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Location and extent of the South East Africa Montane Archipelago (SEAMA) Examples of SEAMA endemics. (a) Rhinolophus mabuensis (AM), (b) Chamaetylas choloensis (JB), (c) Nothophryne inagoensis (WC), (d) Atheris mabuensis (WRB), (e) Epamera malaikae (TCEC), f) Rhampholeon maspictus (JB), (g) Nadzikambia baylissi (WRB), (h) Maritonautes namuliensis (JB), (i) Euphorbia mlanjeana (ID), (j) Widdringtonia whytei (JB), (k) Encephalartos gratus (JB). in Bayliss, Bittencourt-Silva, Branch, Bruessow, Collins, Congdon, Conradie, ... et Platts, 2024. |
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.
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| Location and extent of the South East Africa Montane Archipelago (SEAMA) showing core sites in red, and an outline boundary of the convex hull of the ecoregion (created using QGIS version 3.28.12 LTR https://qgis.org/en/site/). |
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| Examples of SEAMA endemics. (a) Rhinolophus mabuensis (AM), (b) Chamaetylas choloensis (JB), (c) Nothophryne inagoensis (WC), (d) Atheris mabuensis (WRB), (e) Epamera malaikae (TCEC), f) Rhampholeon maspictus (JB), (g) Nadzikambia baylissi (WRB), (h) Maritonautes namuliensis (JB), (i) Euphorbia mlanjeana (ID), (j) Widdringtonia whytei (JB), (k) Encephalartos gratus (JB). |
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 and Philip J. Platts. 2024. A Biogeographical Appraisal of the threatened South East Africa Montane Archipelago Ecoregion. Scientific Reports. 14, 5971. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-54671-z
news.mongabay.com/2024/03/new-ecoregion-proposed-for-southern-africas-threatened-sky-islands
news.mongabay.com/2018/10/secrets-revealed-scientists-explore-unique-isolated-forest-in-mozambique
Subjects: Adaptive radiation, Biodiversity, Biogeography, Climate and Earth system modelling, Conservation biology, Ecological modelling, Ecology, Ecosystem ecology, Ecosystem services, Evolution, Forest ecology, Palaeoecology, Speciation, Taxonomy, Tropical ecology, Zoology
