Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany Hotspot

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany Hotspot

The Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany Hotspot (MPA) is a biodiversity hotspot, a biogeographic region with significant levels of biodiversity, in Southern Africa. It is situated near the south-eastern coast of Africa, occupying an area between the Great Escarpment and the Indian Ocean.[1] 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.

Geography

This ecoregion covers globally all the humid subtropical climate zones of Africa (the latter being located almost exclusively in South Africa), an area of 274,136 km2 (105,845 sq mi). It forms a broad coastal strip extending from the extreme south of Mozambique and north-east of

Swaziland and borders southern and eastern Lesotho. It consists of three regions more or less biologically close but each with its own characteristics. Maputaland (also known as Tongaland) refers to the southern part of Mozambique, Swaziland and northern KwaZulu-Natal, Pondoland includes central and southern KwaZulu-Natal, and Albany is the eastern part of Eastern Cape.[2]

The terrain in this region is complex, providing a great diversity of landscapes with varied reliefs. It encompasses the southeast of the

Great Escarpment and down to the edge of the Indian Ocean. As a result, this ecoregion includes much of the Drakensberg range, especially in the south and centre of the area. One of the best-watered areas in South Africa, a large part of the area receives on average between 750 and 1,000 mm (30 and 39 in) per year and the Kwazulu-Natal coasts as well as parts of the Drakensberg exceed the annual 1,000 mm (39 in).[3] The northern part of the area consists mainly of medium and lowland plains with areas of ancient sand dunes, while the southern part has more rugged terrain with many cliffs cut by multiple streams. Inland, there are several ranges of mountain which include Sneeuberge, Winterberg, Amathole Mountains, Ngeli Range, Lebombo Mountains and Ngoye Range.[4]

Landscapes of Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany, from left to right: shrubby grassland near Pietermaritzburg; dense forest in KwaZulu-Natal; wooded savanna with Strelitzia nicolai in iSimangaliso Wetland Park; high altitude grassland near Ladysmith; shrubby savanna with tree spurge in the north of Kwazulu-Natal; coastal scrub and forest in Silaka Nature Reserve

Biodiversity

The Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany area supports a very high biodiversity, both animal and plant. With nearly 8100 vascular plants species and 2000 endemic plant species, it is the second richest area in Africa in terms of plant diversity, after the

Sandersonia aurantiaca. Aloe ferox is widely used for its sap
with healing properties.

Although the hotspot was originally envisaged as referring to the wide diversity of vascular plant species, the pattern of plant endemism is matched by numerous endemic vertebrates. The degree of endemism among plants in this hotspot is 23.5% whereas the degree of endemism among vertebrates is 5.1% and near-endemism 4.9%. If the area of the hotspot was redefined as the "Greater Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany" area, an increase of 73%, to include the Great Escarpment area, the vertebrate endemism would total 146 species (19 freshwater fishes, 29 amphibians, 75 reptiles, 15 birds and 8 mammals), a figure 135% higher than the 62 vertebrate species for the MPA as presently defined.[5]

Most of the endemic vertebrates in the ecoregion inhabit the forests and grasslands, and many have niche habitat requirements such as rocky outcrops or marshy areas within these larger biomes; the Sloggett's vlei rat and the Natal red rock hare are quite widespread in the area while the woodbush legless skink and the robust golden mole have narrower habitat requirements.[6]

A White Rhino emerging from a mud bath in Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Reserve

Animal diversity is lower, with fairly low endemism. 194 species of mammals are counted there, of which only 4 are endemic: Red bush squirrel (Paraxerus palliates), four-toed elephant shrew (Petrodromus tetradactylus), narrow-headed golden mole (Amblysomus marleyi) and the giant golden mole (Chrysospalax trevelyani). However, there are many notable species: antelopes, felines, primates, rhinos, which are not endemic but very representative of protected areas, particularly in Maputaland.[7] This is particularly the case of the southern subspecies of the White rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum simum) which was once widely distributed in southern and eastern Africa and which almost disappeared due to the horn trade; yet it is with a dozen individuals placed in the Hluhluwe–Imfolozi Park that the population experienced an extraordinary surge: today it has nearly 12,000 individuals spread over several reserves including outside South Africa. There are also several species of forest antelope such as the Zanzibar Suni (Neotragus moschatus) or the blue duiker (Philantomba monticola).

There are 540 bird species in this hotspot. If none is endemic, it appears that many southern African forest species are present in this region, and that some are almost endemic to this hotspot, such as the Cape parrot for example. Others are found only in this region in South Africa but their distribution extends beyond into the coastal forests of eastern Africa.[8]

Of 209 species of reptiles 30 are endemic. This hotspot is the home of at least 7 species of

Breviceps sopranus
, which emits a very high-pitched croak.

Among the other groups of the animal kingdom we can note the 73 species of freshwater fish with 22 endemic. A species of

Circellium bacchus, whose range is concentrated only in the Addo Elephant National Park (where specific signs indicate that it has priority over vehicles in the thoroughfares)[9] and surrounding areas.[10]

Blue duiker (Philantomba monticola), Kniphofia rooperi, Aloe ferox, Knysna loerie (Tauraco corythaix), Onychophora sp, Hibiscus pedunculatus

List of endemic plants (incomplete)

The endemic plants found in the Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany Hotspot include:[11]

Gallery

See also

  • Maputaland-Pondoland bushland and thickets
     – Montane shrubland ecoregion in South Africa
  • Maputaland – Natural region in South Africa in northern KwaZulu-Natal
  • EmaMpondweni
    , also known as Pondoland – natural region of South Africa, formerly occupied by the Pondo Kingdom and Pondo people
  • Albany, South Africa – region in the Eastern Cape named after the capital of New York State
  • Forests of KwaZulu-Natal – Forest vegetation type in South Africa
  • Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife – South African wildlife conservation organisation
  • Mkhambathi Nature Reserve – Coastal nature reserve at Lusikisiki in the Eastern Cape, South Africa
  • Umtamvuna Nature Reserve – Coastal nature reserve in South Africa

References

  1. ^ Biodiversity Archived 2010-03-23 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ISBN 0-540-05831-9
    .
  3. ^ "CEPF Final Project Completion Report" (PDF). Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund. July 1, 2016. Retrieved July 6, 2019.
  4. ^ a b "Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany". Biodiversity hotspots. Conservation International. Archived from the original on March 23, 2010. Retrieved July 6, 2019.
  5. doi:10.4102/sajs.v107i7/8.462
    .
  6. ^ Perera, Sandun J. (2011). "Veretbrate distributions indicate a greater Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany region of endemism". South African Journal of Science. Retrieved July 6, 2019.
  7. ISBN 978-1-77007-404-0
    .
  8. ISBN 978-1-77007-925-0
    .
  9. ^ Gouyou Beauchamps, Pierre (January–February 2012). "Wild Coast - Les bijoux de la Côte Sauvage". Terre sauvage (in French). No. 1201. pp. 70–79. Caution : Dung beetles have right of way
  10. ^ "Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany | CEPF". www.cepf.net. Retrieved May 29, 2023.
  11. ISBN 978-1-919766-18-8
    .

Bibliography

External links
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany_Hotspot&oldid=1157563922"