Seth J. Eiseb

University of Namibia | UNAM · Department of Environmental Science

The prevalence of haemoparasites, leptospirosis and Yersinia pestis was investigated in rodents and shrews from Tanzania, Namibia and Swaziland. Blood smears originating from rodents and shrews from the three countries indicated the presence of Trypanosoma lewisi (72.7%; n =950), Bacillus spp. (25.6%; n =950), Borrelia sp. (0.01%; n =950) and bipol...

Yersinia pestis is a historically important vector-borne pathogen causing plague in humans and other mammals. Contemporary zoonotic infections with Y. pestis still occur in sub-Saharan Africa, including Tanzania and Madagascar, but receive relatively little attention. Thus, the role of wildlife reservoirs in maintaining sylvatic plague and spillove...

Sub-Saharan Africa is under-represented in global biodiversity datasets, particularly regarding the impact of land use on species’ population abundances. Drawing on recent advances in expert elicitation to ensure data consistency, 200 experts were convened using a modified-Delphi process to estimate ‘intactness scores’: the remaining proportion of...

The monophyletic Afro-Palaearctic clade of the horseshoe bats (Rhinolophus) comprises several species groups whose representatives can be morphologically similar to each other across groups. The only Rhinolophus species that occurs in Lesotho was traditionally attributed to the broadly distributed African desert- and savanna-dwelling bat, Rhinoloph...

Four species of otter (Carnivora: Mustelidae) occur in Africa, of which the African clawless otter (Aonyx capensis) and spotted-necked otter (Hydrictis maculicollis) are known to occur in Namibia, although very little is known about their biology and distribution. Both species are listed as Near Threatened by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species...

We present the complete genome sequences of Stegodyphus bicolor and Stegodyphus dumicola . Illumina sequencing was performed on genetic material from specimens collected in Namibia in March 2023. The reads were assembled using a de novo method followed by a finishing step. The raw and assembled data are publicly available via Genbank.

Background Pyrethroid-based indoor residual spraying (IRS) and long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) have been employed as key vector control measures against malaria in Namibia. However, pyrethroid resistance in Anopheles mosquitoes may compromise the efficacy of these interventions. To address this challenge, the World Health Organization (WHO)...

Background Malaria continues to pose a significant public health challenge in northern regions of Namibia, while southern regions remain malaria-free. The country has employed indoor residual spraying (IRS) and long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) with pyrethroids as key vector control measures. LLINs have demonstrated effectiveness in reducing m...

Background Although the Republic of Namibia has significantly reduced malaria transmission, regular outbreaks and persistent transmission impede progress towards elimination. Towards an understanding of the protective efficacy, as well as gaps in protection, associated with long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs), human and Anopheles behaviors were...

Bat activity and species richness patterns are often used to assess bat population trends. Understanding how environmental conditions affect bat activity is thus important for bat conservation, but understudied across much of Africa. To address this information gap, we examined the effects of environmental factors (i.e. lunar phase and ambient temp...

The African rodent genus Mastomys contains eight species, some of which are widely distributed pest species and others which have restricted distribution. Most species are recognized only on chromosomal or molecular genetic data. We aimed to clarify the systematic status, geographical distribution, and phylogenetic relationships of three Mastomys s...

We report the first collections of Cyclopodia greeffi greeffi from Namibia expanding the range of the ectoparasite to a new country, as could be expected since its host the African straw-colored fruit bat, Eidolon helvum, has a wide distribution across Africa. While our collections are limited to parasites from a single bat, these parasitic insects...

During the last two decades, genotyping of African rodents has revealed important hidden diversity within morphologically cryptic genera, such as Rhabdomys. Although the distribution of Rhabdomys is known historically, its diversity has been revealed only recently, and information about the distribution range of its constituent taxa is limited. The...

The syndrome of ear pinnae absence was recorded in three individuals of the black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis) among 71 observed (4.2%) in the Etosha National Park, Namibia, during eight visits in 2013-2020. In two cases, the syndrome comprised bilateral absence of the pinna and certain damage of the tail, while in one case, only unilateral lack o...

Agama anchietae is one of eight species of agama found in Namibia, its distribution range in the upper half of the country covers desert, Karoo and savannah type biomes and overlaps with that of some of its congeners. Here, we describe its sexual dimorphism, reproductive traits, predation, diet and nematode infection, and compare and contrast each...

Biotic and abiotic factors can alter abundance and community composition of rodents and that of associated parasites. Aim of the study was to measure the impact of climatic variables (temperature/relative humidity) on rodent populations and on population dynamics of associated micro-and ecto-parasites. We monitored the prevalence and diversity of p...

Rodents have a very important role in ecosystems; they act as bio-indicators of environmental conditions because of their rapid turnover and ability to invade disturbed areas. In addition, some rodents are agricultural pests in rural communities causing crop damage and food shortage across Africa as well contribute to the spread of zoonotic disease...

