South West Province Of Cameroon Research Articles

Impact of climate change on the spatial distribution of endemic legume species of the Guineo-Congolian forest, Africa

Legumes (family Leguminosae) are an economically important and widely distributed species found in several regions of the world, including the Guineo-Congolian (GC) forest region. Recent studies have reported the impact of climate change on plant biodiversity. Thus, understanding the distribution pattern of the endemic legume species of the GC region under current and future climate scenarios are imperative for long-term conservation management plans. We used 762 occurrence data of the 237 endemic legume species to elucidate the habitat suitability and impact of climate change on the species. Analyses used an ecological niche modeling ensemble method to map the current and future (2050–2070) distribution patterns of the endemic legumes under the RCP 4.5 scenario. Further, we generated the ensemble of four different species distribution modeling methods to predict areas where climatically suitable regions is lost or gained under future climate change. The model predicted the current suitable areas for endemic legumes to be Southern Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Republic of Congo (COG), and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Our findings indicate precipitation of Warmest Quarter and seasonality as the significant climatic variables affecting the habitat suitability of endemic legumes in the GC regions. Results showed areas such as the coastal region of Cote d' Ivoire, southwest province of Cameroon, Central African Republic, COG (Ngounnie), central DRC, and southern Nigeria will experience >40% loss of climatically suitable areas by 2050. Also, species such as Baphia maxima, and Psophocarpus scandens were projected to experience a 70% reduction in their climatically suitable areas under future climate scenarios. Our study concludes that the projected distribution of the endemic legume species in the GC region will consequently decline in the future due to the gross effect of climate change. The anticipated changes in the distribution patterns of the endemic legumes could have significant ecological and socio‐economic significance. Therefore, we recommend improved conservation to protect the endemic legume species and its associated habitats in GC forest.

Am I Anglophone? Identity politics and postcolonial trauma in Cameroon at war

I was born in the English-speaking South West Province of Cameroon and raised in the English-speaking North West Province where I was educated in a system of primary through high school studies modeled on the British education system of G.C.E. Ordinary and Advanced Levels. After my A’ Levels, I moved to the French-speaking Centre Province where I enrolled at the University of Yaounde. There I earned undergraduate and graduate degrees, including a Licence ès Lettres Bilingues—a B.A. in Bilingual Letters (English and French)—for which I had to complete a French language immersion requirement in Douala in the French-speaking Littoral Province. After my university studies, I worked in the French-speaking West Province and English-speaking South West Province before moving to French/English-speaking Montreal, Canada where I studied Comparative Literature at McGill University and later immigrated to the United States. This essay, written in the context of the current “Anglophone Crisis” and the war taking place in Cameroon, is a personal meditation as a citizen, scholar, and fiction writer on the elusive nature of identity that the postcolonial nation-state seeks to capture, contain, and/or impose on the multiple “fragmented” selves of its citizens; identities that are by necessity in flux and as such either refuse to be contained within state-sanctioned acts of linguistic terrorism and/or restrained by socio-cultural and political repression.

PERI-URBAN HORTICULTURE AND THE AGRICULTURAL TRANSFORMATION IN AFRICA: A CASE STUDY IN CAMEROON

This paper suggests that the urbanization process provides economies of scale which lead to an agricultural transformation through intensification. An example of such a transformation is provided by the rise of urban and peri-urban horticultural activities as a competitive substitute to staple crops, and through an intensification process destined to meet city food demand. To this end, we analysed in Cameroon the horticultural activities among small scale farmers facing increasing population densities (175 inhabitants km-2 in our study area, against 34 inhab km-2 for Cameroon). A town of about 7,500 inhabitants located in the South-West Province of Cameroon was selected and two series of surveys were conducted in 1995 and 2004 among 300 households as well as the local food market. Results revealed that net incomes increased by 14% and farm employment by 20%. Still, farm and food trade incomes declined. In 1995, staple crops accounted for 95% of food crop income per farmer (staple and horticultural crops combined) and horticulture only for 5%. By 2004, horticulture and staple crops represented respectively 42 and 58% of food crop income. At the same time, the share of non-farm income in total income increased from 40% in 1995 to 79% in 2004 which more than compensated the fall of farm incomes. The same trends occurred for household self-consumption as food crop self-consumption declined by almost 80% whereas the share of horticulture in self-consumption increased from 6 to 47%. Horticulture has become the sole growing farming sector in our study area. Its challenge is to maintain a competitive and sustainable intensification process. (Resume d'auteur)

First records of flower biology and pollination in African Annonaceae: Isolona, Piptostigma, Uvariodendron, Monodora and Uvariopsis

