Explanipedia

Assessment of combined nutrients and pesticides grey water footprint in a sub-Saharan African lake catchment Open

Joel Onyango, John P. Simaika, Nzula Kitaka, Kenneth Irvine · 2025

The global role of bioassessment in policy delivery and decision-making for inland waters Open

Martyn Kelly, Gary Free, John P. Simaika, Stuart Warner, Andreas Bruder , et al. · 2025

Bioassessment is necessary to guide the management of freshwater ecosystems and promote sustainable water use. However, many countries either do not have nationally-approved bioassessment systems, or their bioassessment results are not use…

Scientists' warning on the need for greater inclusion of dragonflies in global conservation Open

Michael J. Samways, Alex Córdoba‐Aguilar, Charl Deacon, Fernanda Alves‐Martins, Ian R. C. Baird , et al. · 2025

Dragonflies (Odonata) are ancient and familiar insects with a deep and strong cultural association with humans. They have an aquatic larval stage and an aerial adult stage, meaning that they respond to ecological conditions in both freshwa…

The Global Role of Bioassessment in Policy Delivery and Decision-Making for Inland Waters Open

Martyn Kelly, Gary Free, John P. Simaika, Stuart Warner, Fábio de Oliveira Roque , et al. · 2025

Assessment of Combined Nutrients and Pesticides Grey Water Footprint in a Sub-Saharan African Lake Catchment Open

Joel Onyango, John P. Simaika, Nzula Kitaka, Kenneth Irvine · 2025

Assessment of Combined Nutrients and Pesticides Grey Water Footprint in a Sub-Saharan African Lake Catchment Open

Joel Onyango, John P. Simaika, J. J. A. van Bruggen, Nzula Kitaka, Kenneth Irvine · 2025

Agricultural intensification in Lake Naivasha Catchment in Kenya and associated nutrients and pesticides pollution Open

Joel Onyango, Nzula Kitaka, J. J. A. van Bruggen, Kenneth Irvine, John P. Simaika · 2024

Drivers of compositional turnover in narrow‐ranged and widespread dragonflies and damselflies in Africa Open

Ashleigh Basel, John P. Simaika, Michael J. Samways, Guy F. Midgley, Guillaume Latombe , et al. · 2024

We aim to explore what processes dominate community assembly of dragonflies (Odonata: Anisoptera) and damselflies (Odonata: Zygoptera) by differentiating the environmental and geographical drivers behind compositional turnover of narrow‐ra…

Towards harmonized standards for freshwater biodiversity monitoring and biological assessment using benthic macroinvertebrates Open

John P. Simaika, James B. Stribling, Jennifer Lento, Andreas Bruder, Sandra Poikāne , et al. · 2024

Monitoring programs at sub-national and national scales lack coordination, harmonization, and systematic review and analysis at continental and global scales, and thus fail to adequately assess and evaluate drivers of biodiversity and ecos…

Effects of combined nutrient and pesticide exposure on algal biomass, and Daphnia magna abundance Open

Joel Onyango, J. J. A. van Bruggen, Nzula Kitaka, John P. Simaika, Kenneth Irvine · 2024

Agricultural intensification in Lake Naivasha Catchment in Kenya and associated pollution Open

Joel Onyango, Nzula Kitaka, J. J. A. van Bruggen, Kenneth Irvine, John P. Simaika · 2023

Investments in agricultural intensification in Sub-Saharan Africa aim to fulfill food and economic demands. However, the increased use of fertilizers and pesticides poses ecological risks to water bodies in agricultural catchments. This st…

The global <span>EPTO</span> database: Worldwide occurrences of aquatic insects Open

Afroditi Grigoropoulou, Suhaila Ab Hamid, Raúl Acosta, Emmanuel O. Akindele, Salman Abdo Al‐Shami , et al. · 2023

Motivation Aquatic insects comprise 64% of freshwater animal diversity and are widely used as bioindicators to assess water quality impairment and freshwater ecosystem health, as well as to test ecological hypotheses. Despite their importa…

Effects of combined nutrient and pesticide exposure on algal biomass and Daphnia magna abundance Open

Joel Onyango, J. J. A. van Bruggen, Nzula Kitaka, John P. Simaika, Kenneth Irvine · 2022

Fertilisers and pesticides are increasingly used in agriculture to improve productivity and protect crops from fungi and insects. However, these farm inputs may lead to adverse effects on aquatic biodiversity through eutrophication and pes…

Potential Risks of Agricultural Intensification in Tropical Catchments: the Case of Lake Naivasha Open

Joel Onyango, Nzula Kitaka, J. J. A. van Bruggen, Kenneth Irvine, John P. Simaika · 2022

The use of both fertilizers and pesticides in the Lake Naivasha Catchment, is associated with agricultural intensification and has resulted in enrichment of aquatic ecosystems with nutrients, coupled with exposure of aquatic biota to pesti…

The traits of “trait ecologists”: An analysis of the use of trait and functional trait terminology Open

Samantha K. Dawson, Carlos P. Carmona, Manuela González‐Suárez, Mari Jönsson, Filipe Chichorro , et al. · 2021

Trait and functional trait approaches have revolutionized ecology improving our understanding of community assembly, species coexistence, and biodiversity loss. Focusing on traits promotes comparability across spatial and organizational sc…

