A Biogeographical Appraisal of the Threatened South East Africa Montane Archipelago Ecoregion

Authors

Julian Bayliss
Gabriela B Bittencourt-Silva
William R Branch
Carl Bruessow
Steve Collins
T Colin E Congdon
Werner Conradie
Michael Curran
Savel R Daniels
Iain Darbyshire
Harith Farooq
Lincoln Fishpool
Geoffrey Grantham
Zacharia Magombo
Hermenegildo Matimele
Ara Monadjem
Jose Monteiro
Jo Osborne
Justin Saunders
Paul Smith
Claire N Spottiswoode
Peter J Taylor
Jonathan Timberlake
Krystal A Tolley
Érica Tovela
Philip J Platts

Publication Date

3-12-2024

Journal

Scientific Reports

Abstract

Recent biological surveys of ancient inselbergs in southern Malawi and northern Mozambique have led to the discovery and description of many species new to science, and overlapping centres of endemism across multiple taxa. Combining these endemic taxa with data on geology and climate, we propose the 'South East Africa Montane Archipelago' (SEAMA) as a distinct ecoregion of global biological importance. The ecoregion encompasses 30 granitic inselbergs reaching > 1000 m above sea level, hosting the largest (Mt Mabu) and smallest (Mt Lico) mid-elevation rainforests in southern Africa, as well as biologically unique montane grasslands. Endemic taxa include 127 plants, 45 vertebrates (amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals) and 45 invertebrate species (butterflies, freshwater crabs), and two endemic genera of plants and reptiles. Existing dated phylogenies of endemic animal lineages suggests this endemism arose from divergence events coinciding with repeated isolation of these mountains from the pan-African forests, together with the mountains' great age and relative climatic stability. Since 2000, the SEAMA has lost 18% of its primary humid forest cover (up to 43% in some sites)-one of the highest deforestation rates in Africa. Urgently rectifying this situation, while addressing the resource needs of local communities, is a global priority for biodiversity conservation.

Keywords

Animals, Butterflies, Biodiversity, Africa, Eastern, Reptiles, Forests, South Africa, Phylogeny, Mammals, Climate and Earth system modelling, Biodiversity, Biogeography, Conservation biology, Ecological modelling, Ecosystem ecology, Ecosystem services, Forest ecology, Palaeoecology, Tropical ecology, Ecology, Zoology, Ecology, Taxonomy, Evolution, Speciation, Adaptive radiation

Comments

Supplementary Materials

PMID: 38472297