A new species of Myrmeleon from Mozambique (Neuroptera: Myrmeleontidae)

Regional assessment and conservation implications of landscape characteristics of African national parks

Commercial culling of wildlife species in natural habitats (game cropping) or in fenced areas (game farming) has been suggested as a means of conserving such species in North America. An alternative hypothesis proposes that such exploitation may have an adverse impact on these species and other species associated with them. Commercial exploitation uses the precedent of African cropping projects originally set up for conservation. This review examines the biological and economic evidence from Africa in the light of these two hypotheses. The biological evidence is now seen to suggest that domestic ungulates are more productive than wild species in medium-rainfall natural habitats of Africa. Game farming, which provides luxury products (meat), and services (tourism, hunting) to foreigners, is more productive than game cropping which tries to provide cheap meat to low-income native peoples. The economic evidence in favour of cropping is drawn from culling programs for management in national parks, and from private ranches in southern Africa. However, these park culling schemes subsidized costs and were not intended for profit, whereas private ranches sold to luxury markets and were subsidized by tourism and sport hunting. Although many private game farms are a commercial success, their value for conservation is limited. There may also be some negative effects on conservation.

Aim This study investigates changes in bird communities between 1998 and 2008 in four savanna sites in Swaziland and the extent to which shrub encroachment is responsible for these changes.Location Swaziland, southern Africa.Methods Generalized estimated equations were used to estimate changes in bird species occurrence between 1998 and 2008. Remote sensing of aerial photographs/satellite images was used to assess vegetation changes during the same period. We assessed the role of shrub encroachment for bird communities by testing the relationship between change in species occurrence and species habitat using a general linear model. We also estimated species richness, colonization and extinction and used general linear models to test the effects of vegetation changes on these parameters.Results More than half of the bird species showed a significant change in occurrence between 1998 and 2008: 32 species increased and 29 decreased. Change in species occurrence was significantly explained by species habitat. Species significantly increasing were mainly associated with wooded savanna, whereas species significantly decreasing were mainly associated with open savanna. Species richness decreased significantly, and this decrease was significantly explained by shrub cover increase at the plot scale (from 24% to 44% on average). Extinction at the plot scale was significantly influenced by the loss of grass cover, while colonization at the plot scale was influenced by tree cover increase.Main conclusions This study represents the first evidence of temporal changes in bird communities owing to shrub encroachment in southern Africa. Despite its short time frame (10 years), this study shows dramatic changes in both vegetation structure and bird community composition. This confirms the general concern for southern African bird species associated with open savanna if current trends continue.

The article examines how climate change has impacted wildlife-protected areas in Southern Africa in the context of tourism development. Protected areas are known as preferred destinations for nature-loving tourists. Using a systematic review and bibliometric analysis the authors identify symptoms of climate change in Southern Africa’s wildlife-protected areas and adaptation strategies for resilient destinations. Some of the key effects of climate change identified in the analysis include species reduction, human-wildlife conflicts, habitat quality and infrastructure modification and social impacts. The authors establish at what levels changing climatic conditions in protected areas affect conservation and tourism processes in protected areas thus contributing to the body of knowledge on wildlife-human interactions, survival strategies of community members and interactions between community members and conservation organizations. The synthesized data can be used in future studies to focus on climate-proofing protected areas and surrounding communities, can help social enterprises and conservation groups to improve community resilience against climate change and inform conservation ecosystem-based adaptation strategies.

