Biodiversity of South Africa
The Biodiversity of South Africa is the variety of living organisms within the boundaries of South Africa and its exclusive economic zone. South Africa is a region of high biodiversity in the terrestrial and marine realms. The country is ranked sixth out of the world's seventeen megadiverse countries,[1] and is rated among the top 10 for plant species diversity and third for marine endemism.[2]
This biodiversity is monitored and reported in terms of the continental terrestrial, inland aquatic, coastal, marine and the sub-antarctic Prince Edward Islands components.
SANBI reports an estimate of about 67,000 animal species, and more than 20,400 plant species that have been described. Almost a quarter of the global
Global context
Biodiversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. It is typically a measure of variation at the genetic, species, and ecosystem level.[5] and is not distributed evenly, generally being richest in the tropics.[6] Marine biodiversity is usually highest along coasts in the Western Pacific, where sea surface temperature is highest, and in the mid-latitudinal band in all oceans.[7] Biodiversity generally tends to cluster in hotspots,[8] and has been increasing through time,[9][10] but will be likely to slow in the future.[11]
Estimates on the number of Earth's current species range from 10 million to 14 million,[12] of which about 1.2 million have been documented and over 86 percent have not yet been described.[13] More recently, in May 2016, scientists reported that 1 trillion species are estimated to be on Earth currently with only one-thousandth of one percent described.[14]
The country is ranked sixth out of the world's seventeen megadiverse countries,[1] with high levels of marine and terrestrial biodiversity. The main criterion for megadiverse countries is endemism at the level of species, genera and families. A megadiverse country must have at least 5,000 species of endemic plants and must border marine ecosystems.
South Africa is one of the smaller megadiverse countries, with a terrestrial area of about 1.2 million km2 and is rated among the top 10 for plant species diversity. The EEZ is about 1.1 million km2 and is rated third for marine endemism.[2]
Measuring diversity
Biodiversity is usually plotted as the richness of a geographic area, with some reference to a temporal scale. Types of biodiversity include
The estimated number of South African animal species as of 2018 is about 67 000, with 20 401 plant species described. This comprises about 7% of the world's vascular plants, 7% of birds, 5% of mammals, 4% of reptiles, 2% of amphibians and 1% of freshwater fishes. Less information is available on invertebrate groups, but South Africa has almost a quarter of global cephalopods, and some terrestrial invertebrate groups are very strongly represented.[2]
Evolutionary history
This section needs expansion with: Evolutionary history of the biodiversity of SA.
How this relates to the African plate - disconnection from other continental plates. Relative isolation of southern Africa by distance from the rest of Africa, global climate changes, rise and fall of sea levels, relative isolation of populations by altitude and life cycle specifics. Local climate changes, drought, flood and fire.
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The
Since
The period since the emergence of
Taxonomic biodiversity of a region may increase either by influx of species from other regions or by speciation within the region. The former is facilitated by physical connections to other regions of compatible habitability, by the mobility of the affected organisms at some stage of their life cycle, and by agents contributing to dispersal. Speciation in situ is facilitated by reproductive isolation[16] and changes in the environmental pressures on the local populations. Many regions of high biodiversity or endemism arise from habitats which require unusual adaptations.
Biological realms
Terrestrial (continental)
The continental terrestrial component of the region lies within the
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Inland aquatic
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Estuarine
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Marine
According to the WWF scheme,[34] the coastal waters of continental South Africa mostly lie within the marine realm of Temperate Southern Africa, with a part in the Western Indo-Pacific. The boundary between the Temperate Southern Africa and Western Indo-Pacific marine realms is near Lake St. Lucia, in northern KwaZulu-Natal, near the border with Mozambique.
The marine biodiversity of South Africa is the variety of living organisms that live in the seas off the coast of South Africa. It includes genetic, species and ecosystems biodiversity in a range of habitats spread over a range of ecologically varied regions, influenced by the geomorphology of the seabed and circulation of major and local water masses, which distribute both living organisms and nutrients in complex and time-variable patterns.