Based on live-trapping, interviews, and qualitative habitat assessments, the distribution of the Short-snouted sengi (Elephantulus brachyrhynchus) was extended deeper into the panhandle (Caprivi Strip) of Namibia. No evidence was found that the four-toed sengi (Petrodromus tetradactylus) occurs in the Panhandle.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0174554.].

Rodent pests are especially problematic in terms of agriculture and public health since they can inflict considerable economic damage associated with their abundance, diversity, generalist feeding habits and high reproductive rates. To quantify rodent pest impacts and identify trends in rodent pest research impacting on small-holder agriculture in...

PRISMA checklist. (PDF)

List of rodent genera detected in rodent pest research in African agricultural systems from 1960–2015. (PDF)

Complete list of all publications used in the review–Publications in bold did not have full texts available at time of review. (DOCX)

(UA)

List of different crops and cropping system as impacted by rodent pests in African agriculture (1960–2015). (PDF)

Web of Science TM search history–. (TXT)

Das Ziel dieser Studie war, die Anzahl der Mastomys-Arten und ihrer geographischen Verbreitung in Namibia und Teilen von Botswana und Angola zu bestimmen. Der methodische Ansatz umfasst Schädel-Morphometrie, Karyotypisierung und Cytochrom-b-Gen-Sequenzierung. Traditionellen Morphometrie-Studie lieferten keine klaren morphologischen, wohingegen die...

Lamottemys okuensis Petter, 1986, is restricted to the Mount Oku montane forest in the central-northern part of the Cameroon Volcanic Line (CVL; Central West Africa). It is endangered and has a decreasing population trend. The genus is monotypic and little is known about its phylogeny and evolutionary history. Using both molecular and morphological...

While studying the systematics and taxonomy of round-eared sengis (genus Macroscelides), we identified an unusual specimen from remote northwestern Namibia in the collection of the California Academy of Sciences. To determine if this represented a different species, we made 9 collecting trips with 5,616 trap-nights of effort that produced 16 vouche...

African endemic pygmy mice (Genus Mus; sub-genus Nannomys) have considerable economic and public health significance, and some species exhibit novel sex determination systems, making accurate knowledge of their phylogenetics and distribution limits important. This phylogenetic study was based on the mitochondrial control region and cytochrome b gen...

Small mammals host diverse communities of parasites including fleas. There is considerable research interest in effects of parasites on their hosts. Host specificity, prevalence and intensity of infestation of fleas on small mammals were studied at selected sites in the city of Windhoek, Namibia from April to July 2005. Small mammals were live-trap...

This study examined rodent damage, loss and contamination in stored maize on smallholder farms in East Africa. Different, novel techniques for assessing rodent damage, namely open and closed storage structures (cribs and sacks), were employed in a treatment-control trial design replicated across different households and hamlets within the Berega co...

The round-eared sengis or elephant-shrews (genus Macroscelides) exhibit striking pelage variation throughout their ranges. Over ten taxonomic names have been proposed to describe this variation, but currently only two taxa are recognized (M. proboscideus proboscideus and M. p. flavicaudatus). Here, we review the taxonomic history of Macroscelides,...

List of Macroscelides proboscideus flavicaudatus and M. p. proboscideus specimens used in molecular and morphological cranial analyses. (DOCX)

Context. Rodent pests severely affect crop production, particularly in monocultures where one or two rodent pest species dominate. We predict higher species richness of native small mammal species in more heterogeneous mosaic (cropfallowbush) subsistence agro-ecosystems in Africa. Conservation and agro-ecological imperatives require that such diver...

As part of a three-year study to develop ecologically-based rodent management (EBRM) in southern Africa, a capture—mark—recapture study was carried out in Tanzania, Namibia and Swaziland to establish the demographic patterns and population dynamics of rodents. Two study grids were established in each country. In Tanzania, ten species of rodents and...

The aim of this study was to carry out basic ecological research on rodent pests within subsistence-level agricultural communities in Africa. A range of techniques were used to collect baseline ecological knowledge on the temporal and spatial dynamics of rodent populations within rural farming communities in Tanzania, Swaziland and Namibia. These t...

Differences in the ecological niche requirements among rodent species competing in the same habitat may result from differences in the use of one to three resources: space, time and food or some combination of these. Alternatively, differences in resource use utilization among animal species may simply reflect availability of food, and when food is...

Context. Rodent pests can have severe impacts on crop production in sub-Saharan Africa. In particular, the multimammate mouse Mastomys natalensis severely damages agricultural crops in southern and eastern Africa, leading to significant losses. Both its population ecology and breeding biology have been studied in agricultural and natural habitats....

Context: The multimammate mouse, Mastomys natalensis (Smith, 1834), is an important agricultural pest in southern and eastern Africa where it can cause significant crop losses. Mastomys natalensis is known to consume a variety of food in response to the availability of food items. However, it is currently unknown whether maize crop growth stages af...

Fleas associated with small mammals (rodents) based on prevalence, species richness and intensity of fleas was collected from 12 localities in the northern regions of Namibia. A total of four hundred and fifty four (454) rodents were captured of which one hundred and forty nine (149) individuals belonging to nine (9) species (Saccostomus campestris...