The Biomass Burning Aerosol Campaign (BiBAC) was conducted in the Kruger National Park (KNP), at Skukuza in South Africa during the 2022 biomass burning season. The campaign included an Intensive Observation Phase (IOP) from September to October, aiming to quantify aerosol optical properties and plume transport.(Ranaivombola et al., 2024). The combination of ground-based (sun-photometer), satellite observations (MODIS, IASI and CALIOP), and CAMS reanalysis show a significant aerosol and carbon monoxide (CO) loading linked to biomass burning activity. Using AOD data from sun-photometer observations, Ranaivombola et al., (2024) define two events of biomass burning plume over the Southwestern Indian Ocean (SWIO) basin: September 18 to 23 and October 9 to 17, called here after event 1 and event 2, respectively.During Event 1, the plume was transported toward the SWIO basin as a "river of smoke" phenomenon. As reported previously in the literature (Swap et al., 2003 and Flamant et al., 2022), the meteorological conditions were influenced by the passage of westerly waves associated with a cut-off low (COL) that favored the eastern transport pathway. However, it was not the case during Event 1. There were two troughs which supported the formation of two frontal systems and contributed to the transport of aerosols and CO plumes from South America (SAm) towards Southern Africa (SA). This transport was driven by a westerly baroclinic wave through the mid-tropospheric layers.Event 2 involved a more complex synoptic setup with three frontal systems supported by three distinct troughs, allowing the recirculation of plumes over SA. This dynamic system enhanced the transport of CO plumes from SAm, which merged with African plumes over the Mozambique Channel. The sustained activity of the baroclinic wave generated new troughs, keeping aerosol levels high for an extended period of 1.5 week. The progression of baroclinic waves and frontal system development were essential in driving regional and intercontinental transport of aerosols and CO plumes.These two events allowed to reveal two transport mechanisms of aerosol plumes and CO between SAm and SA towards the SWIO basin. It shows also that SA is a target region for aerosols and CO from SAm biomass burning. To assess and quantify the contributions of SA and SAm sources to observed CO concentrations over SA, we used the FLEXPART model (version 10.4) coupled with CO emissions database (biomass burning and anthropogenic emission from CAMS: GFAS and CAMS-GLOB-ANT, respectively). Each simulation tracked particles representing CO back in time over a period of 20 days, during the IOP. The setup included daily releases of 20,000 particles over six sites in Southern Africa (Skukuza, Durban, Maun, Upington, Mongu and Gobabeb). Both SA and SAm sources significantly influenced the CO balance over SA. The contribution of biomass burning emissions from SA were higher than those from SAm. Nevertheless, the biomass burning emission from SAm were more variable and could occasionally match or exceed those from SA. This quantification confirmed the predominance of African sources but also highlighted the presence of intercontinental transport which is poorly investigated until now.

Habitat rehabilitation or intervention to prevent species declines are rarely employed in Africa. I argue that despite protection in national parks, active intervention is necessary to halt declines in southern Africa’s Greater ( Phoenicopterus ruber ) and Lesser ( Phoeniconaias minor ) Flamingo populations. Flamingos are long‐lived species that breed sporadically at only two localities in southern Africa: the Makgadikgadi Pans in Botswana and Etosha National Park in Namibia. Despite well‐publicized breeding on Etosha Pan, flamingos have experienced only three major breeding events in 40 years. Breeding failure occurs when high evaporation rates rapidly dry the pan, and up to 100,000 flightless chicks may starve. Consequently, pairs breeding in Etosha exhibit extraordinarily low recruitment (0.040 young pair/year) and extrapolations indicate that adults can replace themselves only if they breed for 38 to 50 years and all offspring survive. Because survival of offspring from fledging to adulthood (5 years) is about 46%, this breeding lifespan rises to an unrealistic 83 years, making Etosha a nonviable breeding site. Alternative, suitable flamingo habitats in Africa are being mined for soda‐ash, are damaged by pollution, or are unprotected. Accordingly, continent‐wide estimates and those from southern Africa alone suggest a population decline of about 40% in both species over the last 15 years. Because Namibia regularly supports 84% of the Greater and 93% of the Lesser Flamingos in southern Africa, conservation strategies are best focused there. Simple but effective management methods, based on those employed in western Europe, could reverse these downward trends. In Etosha a small island surrounded by a water‐filled depression would allow up to 4000 pairs to breed annually. The benefits of enhancing the breeding of flamingos in Etosha include research opportunities, tourism revenue, and a safe haven for two Red Data species.

Aquatic ecosystems globally have been invaded by molluscs. Tarebia granifera is a highly successful invader, often becoming the dominant aquatic invertebrate species in an invaded ecosystem. Resultingly, it has been suggested that T. granifera may have severe negative impacts on these invaded ecosystems. Limited information is available regarding the population structures and densities of T. granifera, particularly in invaded countries such as South Africa, and information on this could assist in developing management and control strategies for this invasive species. The present study aimed to assess the current distribution, densities, and population structures of T. granifera in invaded habitats on the Limpopo and Phongolo River systems in South Africa. This was accomplished by collecting aquatic molluscs from sites across these systems. Water quality parameters were measured at each site and water samples were collected for chemical nutrient analyses. The density of snails was determined for each site and the population size and structure as well as birth rate was calculated for T. granifera. Tarebia granifera was found to be the dominant molluscan species in habitats where it was present and all size classes from newborn to mature adults were found throughout at some of the highest densities globally. Worryingly, native molluscan species, were often absent or in much lower densities than reported in literature at sites where T. granifera was present, suggesting a negative effect on the native molluscan density and diversity. Contrary to most previous studies, there were no significant correlations between T. granifera and the selected water quality parameters. Higher densities and newborn recruitment of T. granifera were observed in the spring than in autumn, likely in response to shifts in environmental conditions. This study provides crucial insights into the population structure, densities, and impacts of T. granifera in invaded habitats, particularly for relatively newly invaded regions such as southern Africa.