South Africa has a wide range of marine diversity with coastline in three oceans, two major current systems, major ocean frontal systems and benthic topography extending to a maximum depth of 5 700 m. There are 179 defined marine ecosystem types, 150 of them around South Africa and 29 around the sub-Antarctic territory of the Prince Edward Islands.[35]
Coastal
Since 2018 the National Biodiversity Assessment has produced a separate coastal report, combining data from marine portions of the coastal zone with estuaries and dunes along with beaches and rocky shores, defining the coastal zone as an ecologically determined cross-realm zone spanning the coastal parts of the marine and terrestrial realms, and including all estuaries, within which relevant results from the constituent realms are presented together. This analyses biodiversity across the land-sea interface compares it with the non-coastal parts of the terrestrial and marine realms.[36]
Vegetation types on the landward side of the coastal zone are included in the ecologically defined coast if they are purely coastal or have a coastal affinity, and least 70% of their area is within 10 km of the shore. On the seaward side, ecosystem types that are influenced by the land are considered to be coastal, and include ecosystems extending as far offshore as the back of the inner shelf, bays, and marine ecosystem types influenced by rivers. Estuarine Functional Zones (EFZs) are also considered to be part of the coast.[36]
The ecologically defined coastal zone is estimated to comprise about 4% of mainland terrestrial area, but includes 186 of the 987 ecosystem types, high biodiversity, and many endemic species, particularly along the south coast. This is largely due to large variations in coastal conditions affected by the warm Agulhas Current on the east coast, and cool Benguela Current along the west coast, distinct variations in temperature and rainfall patterns and variations in geology.[36]
Coastal parts of ecosystems tend to be hotspots of cumulative pressure, which often causes poor ecological condition in those areas. Ports and harbours have been identified as centres of cumulative impacts and ecological degradation. Intensive pressures on coastal areas include use of biological resources, coastal development, and mining. Coastal species of economic value which are accessible are likely to be over-exploited. Estuaries are often subjected to major flow modification due to upstream water use, which has adverse impacts on many coastal ecosystem types. For example, sand supplies to beaches and dunes are severely reduced, which affects erosion rates. Climate change and invasive species increase pressures on coastal biodiversity, and much of the pressure due to pollution is poorly understood.[36]
60% of coastal ecosystem types making up 55% of the coastal zone area, have been identified to be threatened, with a high risk of biodiversity loss in 13 ecosystems, while 9% of the coastal zone area is protected, providing good protection to about 24% of coastal ecosystem types.[36]
The three South African regions of high plant diversity and endemism all occur partly along the coast. They are the Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany Hotspot, the Succulent Karoo Region, and the Cape Floristic Region.[36]
The coastal zone provides a rich variety of organisms useful to people as food, medicine, fuel and raw materials for construction and crafts. There are more than 220 coastal plant species recorded as useful for these purposes from South Africa.[36]
Many coastal inhabitants rely to some extent on estuarine and marine fish and invertebrates as part of their diet, and the money saved by harvesting natural resources can be used for other needs, which is a significant benefit for economically marginal families. About a million people engage in recreational fishing, and the fishery is estimated to have a value of about R1.6 billion in 2018.[36]
Some 147 communities and 29000 people are involved in subsistence fishing, harvesting fish, rock lobster, abalone, bait organisms and other intertidal resources, to an estimated value of about R16 million in 2018, about 85% of which is linefishing. The major importance of this sector is in employment and food security of poor coastal communities.[36]
This section needs expansion with: Benefits from coastal biodiversity. You can help by adding to it. (September 2020) |
Sub-Antarctic
The Prince Edward Islands are Marion Island and Prince Edward Island, two small islands in the subantarctic Indian Ocean that are part of South Africa. The islands have been declared Special Nature Reserves under the South African Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act, No. 57 of 2003, and activities on the islands are therefore restricted to research and conservation management.[37][38] Further protection was granted when the area was declared a marine protected area in 2013.[39][40] The only human inhabitants of the islands are the staff of a meteorological and biological research station run by the South African National Antarctic Programme on Marion Island.[41]
Ecoregions
An ecoregion (ecological region) is an
Terrestrial ecoregions
Terrestrial ecoregions are land ecoregions, as distinct from freshwater and marine ecoregions. The WWF divides the land surface of the Earth into eight
The eight realms follow the major floral and faunal boundaries, identified by botanists and zoologists, that separate the world's major plant and animal communities. Realm boundaries generally follow continental boundaries, or major barriers to plant and animal distribution, like the Himalayas and the Sahara.
