Regions, countries and information sources Records of myxomycetes exist for 31 countries located in the five major geopolitical and climatic regions of North, East, South, Central and West Africa. Each region is listed followed by the countries included. Information provided for each country consists of (a) three upper case letters indicating the country's abbreviation used and (b) a superscript in lower case letters that denotes the sources of information. Records on the occurrence of myxomycetes in Canary Islands are only provided for comparison purposes.

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Ten small dictyostelids isolated from samples collected from the surface humus layer of seasonal rainforests of Belize and Guatemala were studied morphologically, and nine were found to represent distinct species, all with an average height of < 2 mm (0.5-3.5 mm). Although their fruiting bodies (sorocarps) closely resemble one another, the nine species differ in their patterns of aggregation, stream pattern, branching development, formation of microcysts, spore shape, presence or absence of spore granules and their distribution, as well as in the shapes and behavior of their sorogens and myxamoebae. These stable morphological features were sufficient to recognize nine new species of small dictyostelids, one with two varieties. SSU rDNA sequences were generated for all these new isolates, and phylogenetic analyses of these sequences show these new isolates belong to Dictyostelid group 3. As a result of this and other recent studies, the concept of what constitutes a species in the dictyostelids has become much more restricted and well defined, in as much as some of the morphological and behavioral patterns now being observed were overlooked in the past. The extent, flow direction and conformation of streaming within the group varies from simple aggregation mounds with no streams to short streams, to somewhat longer streams and finally to well developed streams. Each of these is characterized by a particular set of distinguishing features.

A distributional study of the dictyostelid cellular slime molds (dictyostelids) of South Africa was carried out during 2006 as part of the Global Biodiversity of Eumycetozoans project based at the University of Arkansas and funded by the National Science Foundation. Samples of soil/humus collected from 31 study sites yielded a total of 881 clones, with an average density of 210 clones/gram for all samples in which dictyostelids were detected. Eighteen different species were represented by one or more clones, and six of these could not be identified. These six species are described herein as new to science. In addition, information is provided on the ecological distribution of all of the species of dictyostelids now known to occur in South Africa.

This chapter addresses active learning, one type of student-centered learning, as a paradigm for effective teaching based on the science of learning. Some of the elements for active learning as well as the research supporting these approaches are summarized for non-instructional professionals at colleges and universities. The chapter includes a discussion of how administrators and other college and university professionals can support effective teaching and student success. In order to create a culture of active learning, faculty need resources and professional support for making the shift to active learning. They also must be able to rely on other professionals within the institution to support the learning process and the work done by faculty and students within this process.