Chad Keates Archives
The text in this submission was adapted from my project manuscript which was submitted as part of my Zoology Honours course. Water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) (Mart.) Solms-Laub, is an invasive South American water weed that was originally imported into South Africa more than 100 years ago because of its beauty as an ornamental plant in ponds and aquariums (Guillarmod 1979). Much like the other major invasive water weeds in South Africa, water… Read More
So now that winter is coming to an end, snakes and other reptiles are starting to become far more abundant. One species that has become particularly abundant in the last few weeks, is the puff adder (Bitis arietans). To give context, in the last week, I have come across three puff adders. Two of them were average-sized adult males and the the third was a very large, very pregnant, female puff adder, which… Read More
In the animal kingdom, the ability to reproduce is one of the most critical abilities in an animal’s arsenal because it ensures the survival of the species. There are however three different types of reproduction namely viviparous, ovoviviparous and oviparous reproduction. Viviparity is the ability to produce live young, oviparity is the ability to produce eggs that hatch outside of the uterus and ovoviviparous reproduction is the retention of the egg within… Read More
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