Ecoregions are classified by
Listed by biome:
Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests;
- Knysna-Amatole montane forests– Ecoregion of the tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests biome in South Africa
- KwaZulu-Cape coastal forest mosaic– Subtropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion of South Africa
- Maputaland coastal forest mosaic – Subtropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion on the Indian Ocean coast of Southern Africa.
- Southern Zanzibar-Inhambane coastal forest mosaic– Tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion of eastern Africa
Tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands;
- Kalahari Acacia-Baikiaea woodlands– Ecoregion in Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe
- Southern Africa bushveld– Sub-tropical woodland ecoregion of Southern Africa
- Zambezian and mopane woodlands – Tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands ecoregion of southeastern Africa.
Montane grasslands and shrublands;
- Drakensberg alti-montane grasslands and woodlands– High altitude ecoregion in South Africa
- Drakensberg montane grasslands, woodlands and forests– Ecoregion in Swaziland, South Africa and Lesotho comprising grassy lower slopes of the Drakensberg
- Highveld grasslands– Geographic region of the South African inland plateau
- Maputaland-Pondoland bushland and thickets– Montane shrubland ecoregion in South Africa
Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub;
- Albany thickets – Afrotropic terrestrial ecoregion of dense woodland in South Africa
- Lowland fynbos and renosterveld– Shrubland and heathland ecoregion of southwestern South Africa
- Montane fynbos and renosterveld– Shrubland and heathland ecoregion of southwestern South Africa
- Kalahari xeric savanna– Semi-arid sandy savanna ecoregion in Southern Africa
- Nama Karoo – Xeric shrubland ecoregion on the central plateau of South Africa and Namibia
- Succulent Karoo – Desert ecoregion of South Africa and Namibia
- Southern Indian Ocean Islands tundra – Ecoregion of several subantarctic islands in the southern Indian Ocean
- Southern Africa mangroves – Ecoregion of mangrove swamps in rivers and estuaries on the eastern coast of South Africa
Marine ecoregions
The marine ecoregions of the South African exclusive economic zone are a set of geographically delineated regions of similar ecological characteristics on a fairly broad scale, covering the exclusive economic zone along the South African coast. There were originally five inshore bioregions over the continental shelf and four offshore bioregions covering the continental slope and abyssal regions. These bioregions are used for conservation research and planning. They were defined in the South African National Spatial Biodiversity Assessment of 2004.[42] The South African National Spatial Biodiversity Assessment of 2011 amended this to reduce the number of regions to four inshore and two offshore and rename them as ecoregions.[43]
Inshore ecoregions:
- The Benguela current. The region is known for low oxygen events and it contains extensive mud banks and a relatively wide continental shelf.[43][44]: 102
The southern sector has a relatively narrow continental shelf and a change in geology at Cape Columbine which marks the northern extent of exposed granite, and there is less offshore mud habitat south of this break. This region includes the two underwater canyons, Cape Point Valley and Cape Canyon, and there are large areas of rocky reef. The change in biology at Cape Columbine is indicated by changes in seaweed and intertidal communities. There is less tendency for oxygen deficient bottom water than in the area further north. The break at the south-eastern end of the region is at Cape Point , where it is distinct in the inshore and tidal habitats, but the change in deeper water tends obliquely to the south-east, and is more diffuse, due to mixing of the Benguela and Agulhas currents between these regions.[44]: 102
- The
- Natal ecoregion– Ecoregion off the coast of South Africa
- Delagoa ecoregion– Ecoregion off the coast of South Africa
Offshore ecoregions:
- Southeast Atlantic ecoregion– Ecoregion off the coast of South Africa
- Southwest Indian ecoregion– Ecoregion off the coast of South Africa
Habitat types
In ecology, a habitat is the type of natural environment in which a particular species of organism lives. A species's habitat is those places where the species can find food, shelter, protection and mates for reproduction.[citation needed] It is characterized by both physical and biological features. Every organism has certain habitat needs for the conditions in which it will thrive, but some are tolerant of wide variations while others are very specific in their requirements. A habitat is not necessarily a geographical area, it can be the interior of a stem, a rotten log, a rock or a clump of moss; a parasitic organism has as its habitat the body of its host, part of the host's body (such as the digestive tract), or a single cell within the host's body.