Seven species from five genera of Annonaceae were studied with regard to their flower biology and pollination in the Southwest Province of Cameroon, West Africa. They have protogynous hermaphroditic flowers, with exception of Uvariopsis species, which are monoecious. Fused petals of Isolona campanulata remain apically spreading and open during anthesis but form a deep basal urceolate tube around the reproductive organs. At anthesis the yellow pendent flowers emit a fruit-like scent and attracted small beetles, the likely pollinators. Piptostigma sp. flowers also emit a fruit-like scent but provide a closed pollination chamber formed by the three inner petals. Small staphylinid beetles attracted during the female stage of anthesis are released from the flowers at the end of the male stage 2–3 days later. Both species have diurnal anthesis, attracting and releasing the flower visitors during daytime. In contrast, Uvariodendron connivens and U. calophyllum have nocturnal anthesis with floral thermogenesis, produce spicy, aromatic and fruity scents and attract large Scarabaeidae beetles, the pollinators, along with many curculionid beetles, which were principally predators of the thick petals. The very large flowers of Monodora tenuifolia have yellowish petals which are spotted with dark red markings. Together with the sweetish, slightly disagreeable scent the flowers attract flies, principally dung flies. The two investigated Uvariopsis species are monoecious with pistillate and staminate flowers being functional at the same time. The violet red flowers of U. bakeriana visually seem to mimic the fruiting body of certain stinkhorn fungi (Phallaceae) although without producing their strong unpleasant carcass stench. Flower-visiting dung flies were rare. Conversely, U. congolana has a strong fungus-like scent, its flowers are presented at litter height and dung flies living in the litter were the flower visitors, albeit sporadic. The 4–5 days lasting anthesis of both Uvariopsis species appears to be an evolutionary consequence of their diffuse pollinator spectra. The studied African Annonaceae therefore have either cantharophilous or myiophilous/sapromyiophilous flowers with, in part, respectively, remarkably long anthesis, thermogenesis, and widely open, large flowers – all attributes unknown or rare in the hitherto better studied Neotropical Annonaceae.

HORTICULTURE AND CITY SUPPLY IN AFRICA: EVIDENCE FROM SOUTH-WEST CAMEROON

The purpose of this paper is to determine to what extent urban growth can affect livelihoods and trade among rural households. To this end, a small town located in the South-West Province of Cameroon was selected and two series of surveys were conducted in 1995 and 2004 among 300 households and on the local food market. The main result is a fall in farm income and a rise in non-farm income at both household and market level. Horticulture remains popular as a high value crop among farmers. Despite the fall in farm income, production still meets demand either through higher quantities produced or new supply areas in the Province. Urban transition affects not only major towns but also most parts of the hinterlands with rural households. In this context, environmental degradation, declining soil fertility and saturation of potential farmland should also be incorporated in economic forecasting in order to ensure that the ongoing agricultural intensification is sustainable. (Resume d'auteur)

The burden of malaria and malnutrition among children less than 14 years of age in a rural village of Cameroon

Malaria and malnutrition are a major health burden in developing countries with infants and children being the most vulnerable groups. The extent of the burden of malaria and malnutrition was investigated in 339 children ≤14years residing in the village of Muea located in the South West Province of Cameroon. Malaria parasitaemia was determined microscopically from Giemsa stained thick blood films. Nutritional status was determined using age and the anthropometric parameters of weight and height. Height-for-age (HAZ), weight-for-age (WAZ) and weight-forheight (WHZ) Z scores were computed based on the National Centre for Health Statistics (NCHS)/World Health Organisation growth reference curves. Anaemia was assessed by measuring haemoglobin (Hb) concentration while plasma iron levels were determined by spectrophotometric assays. The prevalence of malaria in the study population was 96.2% (326/339) with a majority (68.4%) having asymptomatic disease. The geometric mean parasite density (GMPD) was 744.37 ± 89396.11 (parasitaemia range 40-153190 parasites/μL blood). The mean Hb concentration was 9.29 ± 1.8g/dL (range 4-14.1g/dL) and anaemia (Hb

Karyotype and meiosis studies in <i>Oxycatantops spissus</i> (Walker) (Orthoptera: Acrididae)

