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Assessing age related morphological variations of Rousettus aegyptiacus (E. Geoffroy St.-Hilaire, 1810) in Durba, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Ga Mafefe, South Africa
Thesis (PhD (Zoology))--University of Pretoria, 2024.
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2024
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author2 | Kearney, Teresa |
| author_browse | Kearney, Teresa |
| author_facet | Kearney, Teresa |
| collection | Thesis |
| dc_rights_str_mv | © 2023 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. |
| description | Thesis (PhD (Zoology))--University of Pretoria, 2024. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/94956 |
| institution | University of Pretoria (South Africa) |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:37:03.713Z |
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| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository |
| publishDate | 2024 |
| publishDateRange | 2024 |
| publishDateSort | 2024 |
| publisher | University of Pretoria |
| publisherStr | University of Pretoria |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository |
| spelling | oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/94956 Assessing age related morphological variations of Rousettus aegyptiacus (E. Geoffroy St.-Hilaire, 1810) in Durba, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Ga Mafefe, South Africa Kearney, Teresa tlaishegonkoana@gmail.com Markotter, Wanda Nkoana, Tlaishego Tedson UCTD Age determination Linear morphometrics Chiroptera Cementum annuli Cranial sutures Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) SDG-03: Good health and well-being Natural and agricultural sciences theses SDG-03 SDG-15: Life on land Natural and agricultural sciences theses SDG-15 Thesis (PhD (Zoology))--University of Pretoria, 2024. Postnatal growth studies give a better understanding of age related characteristics that form an essential part of mammalian research concerned with population demographics, species management and conservation, and disease investigations. For bats, few studies have focused on their postnatal growth patterns, with this reported in about 5% of the over 1400 species. This thesis assessed age determination in Rousettus aegyptiacus (Mammalia: Pteropodidae) of unknown age from two sites in Central and Southern Africa. A large museum collection of R. aegyptiacus from Durba in the Democratic Republic of Congo was used to examine and relate non-invasive methods that are applicable in field and museum situations, to a destructive, albeit reportedly more accurate, ageing method. The non-destructive methods included linear morphological measurements, cranial bone and dental development (Chapter 2), and micro computed tomography (μCT) scanning, a method not previously studied on Pteropodids, whilst the destructive method was dental cementum annuli ageing (Chapter 3). Five growth development stages based on cranial suture fusion and degree of second molar eruption were related to morphological measurements of forearm length (FAL), total skull length (TSL) and mastoid breadth (MB). The measurements showed a positive linear growth pattern in relation to the development stages, where smaller individuals were associated with the younger stages 1, 2 and 3, and larger individuals with the older stages 4 and 5. Cementum annuli ages for some of the measured individuals identified that smaller, younger bats (stages 1, 2, and 3) were less than two years old and larger, older individuals (stages 4 and 5) were aged two to ten years old. Of the skull and μCT variables assessed, liner modelling outputs gave the closest age predictions to cementum annuli age when using skull mass (Chapter 3). Information on morphological measurements (FAL, head length-HL and ear to ear width-EEW), epiphyseal fusion and reproductive characteristics was further collected from live R. aegyptiacus individuals of the same subspecies (R. a. leachii) as the DRC population, at Ga Mafefe in South Africa as part of a broader disease study. Relating the morphological measurements to the characteristics revealed that no older individuals in the two or more-year age range had unfused epiphysis. In comparison, no younger individuals in the age range of less than two years were scrotal, pregnant or had previously been pregnant. This investigation of age-related morphological variation in R. aegyptiacus linked age obtained from a destructive method (cementum annuli) to identify non-destructive linear measurements (FAL, TSL), skull mass and μCT-derived markers (sutura sagittalis and skull volume) that can be used in age determination. Given the importance of age determination in conservation and disease studies of bats, this knowledge can be applied in field and museum situations to estimate R. aegyptiacus age with quantitative inference. National Research Foundation, Department of Science and Innovation South African Research Chair on Infectious Disease of Animals grant number 98339). Defence Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) under the contract number HDTRA1-20-1-0025. United Nations Children’ Fund Zoology and Entomology PhD (Zoology) Restricted Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences 2024-02-27T10:07:20Z 2024-02-27T10:07:20Z 2024-04 2024-02-26 Thesis * A2024 http://hdl.handle.net/2263/94956 10.25403/UPresearchdata.25288894 © 2023 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. application/pdf University of Pretoria |
| spellingShingle | UCTD Age determination Linear morphometrics Chiroptera Cementum annuli Cranial sutures Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) SDG-03: Good health and well-being Natural and agricultural sciences theses SDG-03 SDG-15: Life on land Natural and agricultural sciences theses SDG-15 Assessing age related morphological variations of Rousettus aegyptiacus (E. Geoffroy St.-Hilaire, 1810) in Durba, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Ga Mafefe, South Africa |
| title | Assessing age related morphological variations of Rousettus aegyptiacus (E. Geoffroy St.-Hilaire, 1810) in Durba, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Ga Mafefe, South Africa |
| title_full | Assessing age related morphological variations of Rousettus aegyptiacus (E. Geoffroy St.-Hilaire, 1810) in Durba, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Ga Mafefe, South Africa |
| title_fullStr | Assessing age related morphological variations of Rousettus aegyptiacus (E. Geoffroy St.-Hilaire, 1810) in Durba, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Ga Mafefe, South Africa |
| title_full_unstemmed | Assessing age related morphological variations of Rousettus aegyptiacus (E. Geoffroy St.-Hilaire, 1810) in Durba, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Ga Mafefe, South Africa |
| title_short | Assessing age related morphological variations of Rousettus aegyptiacus (E. Geoffroy St.-Hilaire, 1810) in Durba, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Ga Mafefe, South Africa |
| title_sort | assessing age related morphological variations of rousettus aegyptiacus e geoffroy st hilaire 1810 in durba democratic republic of congo and ga mafefe south africa |
| topic | UCTD Age determination Linear morphometrics Chiroptera Cementum annuli Cranial sutures Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) SDG-03: Good health and well-being Natural and agricultural sciences theses SDG-03 SDG-15: Life on land Natural and agricultural sciences theses SDG-15 |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/2263/94956 |