Geographic habitat types include
Habitats may change over time. Causes of change may include a violent event, or change may occur more gradually over millennia with alterations in the climate. Other changes come as a direct result of human activities. The introduction of alien species can have a devastating effect on native wildlife, through increased predation, competition for resources or the introduction of pests and diseases to which the indigenous species have no immunity. A change to a habitat can have far reaching consequences. It can make it more habitable for some inhabitants, at the expense of others. It can open new niches to immigrants, induce speciation, drive out established communities, and in some cases may lead to extinctions at various scales. A habitat is also directly and indirectly affected by the inhabitant organisms, their presence and biological activity influences the environment in complex ways.
Marine habitat types
A total of 136 marine habitat types have been identified. The classification takes connectivity, depth and slope, substrate geology and sediment grain size, shoreline wave exposure, and biogeography into account. Beach state considers the wave exposure and grain size. These habitats include 37 coastal types, 17 inshore types in the 5 to 30 m depth range, 62 offshore benthic types deeper than 30 m, and 16 offshore pelagic types,[45] three types of island and one type of lagoon.[43]
Vegetation types
The diverse vegetation types of South Africa are sampled, classified, described, and mapped by the SANBI VEGMAP project. Vegetation types of Lesotho and Eswatini are included in the project. The vegetation map is useful for biodiversity assessment, research, conservation management and environmental planning, and includes a database. The project is ongoing as more data becomes available over time. The first map was published in 2006, and has been updated in 2009. 2012 and 2018.[46]
The classification system uses a hierarchy to organise the vegetation types within the nine defined
Listed by biome, there are 88
Endemism
Endemism is the
Terrestrial
The Cape Floristic Region, the smallest of the six recognised floral kingdoms of the world, is an area of extraordinarily high diversity and endemism, and is home to over 9,000 vascular plant species, of which 69 percent are endemic.[48] Much of this diversity is associated with the fynbos biome, a Mediterranean-type, fire-prone shrubland.[48]
Several species are endemic to extremely limited habitats, and are under severe pressure due to
Marine
Over 13000 species of marine organisms are recorded from South African waters. Endemism is estimated at between 26 and 33%, the third highest marine endemism after New Zealand (51%) and Antarctica (45%). This varies between taxonomic groups from no endemic marine mammals or birds, to over 90% of chitons.[49]: 20
The region of highest known endemism is the south coast Agulhas inshore ecoregion, which is relatively far from the national borders, and relatively isolated from large scale oceanic circulation due to the effects of the widening of the continental shelf at the Agulhas Bank on the path of the Agulhas current, and far from other warm temperate regions. This region is largely bypassed by the Agulhas current, and has cooler inshore water due to upwelling, making it less hospitable to tropical Indo-west Pacific species. It is also isolated from the South Atlantic and Southern Ocean, so has been more prone to niche speciation.[49]: 20
Centres of diversity
The flora are not evenly distributed over South Africa, they tend to be concentrated in centres of diversity, which are regions of relatively high local biodiversity in a global or national context.
- Succulent Karoo - the arid area to the north and west of the Cape fynbos.[50]
- Cape Floristic Region - [50]
- Griqualand West Centre - the arid area roughly between Prieska, Vryburg, Vorstershoop and Upington in the Northern Cape Province. The vegetation is mainly a variety of bushveld, grassland and Karoo types.[50]
- Aberdeen and the Baviaanskloof Mountains, with a transitional climate between the winter-rainfall of the Western Cape and the summer-rainfall of eastern southern Africa, with a large variety of vegetation types.[50]
- Drakensberg Alpine Centre - the highest altitude mountain region of southern Africa including most of Lesotho, the mountainous area around Barkly East in the Eastern Cape, and the eastern slopes of the Drakensberg through the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, and the Free State southwest of Harrismith. Van Rooy (2000) considers this to be one of the main centres of diversity of mosses in southern Africa.[50]
- Limpopo valley from the rest of South Africa, and parts of the Limpopo valley into the north-western corner of the Kruger National Park.[50]
- Carolina, Mpumalanga, in the south to Haenertsburg, Limpopo Province in the north, and west to Zebediela.[50]