The standard karyotype of Oxycatantops spissus (Walker) (Orthoptera: Acrididae: Acridinae) from Limbe in the South West Province of Cameroon, comprises 2n = 23 acrocentric chromosomes in the male with the XO/XX sex determining mechanism [2n = 23 (22AA+XO)]. The karyotype structure is represented by five pairs of long (L1, L2, L3, L4, L5), three pairs of medium (M6, M7, M8) and three pairs of short (S9, S10, S11) autosomes. The acrocentric X chromosome is approximately equal in size to the short (S) autosomes. The meiotic process in this species was normal and chiasmate. Mean chiasa frequency in the wet season (16.36 ± 1.77) was significantly higher (p = 0.05) than in the dry season (15.00 ± 1.60). The differences probably lie in the fact that in the wet season many long bivalents had two or more chiasmata while in the dry season only a few long chromosomes had two or more chiasmata. Keywords: Karyotype, Chiasma frequency, Dry & Wet season, Acrididae, Grasshopper, Oxycatantops spissus. International Journal of Biological and Chemical Sciences Vol. 2 (2) 2008: pp. 168-174

Parasites of sheep and goats and their prevalence in Bokova, a rural area of Buea Sub Division, Cameroon

Small ruminant production in the South West Province of Cameroon is practised mostly by subsistence farmers in the rural areas on natural grass pastures which grow once the primary forest has been cleared. Investigations revealed certain endo- and ectoparasites that were abundant and caused problems on the pastures to both animals and farmers. Haemonchus contortus was the most prevalent species with a prevalence of 94.23%. The highest mean monthly intensity was obtained in August and there was a significant difference ( P < 0.05) from the other months. Strongyle infections were prevalent in 93.18% of the animals examined. In the flock there was a prevalence of 96.25% in sheep as opposed to 86% in goats. The prevalence in the subsistence system was 95.4%. Mean monthly egg counts and prevalence of flukes was highest in December, 187.84 (29.73%). The overall prevalence of flukes was 73.88% with an overall mean intensity of 22 flukes per animal. The most abundant tick species was Haemaphysilis leachi. Genital distribution of ticks was significantly higher ( P < 0.05) in females than males. In the males they were more concentrated around the scrotum.

Revised treatment of Memecylon sect. Afzeliana (Melastomataceae: Olisbeoideae), including three new species from Cameroon

Seven new names at species rank are proposed in Memecylon sect. Afzeliana Jacq.-Fel., a group of forest shrubs and small trees confined to Guineo-Congolian Africa. The group is centred in Cameroon, where 17 of the 20 species occur. A new flower type, the “star-flower” in Memecylon is revealed, and its taxonomic and ecological importance discussed. Three new, locally endemic species from the South West Province of Cameroon are described, mapped and illustrated: M. kupeanum R. D. Stone, Ghogue & Cheek, M. bakossiense R. D. Stone, Ghogue & Cheek, and M. rheophyticum R. D. Stone, Ghogue & Cheek. Two new names, M. accedens R. D. Stone, Ghogue & Cheek and M. hyleastrum R. D. Stone & Ghogue and one new combination, M. mamfeanum (Jacq.-Fel.) R. D. Stone, Ghogue & Cheek are provided at species level for three taxa originally proposed as varieties of M. afzelii G. Don. The taxon M. arcuatomarginatum var. simulans Jacq.-Fel. is also elevated to species status, as M. simulans (Jacq.-Fel.) R. D. Stone & Ghogue. Conservation assessments are provided for all the newly named taxa. A key is provided to the species of Memecylon sect. Afzeliana.

Afzeliixanthones A and B, Two New Prenylated Xanthones from Garcinia afzelii ENGL. (Guttiferae)

Two new prenylated xanthones, afzeliixanthones A (1) and B (2), together with three known xanthones (3-5) and two phytosterols, beta-sitosterol and stigmasterol, were isolated from the CH2Cl2/MeOH (1:1) extract of the stem bark of Garcinia afzelii ENGL. collected in the South West Province of Cameroon. Structures were mainly established using one and two-dimensional NMR and mass spectroscopies. The antioxidant activities of the crude extracts as well as the new compounds (1) and (2) were evaluated.

Short Communication: Small ruminant production in Buea subdivision, a humid tropical area of the Southwest province of Cameroon

Short Communication: Small ruminant production in Buea subdivision, a humid tropical area of the Southwest province of Cameroon

Chrysops silacea biting densities and transmission potential in an endemic area of human loiasis in south-west Cameroon.