Fears for the woods and the trees

Lion – prey relations in West and Central Africa

Recent coastal storms in southern Africa have highlighted the need for more proactive management of the coastline. Within the southern and eastern African region the availability of coastal information is poor. The greatest gap in information is the likely effects of a combination of severe sea storms and future sea level rise (SLR) on the shoreline. This lack of information creates a barrier to informed decision making. This research outlines a practical localized approach to this problem, which can be applied as a first order assessment within the region. In so doing it provides a cost effective and simple decision support tool for the built environment and disaster professionals in development and disaster assessments. In a South African context the newly promulgated Integrated Coastal Management Act requires that all proposed coastal developments take into consideration future SLR, however such information currently does not exist, despite it being vital for informed planning in the coastal zone. This practical approach has been applied to the coastline of Durban, South Africa as a case study. The outputs are presented in a Geographic Information System (GIS) based freeware viewer tool enabling ease of access to both professionals and laypersons. This demonstrates that a simple approach can provide valuable information about the current and future risk of flooding and coastal erosion under climate change to buildings, infrastructure as well as natural features along the coast.

Senegalia mellifera (Benth) Seigler & Ebinger., Dichrostachys cinerea (L.) Wight & Arn. and Terminalia sericea Burch. Ex DC., are three important bush encroacher species that contribute to the well-known ecological process named “thicketization” in Southern Africa. This issue has persisted for many years, impacting species distribution, plant communities, soil, and fauna dynamics. According to climate change projections, Southern Africa is expected to become drier and warmer in future scenarios, creating favourable conditions for proliferation of bush encroacher species. MaxEnt is a general-purpose machine learning method widely utilized in various ecological and biological scenarios to predict the potential suitable habitat of species. This is achieved by incorporating presence-only occurrence records and bioclimatic, and topographic variables. The analysis was performed in a Geographic Information System based on the current and future suitable areas for the respective Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSP) scenarios according to INM-CM5-0, UK-ESM1-0-LL and MPIES-M1-2-HR climate models. This was done to assess the potential effects of climate change on the distribution patterns of bush encroacher species. Model performance was assessed by the area under the curve (AUC) of the receiver operator characteristic (ROC), with 0.836, 0.822 and 0.738 as results to Terminalia sericea, Dichrostachys cinerea and Senegalia mellifera respectively. The current results show that Senegalia mellifera presents a habitat suitability of 56% (1,460,353 km²) of the total area, while Terminalia sericea and Dichrostachys cinerea have suitability over 37.9% (996,168 km²) and 43.9% (1,154,645 km²) of the area, respectively. These findings indicate that precipitation and temperature variables are the most important factors in explaining the spatial distribution of the bush encroacher species, predicting a future increase between 8–29.4%, 2.8–24%, and 3–24.2% for Senegalia mellifera, Terminalia sericea, and Dichrostachys cinerea respectively. Furthermore, each species has its own set of important variables and different ecological behaviour patterns. These results imply that an improved understanding of the response of woody species to a changing climate is important for managing bush encroachment in savanna ecosystems. Based on our analysis, Senegalia mellifera is currently suitable in 56% of the total area; while 43.9% of the total area is suitable for Dichrostachys cinerea, and 37.87% of the total area is currently suitable for Terminalia sericea. In the future scenarios, the habitat suitability increases for all three species compared to the current state. The unsuitable areas decrease in all the proposed scenarios with respect to the present, predicting a shrub expansion in the future throughout southern Africa. Furthermore, our results imply that Senegalia mellifera is the most potentially affected by bush encroachment in future changes, with a larger distribution area in future scenarios. These findings are supported by many studies, which indicate the probable increase of woody cover and loss of grasslands. Temperature and precipitation patterns are the main drivers behind the distribution of these bush encroachers, increasing or decreasing the competitiveness of these species according to these variables and their phenotypic plasticity. The increase in habitat suitability occurs throughout the case study, but there is a clear trend of shrub expansion towards the south of the case study. The change maps show a pattern of shrub movement towards South Africa and Botswana. This would fit with climate predictions for South Africa, which predict a decrease in rainfall in the east and north of the country, being more suitable for shrub competitive species.

