There might be a frog in McElligot's Pool: a study of the habitat characteristics and social factors associated with amphibian presence in urban residential gardens in a suburb in Cape Town

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dc.contributor.advisorAnderson, Pippinen_ZA
dc.contributor.advisorUnderhill, Leslie Gen_ZA
dc.contributor.advisorChanning, Alanen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorBrom, Petaen_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2018-02-12T08:55:48Z
dc.date.available2018-02-12T08:55:48Z
dc.date.issued2017en_ZA
dc.description.abstractThis thesis engages with urban ecology through the lens of garden amphibians within a community in Cape Town. The study explores habitat and maintenance features associated with amphibian presence and the social processes underpinning attitudes towards amphibians, with the aim of strengthening knowledge underpinning the "what" (knowledge of natural requirements), "Why" (social drivers for urban landscape form and management), and the "how" (working with people, for garden biodiversity initiatives. To explore the "Why" component, a social survey was conducted with 192 members of the community. One‐way anova and correspondence analysis were used to explore the relationship between values, culture, knowledge and memories of early childhood experiences against a general attitude towards frogs and toads. The findings are consistent with the theoretical framework of Connectedness To Nature where positive attitudes are supported by normative values, cultural beliefs, knowledge and positive experiences with care‐givers and role‐models. The garden habitat component of the study sought to explore the technical questions of the "What" requirement for amphibian presence in gardens. It was loosely based on the BIMBY tool with adaptations for context and targeted species. 50 gardens were visited and surveyed. They were divided into two groups for comparison: Those in which residents reported amphibian presence, and those which did not. Results indicate that the cape river frog (A. fuscigula) and clicking stream frog (S. grayii), are attracted to gardens with moderate to dense vegetation at groundcover level. Gardens with moderately planted beds were more likely to report frogs if they had additional resources, in particular, ponds and mulch. The "How" question brought together the two themes in a discussion on citizen mobilization and ways in which community groups are successfully implementing urban ecology conservation and reconciliation strategies. This work is important for urban nature conservation which seeks to engage private land‐owners (garden enthusiasts) and community and citizen groups in implementing urban biodiversity projects.en_ZA
dc.identifier.apacitationBrom, P. (2017). <i>There might be a frog in McElligot's Pool: a study of the habitat characteristics and social factors associated with amphibian presence in urban residential gardens in a suburb in Cape Town</i>. (Thesis). University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Science ,Department of Environmental and Geographical Science. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11427/27525en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationBrom, Peta. <i>"There might be a frog in McElligot's Pool: a study of the habitat characteristics and social factors associated with amphibian presence in urban residential gardens in a suburb in Cape Town."</i> Thesis., University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Science ,Department of Environmental and Geographical Science, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/27525en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationBrom, P. 2017. There might be a frog in McElligot's Pool: a study of the habitat characteristics and social factors associated with amphibian presence in urban residential gardens in a suburb in Cape Town. University of Cape Town.en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Thesis / Dissertation AU - Brom, Peta AB - This thesis engages with urban ecology through the lens of garden amphibians within a community in Cape Town. The study explores habitat and maintenance features associated with amphibian presence and the social processes underpinning attitudes towards amphibians, with the aim of strengthening knowledge underpinning the "what" (knowledge of natural requirements), "Why" (social drivers for urban landscape form and management), and the "how" (working with people, for garden biodiversity initiatives. To explore the "Why" component, a social survey was conducted with 192 members of the community. One‐way anova and correspondence analysis were used to explore the relationship between values, culture, knowledge and memories of early childhood experiences against a general attitude towards frogs and toads. The findings are consistent with the theoretical framework of Connectedness To Nature where positive attitudes are supported by normative values, cultural beliefs, knowledge and positive experiences with care‐givers and role‐models. The garden habitat component of the study sought to explore the technical questions of the "What" requirement for amphibian presence in gardens. It was loosely based on the BIMBY tool with adaptations for context and targeted species. 50 gardens were visited and surveyed. They were divided into two groups for comparison: Those in which residents reported amphibian presence, and those which did not. Results indicate that the cape river frog (A. fuscigula) and clicking stream frog (S. grayii), are attracted to gardens with moderate to dense vegetation at groundcover level. Gardens with moderately planted beds were more likely to report frogs if they had additional resources, in particular, ponds and mulch. The "How" question brought together the two themes in a discussion on citizen mobilization and ways in which community groups are successfully implementing urban ecology conservation and reconciliation strategies. This work is important for urban nature conservation which seeks to engage private land‐owners (garden enthusiasts) and community and citizen groups in implementing urban biodiversity projects. DA - 2017 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2017 T1 - There might be a frog in McElligot's Pool: a study of the habitat characteristics and social factors associated with amphibian presence in urban residential gardens in a suburb in Cape Town TI - There might be a frog in McElligot's Pool: a study of the habitat characteristics and social factors associated with amphibian presence in urban residential gardens in a suburb in Cape Town UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/27525 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/27525
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationBrom P. There might be a frog in McElligot's Pool: a study of the habitat characteristics and social factors associated with amphibian presence in urban residential gardens in a suburb in Cape Town. [Thesis]. University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Science ,Department of Environmental and Geographical Science, 2017 [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/27525en_ZA
dc.language.isoengen_ZA
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of Environmental and Geographical Scienceen_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Scienceen_ZA
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.subject.otherurban ecologyen_ZA
dc.subject.otherecological conservationen_ZA
dc.subject.othergarden amphibiansen_ZA
dc.titleThere might be a frog in McElligot's Pool: a study of the habitat characteristics and social factors associated with amphibian presence in urban residential gardens in a suburb in Cape Townen_ZA
dc.typeMaster Thesis
dc.type.qualificationlevelMasters
dc.type.qualificationnameMPhilen_ZA
uct.type.filetypeText
uct.type.filetypeImage
uct.type.publicationResearchen_ZA
uct.type.resourceThesisen_ZA
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