- Sekhukhuneland Centre - a drier area inland of the escarpment of the Wolkberg Centre, on basic and ultramafic rocks of the Bushveld Igneous Complex.[50]
- Maputaland-Pondoland Region - most of KwaZulu-Natal, with the edges extending into neighbouring areas, particularly southern Mozambique and the Eastern Cape. The area contains various grassland, thicket and forest types.[50]
Genetic diversity
Genetic diversity is the amount of variation in the Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) of distinct individuals, representing the genetic characteristics of a species. From a conservation perspective, genetic diversity appears to be highly variable in populations and species.[2]
Genetic diversity is important for evolutionary potential, as it serves as a way for populations to adapt to changing environments. With more variation, it is more likely that some individuals in a population will possess variations of alleles that are suited for the new environment. Those individuals are more likely to survive to produce offspring bearing that allele. The population will continue for more generations because of the success of these individuals.[51]
The methods of measuring genetic diversity of a region include:[52]
- Species richness, a measure of the number of species,
- Species abundance, a relative measure of the abundance of species,
- Species density, an evaluation of the total number of species per unit area
Stochastic simulation software can be used to predict the future of a population given measurements such as allele frequency and population size.[53]
This section needs expansion with: Genetic diversity of SA populations. You can help by adding to it. (September 2020) |
Hotspots
A biodiversity hotspot is a
Three of these hotspots are largely or entirely within South Africa:
The
The Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany Hotspot is situated near the south-eastern coast of Africa, occupying an area between the Great Escarpment and the Indian Ocean.[58] The area is named after Maputaland, Pondoland and Albany. It stretches from the Albany Centre of Plant Endemism in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, through the Pondoland Centre of Plant Endemism and KwaZulu-Natal Province, the eastern side of Eswatini (known as Swaziland until 2018) and into southern Mozambique and Mpumalanga. The Maputaland Centre of Plant Endemism is contained in northern KwaZulu-Natal and southern Mozambique.
The
This section needs expansion with: Map of Cape Floristic Region. You can help by adding to it. (November 2020) |
Species lists
A simple measure of
.Flora
23,420 species of vascular plant have been recorded in South Africa, making it the sixth most species-rich country in the world and the most species-rich country on the African continent. Of these, 153 species are considered to be threatened.[59] Nine biomes have been described in South Africa: Fynbos, Succulent Karoo, desert, Nama Karoo, grassland, savanna, Albany thickets, the Indian Ocean coastal belt, and forests.[60]
The 2018 National Biodiversity Assessment plant checklist lists 35,130 taxa in the phyla
- List of conifers of South Africa – Plants of the class Pinophyta recorded from South Africa
- List of cycads of South Africa – Seed producing vascular plants of the division Cycadophyta recorded from South Africa
- Lists of flowering plants of South Africa – List of lists of flowering plants recorded from South Africa[61]
- List of hornworts of South Africa – Non-vascular spore-bearing plants in the division Anthocerotophyta recorded from South Africa
- List of liverworts of South Africa – Non-vascular land plants with a gametophyte-dominant life cycle recorded from South Africa
- List of lycophytes of South Africa – Spore bearing vascular plants of the division Lycopodiophyta recorded from South Africa
- List of mosses of South Africa – Small, non-vascular flowerless plants recorded from South Africa
- List of pteridophytes of South Africa – Spore-bearing vascular plants recorded from South Africa
Fauna
- Acanthocephala – Group of parasitic thorny-headed worms – List of Acanthocephala of South Africa
- Annelida – Phylum of segmented worms – List of annelids of South Africa
- Clitellata – Class of annelid worms
- Hirudinea – Parasitic or predatory annelid worms
- Oligochaeta – Subclass of annelids including earthworms
- Polychaeta– Class of annelid worms
- Clitellata – Class of annelid worms
- Arthropoda
- Arachnida
- Ixodida
- Amblypygi
- Araneae
- Opiliones
- Palpigradi
- Pseudoscorpiones
- Schizomida
- Scorpiones
- Solifugae
- Branchiopoda
- Anostraca
- Conchostraca
- Cladocera
- Notostraca
- Chilopoda
- Diplopoda
- Entognatha
- Collembola
- Diplura
- Insecta
- Archaeognatha
- Blattodea – Order of insects that includes cockroaches and termites
- Coleoptera– Order of insects
- Dermaptera
- Diptera
- Embioptera
- Ephemeroptera
