Biological diversity in Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany

Africa, below the Great Escarpment, extending from extreme southern Mozambique (south of the Limpopo River, where it adjuts on the Coastal Forests of Eastern Africa Hotspot) and Mpumalanga province in South Africa (south of the Olifants River) in the north, through eastern Swaziland to the Eastern Cape province of South Africa in the south. The region is floristically, climatologically and geologically complex. There are at least three clear foci of high endemism and high diversity in the area, the names of which have been amalgamated as the name of this hotspot: Maputaland (Tongaland) in the north, Pondoland further south, and Albany in the southwest.

The topography of the region ranges from ancient sand dunes and low-lying plains in the north to a series of rugged terraces deeply incised by river valleys in the central and southern parts. The Biodiversity hotspots (collection) Sneeuberg, Winterberg, Amatola Mountains, Ngeli Range, Lebombo Mountains and Ngoye Range. The area is bordered on the west by the Great Escarpment, which separates the elevated interior plateau of southern Africa from the coastal lowlands.

The hotspot's vegetation is comprised mainly of forests, thickets, bushveld and grasslands. About 80 percent of South Africa's remaining forests fall within this Hotspot The area also has a remarkable succulent flora, principally in the Albany region; these are mainly stem succulents, as opposed to the dominant leaf succulents found in the Succulent Karoo in the western parts of southern Africa. One type of forest (Licu

Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany is an important center of plant endemism, and the second richest floristic region in Africa after the Cape Floristic Region. In total, about 8,100 species of plants from 243 families occur within this Hotspot, and nearly a quarter of these - at least 1,900 species - are found nowhere else. This includes 39 endemic genera (among 1,500 genera in total), and one endemic family: the Rhynchocalycaceae, which is represented by a single species, Rhynchocalyx lawsonioides (VU), found only in Pondoland in southern KwaZulu-Natal and the eastern Transkei area of the Eastern Cape.

Grass crinum ( Crinum acaule ) is found in northern KwaZulu-Natal, mainly on the Maputaland coastal plain. Much of its habitat has undergone major afforestation with the introduction of exotics and the expansion of settled areas. (Source:

Many of the hotspot's plants have been developed successfully for horticulture around the world. One of the best known is the bitter aloe ( Aloe ferox ), which is used to make a purgative drug called Cape Aloes and is arguably the most important medicinal plant in South Africa. The bird-of-paradise flower ( Strelitzia reginae ) is endemic to the Hotspot Eastern Cape coastal bush. It is a popular horticultural subject in many parts of the world and has even been adopted as the civic emblem of Los Angeles. The once plentiful Sandersonia aurantiaca , a monotypic endemic genus whose beautiful orange-yellow flowers has led to the species common name of Christmas bells, is becoming increasingly rare.

At least half of the 40 species of red-hot poker ( Kniphofia spp.) that occur within Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany are endemic to the Hotspot. One of the most notable is Kniphofia rooperi , a large and sturdy plant that has orange-yellow flowers, unlike the bright red flowers found on most other red-hot pokers.

Birds

Birds are the most diverse group of vertebrates in the Hotspot, with more than 540 regularly occurring species. The hotspot is part of BirdLife International's Southeast African Coast Endemic Bird Area, with four restricted-range species: Rudd's apalis ( Apalis ruddi ), pink-throated twinspot ( Hypargos margaritatus ), Neergaard's sunbird ( Nectarinia neergaardi ) and lemon-breasted seedeater ( Serinus citrinipectus ).

An important bird species found in the Hotspot is the southern race of brown-necked parrot ( Poicephalus robustus robustus ). These birds, which can be distinguished from the northern race by their brownish heads, are dependent on the yellowwoods ( Podocarpus spp.) of the hotspot for nesting sites and food. Illegal harvesting of yellowwoods severely threatens the future of this subspecies.

Woodward's barbet ( Stactolaema olivacea woodwardi ) is found in southern Africa only in the Ngoye Forest between Eshowe and Empangeni in KwaZulu-Natal. Although the species also occurs on the Rondo Plateau in Tanzania, the precise taxonomic status of these two disjunct populations is unclear.

Of the nearly 200 mammal species found in the Hotspot, only four are endemic, including the red bush squirrel ( Paraxerus palliates , VU), the four-toed elephant shrew ( Petrodromus tetradactylus ), Marley's golden mole ( Amblysomus marleyi ) and the giant golden mole ( Chrysospalax trevelyani , EN).

One of the most notable mammal species in the Hotspot is the southern subspecies of the white rhinoceros ( Ceratotherium simum simum ). Once common and widely distributed throughout southern and East Africa, the species was greatly reduced due to hunting for its prized horn. Once near extinction, with only a few dozen individuals remaining in KwaZulu-Natal's Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Park, the subspecies was saved in one of the greatest success stories in conservation. Today, there are more than 12,000 individuals, many of which have been relocated to parks and reserves outside KwaZulu-Natal and beyond the borders of South Africa.

Two dainty antelopes are also important mammal species for Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany. The southern population of the blue duiker ( Philantomba monticola ) is confined to the hotspot and severely threatened by habitat destruction and fragmentation, poaching and snaring. The endemic southern race of the suni ( Neotragus moschatus zuluensis ), which relies on forests with high stem density and low ground cover, is quite restricted in its distribution because of destruction of its habitat. The area is home to at least seven species of dwarf chameleon ( Bradypodion spp.), all of which have very restricted distributions. The Hotspot also has one endemic genus, the Natal black snake ( Macrelaps microlepidotus ). Other interesting endemic reptiles include the Natal hinged tortoise ( Kinixys natalensis ), which is found throughout the Lebombo Mountain range, and the very rare endemic Albany adder ( Bitis albanica ), which is confined to the Algoa Bay area of the Eastern Cape. Tasman's girdled lizard ( Cordylus tasmani ) is also endemic to the Algoa Bay area, where it lives under dead leaves on tall aloes or on dead aloe stems lying on rocky slopes.

Amphibians

All 72 of the hotspot's amphibian species are frogs, eleven of which are endemic. This includes 8 threatened species that represent monotypic endemic genera: Boneberg's frog ( Natalobatrachus bonebergi , EN) and Rattray's or hogsback frog ( Anhydrophryne rattrayi , EN). Boneberg's frog is restricted to forests along the coasts, where recent housing developments and sugarcane plantations have destroyed much of its habitat. Rattray's frog is confined to thick vegetation along streams in the Amatola and Katberg Mountains in Eastern Cape Province, where commercial timber plantations threaten its survival. Other noticeable species include two endemics, the Natal banana frog ( Afrixalus spinifrons , VU) and the Pickersgill's reed frog ( Hyperolius pickersgilli , EN), and the recently described soprano or whistling frog ( Breviceps sopranos ), which utters a long, high-pitched whistle.