Microplastics (MPs) have been characterised in South African rivers, lakes, and the marine environment, yet we know less about MPs in subterranean environments. In this study, we assessed MP pollution in the sediment, subsurface water, and resident freshwater amphipod, Sternophysinx species across six South African subterranean cave systems. We hypothesised that MP pollution will increase with human visitations and activities...

Microplastic (MP) pollution has become a significant environmental concern, particularly in freshwater systems. However, little is known about the occurrence and characteristics of MPs in groundwater-fed freshwater sources such as natural springs. In this study, the presence, abundance and characteristics of MPs were investigated in freshwater natural springs across South Africa, representing different land-use types (i.e. rur...

The burgeoning population growth and landscape developments over the last decades have had a profound effect on natural resources including riverine water quality and quantity. This resulted in increased pollution events, loss of aquatic biodiversity and the introduction of alien invasive species, which cumulatively have transformed freshwater ecosystem structure, processes and functions. Macroinvertebrate-based biomonitoring,...

Dense beds of water plants can be perceived as nuisance, but this perception, however, may not be similar for different user categories, and this may affect their willingness-to-pay (WTP) for plant removal. A questionnaire survey was used to test this for residents and visitors and find underlying socio-cultural or economic drivers. We studied five cases where nuisance water plant growth is managed: the rivers Otra (Norway) an...

Biocontrol is widely considered an effective management solution for mitigating the negative impacts of invasive alien plants (weeds). Globally, post-release evaluations to assess individual biocontrol programmes are generally lacking and there have been persistent calls within the biocontrol of weeds literature to increase the quantity and quality of post-release evaluation studies. South African biocontrol researchers have p...