Assemblage reorganization of South African dragonflies due to climate change Open

Ashleigh Basel, John P. Simaika, Michael J. Samways, Guy F. Midgley, Sandra MacFadyen , et al. · 2021

Aim Climate change is expected to cause large shifts in species assemblages such as dragonflies and damselflies (Insecta: Odonata). Here, we assess the influence of environmental drivers of turnover on Odonata assemblages. Secondly, we map…

Double-Stranded DNA Virus Assemblages in Groundwater in Three Informal Urban Settlements in Sub-Saharan Africa Differ from Each Other Open

Jack van de Vossenberg, Yvonne Hoiting, Alimamy Kolipha Kamara, Manuel Kofi Tetteh, John P. Simaika , et al. · 2021

We mapped the double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) virus assemblage in groundwater below sub-Saharan urban poor settlements in Arusha (Tanzania), Dodowa (Ghana), and Kampala (Uganda). Our results indicated that ∼80% of dsDNA virus sequences matched…

Dragonfly Conservation in the Increasingly Stressed African Mediterranean-Type Ecosystems Open

Rassim Khelifa, Charl Deacon, Hayat Mahdjoub, Frank Suhling, John P. Simaika , et al. · 2021

Freshwater habitats worldwide are experiencing many threats from environmental and anthropogenic sources, affecting biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. In Africa, particularly in Mediterranean climate zones, rapid human population grow…

Editorial: Towards the Sustainable Use of African Wetlands Open

John P. Simaika, Albert Chakona, Anne A. van Dam · 2021

EDITORIAL article Front. Environ. Sci., 22 March 2021Sec. Freshwater Science https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2021.658871

Sustaining the ecological functions of the Litani River Basin, Lebanon Open

Talal Darwish, A. Shaban, Ilyas Masih, Hadi Jaafar, Ihab Jomaa , et al. · 2021

Although Lebanon has the highest mean annual rainfall of all Middle Eastern countries, it is affected by water stress, negatively impacting agricultural food production, energy generation, and undermine ecosystem functions. The Bekaa area,…

The traits of 'trait ecologists' Open

Samantha K. Dawson, Carlos P. Carmona, Manuela González‐Suárez, Mari Jönsson, Filipe Chichorro , et al. · 2021

Supporting Information and a data set from Dawson, SK, CP Carmona, M González-Suárez, M Jönsson, F de Carvalho, M Mallen-Cooper, Y Melero, H Moor, J Simaika, and AB Duthie. 2021 "The traits of 'trait ecologists': an analysis of the use of …

Phylogeny of the Synlestidae (Odonata: Zygoptera), with an emphasis on Chlorolestes Selys and Ecchlorolestes Barnard Open

John P. Simaika, Jessica L. Ware, Rosser W. Garrison, Michael J. Samways · 2020

The Use of Traditional and Modern Tools for Monitoring Wetlands Biodiversity in Africa: Challenges and Opportunities Open

P. J. Stephenson, Yaa Ntiamoa‐Baidu, John P. Simaika · 2020

Biodiversity is being lost in wetlands at a faster rate than any other biome. Effective conservation and management of wetlands biodiversity requires data on species status and threats to inform decision-making. However, there are key chal…

Scientists' warning to humanity on insect extinctions Open

Pedro Cardoso, Philip S. Barton, Klaus Birkhofer, Filipe Chichorro, Charl Deacon , et al. · 2020

Solutions for humanity on how to conserve insects Open

Michael J. Samways, Philip S. Barton, Klaus Birkhofer, Filipe Chichorro, Charl Deacon , et al. · 2020

Peer Review #1 of "Species turnover in plants does not predict turnover in flower-visiting insects (v0.2)" Open

John P. Simaika, Michael J. Samways, Sven M. Vrdoljak · 2018

Congruence between plant and insect diversity is considered possibly useful in conservation planning, as the better known plants could be surrogates for the lesser known insects.There has been little quantification of congruence across spa…

Peer Review #1 of "Species turnover in plants does not predict turnover in flower-visiting insects (v0.1)" Open

John P. Simaika, Michael J. Samways, Sven M. Vrdoljak · 2018

Congruence between plant and insect diversity is considered possibly useful in conservation planning, as the better known plants could be surrogates for the lesser known insects.There has been little quantification of congruence across spa…

Peer Review #2 of "Species turnover in plants does not predict turnover in flower-visiting insects (v0.1)" Open

John P. Simaika, Michael J. Samways, Sven M. Vrdoljak · 2018

Congruence between plant and insect diversity is considered possibly useful in conservation planning, as the better known plants could be surrogates for the lesser known insects.There has been little quantification of congruence across spa…

Species turnover in plants does not predict turnover in flower-visiting insects Open

John P. Simaika, Michael J. Samways, Sven M. Vrdoljak · 2018

Congruence between plant and insect diversity is considered possibly useful in conservation planning, as the better known plants could be surrogates for the lesser known insects. There has been little quantification of congruence across sp…

Non-native trees alter biomass and nutrient availability in mountain streams of the Cape Floristic Region, a global biodiversity hotspot Open

John P. Simaika · 2018

The invasion by alien trees of riparian zones may lead to significant alterations in the amount and timing of leaf litter inputs to freshwater ecosystems, consequently affecting stream ecological functioning. Invasive Australian Acacia tre…

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