We studied the biting densities of Chrysops silacea and the transmission of loiasis over 1 year in a regenerated forest in the south-west province of Cameroon. A total of 3015 flies caught near a wood fire at ground level during rainy and dry seasons were identified morphologically and 1975 caught during the rainy season were dissected to determine their physiological age and infection rate. The prevalence of microfilaraemia in the human population in the study area was determined using the thick blood smear method. Chrysops silacea was the only species caught. The daily and seasonal biting cycle of C. silacea showed two peaks of activities, 9-11 a.m. and 2-4 p.m. The biting cycles of parous and nulliparous flies showed the same trends, but the density of nulliparous flies biting at all time of the day was 2-3 times higher. Chrysops silacea biting density was high during the rainy season (9.06 +/- 6.88 flies/man/h) and lowest during the dry season (0.44 +/- 0.75 flies/man/h). An infection rate of 1.72% and a monthly morning and afternoon transmission potentials of 120769.11 and 139016.64 infective head L3/man were observed, respectively, in the rainy season. Even though few Chrysops carried Loa loa infective larvae (0.7%), their parasite load was high, giving a high level of transmission of L. loa in the area. A total of 20.37% of the people examined for blood microfilariae were positive. These results suggest that the study area is an active focus of loiasis transmission.

Immunoglobulin G and subclass responses to Plasmodium falciparum antigens: a study in highly exposed Cameroonians.

We conducted a cross-sectional study in Bolifamba village in the South West Province of Cameroon to determine antibody responses to crude Plasmodium falciparum antigens. A total of 347 subjects were examined. Parasite counts were obtained on thick blood films stained with Field's stain. Total immunoglobulin (Ig)G and IgG subclass levels were determined in serum samples from four groups comprising children 1 to 5 years old and adults > or = 18 years with or without falciparum malaria parasites, using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay with crude blood-stage antigens of Plasmodium falciparum strain F32 as target. Depending on the age group, malaria prevalence varied between 10% and 65% with a mean of 30.8%. Prevalence rate and parasite density declined with increasing age. Total IgG and IgG1-3 levels were significantly higher in adults than in children (p < 0.05). Parasite-bearing individuals in both age groups had higher IgG titres than their non-infected counterparts, while subtype levels were not significantly different (p = 0.05). These findings indicate that Bolifamba village could be a convenient site to study further the protective immunity to malaria.

Co-endemicity of loiasis and onchocerciasis in the South West Province of Cameroon: implications for mass treatment with ivermectin

Encephalopathy has been reported in Cameroon in individuals heavily infected with Loa loa microfilariae who were treated with ivermectin against onchocerciasis. Prior to the initiation of the community-directed treatment of onchocerciasis with ivermectin (CDTI) in the South West Province of Cameroon, an epidemiological survey of loiasis was conducted (in July 1998–July 1999) to ascertain the intensity of the disease. Thick blood films were made from 1228 blood samples collected during the day. Rapid epidemiological assessment (REA) of onchocerciasis was conducted among 614 individuals in the Upper Bayang area. Sixteen percent of the population examined were carriers of L. loa microfilariae. More males (20·1%) than females (12·4%) were infected. The community mean microfilaraemias of the different villages were low (<1100 mf/mL). However, 1 person was found habouring 174 000 mf/mL of blood and 1% of the study population (12) had microfilaraemia >8100 mf/mL. Results of the REA of onchocerciasis show that 31·3% of the population investigated in the Upper Bayang area have this disease. These findings show that loiasis and onchocerciasis are co-endemic in the area, but the risk of developing encephalopathy after taking ivermectin is small.

Reduced levels of chloroquine resistant &lt;i&gt;Plasmodium falciparum&lt;/i&gt; in selected &lt;i&gt;foci&lt;/i&gt; for the South West Province, Cameroon

To evaluate the state of chloroquine resistant malaria in the South West Province of Cameroon. To estimate the prevalence of different species of Plasmodium in the area. A cross sectional study. South West Province of Cameroon. 326 febrile patients. Chloroquine resistance studies using the WHO seven-day standard in vivo test. Speciation of malaria by polymerase chain reaction. Prevalence of falciparum malaria by light microscopy of thick blood smears. Prevalence of chloroquine resistance ranged from 4.3 to 13.2%. A total of six cases showed RIII resistance, and three cases showed RII resistance. Plasmodium falciparum was the predominant species, 96.8% of those testing positive for P. falciparum, 6.3% of cases showed mixed infections of P. falciparum and P. malariae. P. ovale accounted for 3% of cases. P. falciparum resistance to chloroquine may not be on the increase compared to earlier reports from the South West Province. The results have important implications in treatment of malaria in view of the low cost of chloroquine.

Morphometrics and sexual dimorphism of the hinge‐back tortoises Kinixys erosa and Kinixys homeana (Reptilia: Testudinidae) in southwestern Cameroon

Morphometric data on a series of forest‐dwelling hingeback tortoises, 138 Kinixys erosa and 74 Kinixys homeana, from the Southwest Province of Cameroon, Africa, where they are sympatric, are presented. The two species exhibited opposite trends in sexual size dimorphism. Unique among Kinixys, male K. erosa are significantly larger than females. All but two comparisons of height on length, width on length, and width on height allometries between males, females, and juveniles of each species were significantly different. Females of both species were relatively taller than their male counterparts. The two species differed in height/width growth allometry at sexual maturity.