- Notoptera
- Hemiptera
- Hymenoptera – Order of insects comprising sawflies, wasps, bees, and ants
- Isoptera
- Lepidoptera – Order of insects including moths and butterflies
- List of butterflies of South Africa
- List of moths of South Africa
- List of moths of South Africa (Arctiinae)
- List of moths of South Africa (Crambidae)
- List of moths of South Africa (Gelechiidae)
- List of moths of South Africa (Geometridae)
- List of moths of South Africa (Nepticulidae)
- List of moths of South Africa (Noctuidae)
- List of moths of South Africa (Pyralidae)
- List of moths of South Africa (Tortricidae)
- Mantodea
- Mecoptera
- Megaloptera
- Neuroptera
- Odonata
- Orthoptera
- Phasmida
- Phthiraptera
- Plecoptera
- Psocoptera
- Siphonaptera
- Strepsiptera
- Thysanoptera
- Trichoptera
- Zygentoma
- Malacostraca – List of marine crustaceans of South Africa#Malacostraca
- Amphipoda
- Bathynellacea
- Cumacea
- Decapoda
- Euphausiacea
- Isopoda
- Leptostraca
- Mysida
- Spelaeogriphacea
- Stomatopoda
- Tanaidacea
- Maxillopoda – List of marine crustaceans of South Africa#Maxillopoda
- Branchiura
- Mystacocarida
- Pentastomida
- Thecostraca
- Pauropoda
- Pycnogonida – List of sea spiders of South Africa
- Symphyla
- Brachiopoda
- Bryozoa
- Chaetognatha
- Chordata
- Actinopterygii – Class of ray-finned bony fishes – List of marine bony fishes of South Africa#Actinopterygii
- List of marine spiny-finned fishes of South Africa
- List of marine Perciform fishes of South Africa
- List of marine fishes of the suborder Percoidei of South Africa
- List of marine Perciform fishes of South Africa
- List of marine spiny-finned fishes of South Africa
- Amphibia
- Appendicularia/Thaliacea
- Ascidiacea
- Cephalochordata
- Chondrichthyes – List of marine fishes of South Africa#Chondrichtyes
- Mammalia – List of mammals of South Africa
- Reptilia
- Sarcopterygii – List of marine bony fishes of South Africa#Gigaclass Sarcopterygii — Lobefin fishes
- Actinopterygii – Class of ray-finned bony fishes – List of marine bony fishes of South Africa#Actinopterygii
- Cnidaria – List of marine cnidarians of South Africa
- Ctenophora – List of comb jellies of South Africa
- Cycliophora
- Echinodermata – List of echinoderms of South Africa
- Echiura
- Entoprocta
- Gastrotricha
- Gnathostomulida
- Hemichordata
- Kinorhyncha
- Loricifera
- Micrognathozoa
- Mollusca
- Aplacophora – List of marine molluscs of South Africa#Aplacophora
- Bivalvia – List of marine molluscs of South Africa#Bivalvia
- Cephalopoda – List of marine molluscs of South Africa#Cephalopoda
- Gastropoda – List of marine gastropods of South Africa
- Polyplacophora – List of marine molluscs of South Africa#Polyplacophora
- Scaphopoda – List of marine molluscs of South Africa#Scaphopoda
- Myxozoa
- Nematoda
- Nematomorpha
- Nemertea
- Onychophora
- Orthonectida
- Phoronida
- Placozoa
- Platyhelminthes
- Porifera – List of sponges of South Africa
- Priapulida
- Rhombozoa
- Rotifera
- Sipuncula
- Tardigrada
- Xenacoelomorpha
This section needs expansion with: Introductory text and links to more lists, Lists of indigenous animal species,[62] Lists of invasive alien species, Lists of endangered species. You can help by adding to it. (September 2020) |
Fungi
By 1945, more than 4900 species of fungi (including lichen-forming species) had been recorded,[63] and by 2006, the number of fungi in South Africa was estimated at 200,000 species, without taking into account fungi associated with insects.[50] If correct, then the number of South African fungi dwarfs that of its plants. In at least some major South African ecosystems, an exceptionally high percentage of fungi are highly specific in terms of the plants with which they occur.[64] The country's Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan does not mention fungi (including lichen-forming fungi).[65]
ISSN 2311-9284.. You can help by adding to it . (September 2020) |
- Ascomycota
- Basidiomycota
- Zygomycota
- Lichen-forming and lichenicolous fungi
- Oomycete
History
I. B. Pole-Evans established a national collection of fungi in Pretoria after his appointment in 1905. The previously existing collections of MacOwan and Medley Wood comprised 765 specimens. By 1950 the collection included more than 35 000 fungal specimens. The collections of P.A. van der Bijl and L. Verwoerd were housed at Stellenbosch, and the P. MacOwan collection and Bolus herbarium collections at Cape Town. Several European herbaria, including Kew and the International Mycological Institute also held collections. E. M. Doidge (1950) summarised the content, listing 835 species of Ascomycetes, 1704 Basidiomycetes, 93 Myxomycetes, 77 Phycomycetes, 1159 lichens, and 880 fungi imperfecti, with a total of 4748 species.[50]
Other eukaryotes
- Seaweed – Macroscopic marine algae
- Green algae – Paraphyletic group of autotrophic eukaryotes in the clade Archaeplastida – List of green seaweeds of South Africa