The coastal zone represents one of the most economically and ecologically important ecosys- tems on the planet, none more so than in southern Africa. This manuscript examines the potential impacts of climate change on the coastal fishes in southern Africa and provides some of the first information for the Southern Hemisphere, outside of Australasia. It begins by describing the coastal zone in terms of its physical characteristics, climate, fish biodiversity and fisheries. The region is divided into seven biogeographical zones based on previous descriptions and interpretations by the authors. A global review of the impacts of climate change on coastal zones is then applied to make qualitative predictions on the likely impacts of climate change on migratory, resident, estuarine-dependent and catadro- mous fishes in each of these biogeographical zones. In many respects thesouthern African region representsa microcosmofclimatechange variabilityandofcoastal habitats. Based on the broad range of climate change impacts and life history styles of coastal fishes, the predicted impacts on fishes will be diverse. If anything, this review reveals our lack of fundamental knowledge in this field, in particular in southern Africa. Several research priorities, including the need for process-based fundamental research programs are highlighted.

Roughly 65% of the African continent is classified as savanna. Such regions are of critical importance given their high levels of biological productivity, role in the carbon cycle, structural differences, and support of large human populations. Across southern Africa there are 79 national parks within savanna landscapes. Understanding trends and factors of vegetation health in these parks is critical for proper management and sustainability. This research strives to understand factors and trends in vegetation health from 2000 to 2016 in and around the 79 national parks across southern Africa. A backward stepwise regression was used to understand the factors (e.g., precipitation, population density, and presence of transfrontier conservation areas) affecting the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) during the 21st century. There was a statistically significant positive (p < 0.05) relationship between mean annual precipitation and NDVI, and a significant negative relationship between population density and NDVI. To monitor vegetation trends in and around the parks, directional persistence, a seasonal NDVI time series-based trend analysis, was used. Directional persistence is the net accumulation of directional change in NDVI over time in a given period relative to a fixed benchmarked period. Parks and buffer zones across size classes were compared to examine differences in vegetation health. There was an overwhelmingly positive trend throughout. Additionally, national parks, overall, had higher amounts of positive persistence and lower amounts of negative persistence than the surrounding buffer zones. Having higher positive persistence inside of parks indicates that they are functioning favorably relative to the buffer zones in terms of vegetation resilience. This is an important finding for park managers and conservation overall in Southern Africa.

Taylor, Peter John, Kearney, Teresa Catherine, Kerbis Peterhans, Julian C., Baxter, Roderick M., Willows-Munro, Sandi (2013): Cryptic diversity in forest shrews of the genus Myosorex from southern Africa, with the description of a new species and comments on Myosorex tenuis. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 169 (4): 881-902, DOI: 10.1111/zoj.12083, URL: http://doi.wiley.com/10.1111/zoj.12083

Abstract. Most major field campaigns, such as the Southern Africa Fire Atmosphere Research Initiative (SAFARI-92 and SAFARI-2000) and AErosol, RadiatiOn and CLOuds in southern Africa (AEROCLO-sA), have focused on the west coast of southern Africa, leaving the east coast underexplored. To address this, the Biomass Burning Aerosol Campaign (BiBAC) was initiated by the IRP ARSAIO (International Research Project – Atmospheric Research in Southern Africa and Indian Ocean) during the 2022 biomass burning season to study aerosol optical properties over southern Africa and the southwestern Indian Ocean (SWIO). This study analyzes aerosol properties during the intensive observation period (IOP) of BiBAC at Skukuza in Kruger National Park during two events: 18–23 September (Event 1) and 9–17 October (Event 2). Sun-photometer data, consistent with CALIOP (Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization), revealed a predominance of biomass burning aerosols. Transport analyses show southeastward movement of carbon monoxide (CO) and aerosols, reaching up to 6 km during Event 1 and 10 km during Event 2. Synoptic conditions, including frontal systems and baroclinic waves, drove regional and intercontinental pollutant transport, impacting the Mozambique Channel and surrounding areas. A “river of smoke” observed in Event 1 suggests novel synoptic conditions compared to previous studies. This study is the first to highlight two distinct transport mechanisms of aerosol plumes and CO from southern Africa and South America toward the SWIO basin, underscoring the significance of east-coast observations in understanding regional and global atmospheric dynamics.