Ancistrocladus korupensis (Ancistrocladaceae): A New Species of Liana from Cameroon

Ancistrocladus korupensis, a species here described from the Southwest Province of Cameroon and adjacent Nigeria, is distinguished within the genus by sessile leaves, short petals, and longwinged fruits. The new species was investigated after michellamine B, a unique naphthyl isoquinoline alkaloid isolated from a sterile Ancistrocladus leaf collection, showed in vitro activity against HIV-1 and HIV-2. Subsequent collections showed that the liana was undescribed and apparently narrowly endemic to the Korup area. Ancistrocladus Wallich (nom. conserv.) is a genus of 19 known species: 9 in tropical Asia (Dyer, 1874; Gagnepain, 1909; Craib, 1925; Steenis, 1948; Ramamoorthy, 1976; Harriman, 1987) and 10 in tropical Africa (Pellegrin, 1951; Hutchinson & Dalziel, 1954; Leonard, 1982, 1986). The resemblance of the winged fruits of Ancistrocladus spp. to those of the Dipterocarpaceae Blume has led some authors (e.g., Oliver, 1868; Dyer, 1874) to include the genus in the latter family. However, Gilg (1925) noted that the resemblance is strictly superficial and considered the Ancistrocladaceae Walpers (nom. conserv.) to be a monogeneric family in the Parietales. The results of anatomical (Metcalfe, 1952; Schmid, 1964; Gottwald & Parameswaran, 1968) and palynological (Erdtman, 1958) investigations support an affinity between Ancistrocladaceae and the endemic African family Dioncophyllaceae Airy Shaw; Cronquist (1981, 1988) treated the two as closely allied families of the Violales. The Ancistrocladaceae are distinguished within the Violales (Cronquist, 1981) and among all of the dicotyledonous families of central Africa (Robyns, 1958) by the following diagnosis: plants lianas, not succulent, climbing by hooked apices of sympodial branches; leaves alternate (but often crowded in rosettes on flowering shoots), simple, entire, not sheathing at base, the blades symmetric; stipules present, very small and caducous; flowers in raNOVON 3: 494-498. 1993. cemes, spikes, or dichotomously branched panicles; sepals 5, accrescent and winglike in fruit; petals distinct or slightly connate at base; extrastaminal corona lacking; stamens 5 or 10-15, erect in bud, the filaments slightly connate at base; ovary halfinferior, unilocular; ovule solitary, basilateral; fruit dry, indehiscent; endosperm present, ruminate. Ancistrocladus can sometimes be confused with the unrelated genus Hugonia L. (Hugoniaceae or Linaceae), but species of the latter genus can be vegetatively distinguished by the usually pale stems, leaves usually toothed, less crowded, and with numerous more prominent secondary veins, and hooks borne on normal branches. Of the ten species of Ancistrocladus previously described from tropical Africa, six occur in the evergreen forests near the Atlantic coast from Gabon to Sierra Leone (Pellegrin, 1951; Hutchinson & Dalziel, 1954), three are apparently restricted to central and northern Zaire (Leonard, 1982), and one is endemic to the Buda Forest of coastal Kenya (Leonard, 1986). The new species herein described is apparently endemic to the immediate vicinity of the Korup National Park in the Southwest Province of Cameroon, including the adjacent part of Cross River State of southeastern Nigeria. Ancistrocladus korupensis D. W. Thomas & Gereau, sp. nov. TYPE: Cameroon. Southwest Prov.: Ndian Division, 0.6 km E of confluence of Mededibe (Moliba) and Ndian (Mana) Rivers, 90 m, 5?02'N, 8?53'E, 4 Mar. 1993, Gereau, Thomas, F. Namata & E. Jato 5180 [infructescences and fallen fruits] (holotype, MO; isotypes, K, P, SCA, YA). Figure 1. Plantae omnino glabrae. Caules adulti parce ramosi; ramis principalibus elongatis, rectis subcurvatisve; ramis lateralibus extra-axillaribus, uncos gerentibus. Folia adulta sessilia, ex formis duabus constantia: folia ramorum principalium remote disposita, ex ellipticis oblonga, basi cuneata, apice rotundata, venis secundariis paucijugis; folia This content downloaded from 157.55.39.151 on Wed, 13 Apr 2016 15:48:30 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms Volume 3, Number 4 1993 Thomas & Gereau Ancistrocladus korupensis