- Brown algae – Large group of multicellular algae, comprising the class Phaeophyceae – List of brown seaweeds of South Africa
- Red algae – Division of plant life – List of red seaweeds of South Africa
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (September 2020) |
Prokaryotes
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (September 2020) |
Threats
Biodiversity loss is the extinction of species worldwide, and also the local reduction or loss of species in a given habitat. Local losses can be temporary or permanent, depending on whether the environmental degradation that leads to the loss is reversible through ecological restoration or ecological resilience, or effectively permanent. Global extinction has so far been proven to be irreversible.
Even though permanent
Habitat change by way of habitat fragmentation or habitat destruction) is the most important driver currently affecting biodiversity, as some 40% of forests and ice-free habitats have been converted to cropland or pasture.[67] Other drivers are: overexploitation, pollution, invasive species, and climate change.
Human impacts
According to a 2019 As a region with high endemic diversity and three major biodiversity hotspots, South Africa is one of the regions where this is highly significant.
This section needs expansion with: Anthropogenic threats to biodiversity of SA. You can help by adding to it. (September 2020) |
Climate change
Climate change includes both the global warming driven by human emissions of greenhouse gases, and the resulting large-scale shifts in weather patterns.[71] While there have been previous periods of climatic change, changes observed since the mid-20th century have been unprecedented in rate and scale.[72]
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Endangered species
An endangered species is a
This section needs expansion with: Lists of endangered species. You can help by adding to it. (September 2020) |
Extinction
Rapid
This section needs expansion with: Lists of recent extinctions. You can help by adding to it. (September 2020) |
Economic value
Ways in which the biodiversity of SA has economic value to the inhabitants
- Natural resources
- Employment opportunities
- Tourism industry
The economical worth of fynbos biodiversity, based on harvests of fynbos products (e.g.
Management
South Africa signed the Rio Convention on Biological Diversity on 4 June 1994, and became a party to the convention on 2 November 1995.[79] It has subsequently produced a National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan, which was received by the convention on 7 June 2006.[65]
Responsibility
- Government department - Department of the Environment, Forestry and Fisheries. Previous departments: DEAT etc.
- Laws
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Sustainable use
Ecotourism in South Africa has become more prevalent as a possible method of supporting the maintenance of biodiversity.
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Protection
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Protected areas
The protected areas of South Africa include
Research
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Research institutions
The
- Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) – South African scientific research and development organisation
- Iziko South African Museum – South African national museum in Cape Town
Marine research:
- South African Association for Marine Biological Research – Non profit conservation research organisation based in Durban, SA
- South African Environmental Observation Network (SAEON) – A network to perform long-term ecological research in South Africa and surrounding waters
- South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity (SAIAB) – Centre for the study of aquatic biodiversity in Grahamstown, South Africa
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National Biodiversity Assessment
The National Biodiversity Assessment (NBA) is a recurring project by the South African National Biodiversity Institute in collaboration with the government department currently responsible for environmental affairs and several other organisations to assess the state of South Africa's biodiversity over time as an input for policy and decision making where the environment may be affected. The NBA looks into genetic, species and ecosystems biodiversity for terrestrial, freshwater, estuarine and marine environments. Each assessment cycle nominally takes approximately five years, and both generates new knowledge and analyses existing knowledge.[82] NBA reports are named for the year of the data, and are usually published in the following year. They have been published for 2004,[42] 2011,[43] and 2018,[49] and include reports, data, and supplementary documents.[83]
See also
- Biodiversity – Variety and variability of life forms
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