Mmabaledi Buxton

• Ph.D
• Botswana University of Agriculture and Natural Resources

The available information regarding mistletoes inadequately explains the dynamic facets of infestation in rural-urban gradients. This study was carried out to compare the abundance of mistletoe species on hosts between urban (Gaborone and Gakuto) and rural (Lentsweletau and Oodi) areas of Botswana. Four plots each with a surface area of 625 m 2 wer...

ABSTRACT Insects are major contributors to ecosystem services, providing beneficial functions and goods for human use. Loss of insects directly threatens human well-being through negative impacts on the provision of ecosystem services. Several insect species have historically been reared by humans, for example, for honey production and pollination,...

Agricultural intensification is a major driver of biodiversity loss, but the majority of studies highlighting these threats come from industrialised agriculture in temperate countries of the global North. However, more than 30% of global food production is produced by smallholder farmers, particularly in Africa. We know very little about the impact...

Spatial distribution of vector mosquitoes plays a critical role in the dynamics of associated diseases' spread across diverse landscapes. In Botswana, six Districts are implicated as malaria endemic zones, one of which is the Central District comprising both malaria endemic and non-endemic sub-districts. Despite being the biggest in the country, mo...

Spatial distribution of vector mosquitoes plays a critical role in the dynamics of associated diseases’ spread across diverse landscapes. In Botswana, six Districts are implicated as malaria endemic zones, one of which is the Central District comprising both malaria endemic and non-endemic sub-districts. Despite being the biggest in the country, mo...

Anthropogenic land use changes influence ecosystem functioning and may alter trophic interactions. Intensification of free–range pastoral farming could promote degradation of aquatic habitats, with nutrient inputs adversely affecting water quality and resident communities. Reductions in natural enemies (and potentially efficacy thereof) and dampeni...

Biodiversity assessments are indispensable tools for planning and monitoring conservation strategies. Camera traps (CT) are widely used to monitor wildlife and have proven their usefulness. Environmental DNA (eDNA)-based approaches are increasingly implemented for biomonitoring, combining sensitivity, high taxonomic coverage and resolution, non-inv...

Arthropod vectors play a crucial role in the transmission of many debilitating infections, causing significant morbidity and mortality globally. Despite the economic significance of arthropods to public health, public knowledge on vector biology, ecology and taxonomic status remains anecdotal and largely unexplored. The present study surveyed knowl...

Simple Summary Mosquitoes vector pathogens that cause burdening diseases in humans, livestock and wildlife worldwide. Spatially and temporally, mosquito diversity varies considerably in response to bio-physical environments. As such, there is a need for mosquito diversity and distribution studies, as well as monitoring programmes, to inform on the...

Riparian zones are important for the maintenance of aquatic ecosystem functional integrity, yet are considered to be particularly vulnerable to plant invasions. The role of terrestrial riparian plant invasions in compromising aquatic ecosystem processes is, however, still poorly understood. This issue is particularly relevant for temporary rivers,...

Background: Predators play a critical role in regulating larval mosquito prey populations in aquatic habitats. Understanding predator-prey responses to climate change-induced environmental perturbations may foster optimal efficacy in vector reduction. However, organisms may differentially respond to heterogeneous thermal environments, potentially...

Background Since the advent of the Green Revolution, pesticides have played an important role in the global management of invertebrate pests including vector mosquitoes. Despite optimal efficacy, insects often display insensitivity to synthetic insecticides owing to prolonged exposure that may select for resistance development. Such insecticide ins...

Mosquitoes account for a significant burden of morbidity and mortality globally. Despite evidence of (1) imminent anthropogenic climate and environmental changes, (2) vector-pathogen spatio-temporal dynamics and (3) emerging and re-emerging mosquito borne infections, public knowledge on mosquito bio-ecology remain scant. In particular, knowledge, a...

The biophysical environment plays an important role in the spatio-temporal abundance and distribution of mosquitoes. This has implications for the spread of vectors and diseases they cause across diverse landscapes. Here, we assessed vector mosquito abundances in relation to large water bodies, from three malaria districts in a semi-arid environmen...

Natural enemies can play a critical role in regulating pests, with simplified ecosystems often favoring pest proliferation via reduced predation pressure. As predator-predator interactions and size refuge effects directly influence prey risk, an understanding of multiple predator effects across prey ontogeny could be useful for quantifying natural...

BACKGROUND Predation plays a pivotal role in the composition and functioning of ecosystems. Both habitat complexity and predator density are important contexts which may determine the strength of trophic and non‐trophic interactions. In aquatic systems, the efficacy of natural enemies in regulating vector pest species could be modified by such cont...

Aedes aegypti is an important vector mosquito for arboviruses globally. It is believed to originate from North Africa and was introduced to other parts of the world through trade systems and transportation. Despite its now widespread distribution, there are still many regions in which the species is likely to occur, but is yet to be reported, hinde...