
responsible for these bites on humans, due to a population explosion of some kind. Irrespective of the
cause, human health is being adversely effected here.
I believe there is some correlation and will share my findings.
There have been several bio-controls released for the control of Rooikrans, from a host of seed-feeding
weevils to seed-reducing gall-forming midges, all of them being highly successful at reducing the seed
production of the alien invasive tree. Here in the Fransmanshoek Conservancy, we can at first glance see
that the Rooikrans flower parts have been transformed into vegetative type galls. This is the only visual
evidence of biocontrol that is seen easily without a microscope. A more thorough inspection with
magnification may reveal all the different biocontrol insects, which are usually too small to distinguish
with the naked eye.
Assuming we take this visual evidence of the countless flower galls as an initial investigation, this gall is
the work of the small fluted galler midge, Dasineura dielsi Rübsaame. This midge parasitizes the
Rooikrans flower over the peak flowering period in summer-autumn as part of its reproductive cycle. It
implants its larvae in the Rooikrans flower. The larvae then form woody fluted galls on the ovaries of
the Rooikrans flowers, thereby preventing any further development of the flower and ultimately the
seed. The galls eventually fall to the ground and the adult midges hatch and emerge to repeat the cycle
when the Rooikrans produces flowers. These midges have been very successfully employed to slow the
seed production of Rooikrans with high gall densities of several thousand often present on a single tree,
effectively reducing the seed production up to 95%.
Dasineura dielsi female ovipositing on Rooikrans flower.
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The wooded fluted galls of Dasineura dielsi.
Nothing in a search of the literature indicates that these midges are parasitic on humans, in any of their
4-life stages, contrary to our speculation. They are only parasitiods on vegetation. What is very
interesting is that they have been known to hatch and emerge to the adult stage over the period
February to April, which is coincidentally the same period we have experienced these “bites” and itching.
There may however be another possible explanation. Indigenous predatory insects have taken a liking
to parasitizing and feeding on the midge populations. Perhaps the indigenous predatory insects have,
because of the high numbers of galler midges, also experienced a population explosion and perhaps it
is these guys that are responsible for the skin irritations we are experiencing.
There are numerous known wasps that parasitize the galler midges’ larvae that are mentioned in
scientific literature. These are mesopolobus sp, torymus sp, family Platygastridae and synopeas sp. These
wasps are small and will implant their larvae into the galls formed by the galler midge. The wasp larvae
will parasitize the galler midge larvae and the emergence of the adult wasps coincides with the
emergence of the adult galler midges.
It is very likely that these minute wasps are stinging local human inhabitants and injecting wasp toxin
into the human’s body in very small quantities. This causes irritations privy to what we have been
experiencing. Thus, we are suggesting that what we are experiencing are stings, and not bites. This is
supported by the fact that some people are having allergic reactions, which could be reactions to the
toxin injected when stung by these wasps.
Further investigation is still required to determine if this is really the case. The Conservancy plans on
taking samples over the peak emergence periods next year to determine if the galler-midge is indeed
being parasitized by wasps in our area.
Environmental Educational
Rangers on the Radio The 13th of April marked a very important day on the calendar for the Rangers and the globe: Plant
Appreciation Day. Not much is known about the origin of this day, but it first appeared on calendars
worldwide in the year 2000. 17 years down the line and the Rangers were not going to miss this
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opportunity to educate people on the vital roles plants play in our lives. Not many people seem to
understand the complex role of physical and psychological role plants play in our lives. People
subconsciously want to be surrounded by plants and nature, despite often not realising it, and
immersing oneself in nature is what this day is all about.
The Rangers wanted to reach a larger audience and so they decided to talk again on SFM Radio. The
setting was much the same as previously, where the Rangers were introduced to the listeners by Fred
Orban, after which he proceeded to interview them. The talk revolved around the theme: Plant
Appreciation through the eyes of a Nature Conservationist. Important questions were touched on that
day, such as: “What type of plants can be found in the Southern Cape region?” and “What are the
functions of plants in nature and in the human environment?”. The Rangers have found the radio talk
shows an exciting and stimulating platform to spread their knowledge on environmental sustainability.
The Conservancy has received much positive feedback from these talks and hopes to continue partaking
in them in the months to come.
The Rangers and the SFM Crew
Vegetation type’s poster To emphasise Plant Awareness Day and to improve our live herbarium display, Nicole created a poster
about the Vegetation Types found within the boundaries of the Fransmanshoek Conservancy. A
vegetation type refers to areas with distinct grouping types of plants, soil and climate factors. On a
smaller scale, the type of plants occurring locally depends on the changes in climate, soil, slope of the
land and the ability of the soil to hold water. The Conservancy has four vegetation types in close
proximity to each other: Herbertsdale Renoster Thicket, Groot Brak Dune Strandveld, Gouritz Dune
Thicket and the Cape Seashore Vegetation.
The plants in the live herbarium are now labelled per a colour coded system to show you which plants
occur in what vegetation type. So, look out for plants labelled with only one colour sticker, as those are
the key indicator plants you should look out for when walking in the veld. If you haven’t yet, go visit the
live herbarium and explore the plants displayed plus the associated poster Nicole made, to learn more
about the vegetation found in our area.
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The herbarium is located in the Information Centre at the Fransmanshoek Point. It is open on holidays
and weekends.
Nicole happily showcasing the poster and colour-coded herbarium labels.
Activity Highlights Video During April Anton edited and put together an entertaining and informative short video of various
footage taken around Fransmanshoek Conservancy and the Rangers activities throughout the years. We
put this video up on our Facebook page: https://web.facebook.com/fmhconservancy/. If you want to
learn more about the Conservancy or just catch up with what the Rangers have been up to, follow the
above link to view.
Turtle Rescue
On the 8th and 23rd of April, the strong easterly winds washed ashore another two loggerhead turtle
hatchlings, Caretta caretta. On the 8th, Anton was busy with his afternoon patrol when a fisherman called
him over and to his surprise the man held out a loggerhead turtle hatchling. The 23rd had Nicole
responding to a stranded turtle call out, and after getting the necessary equipment, she found a very
excited fisherman with a loggerhead turtle hatchling in a plastic container with sand, water and a shell.
On both occasions the turtles were very weak and exhausted. On each of these occasions, the turtles
were collected and the Rangers quickly put them safely in a large container on a wet cloth at room
temperature. The wet cloth ensures that the hatchling won’t dry out and stress the animal further. A few
phone calls later ensured that the hatchlings were collected within a day of their rescue and transported