African Biodiversity: Molecules, Organisms, Ecosystems

✍ Scribed by Bernhard A. Huber, Bradley J. Sinclair, Karl-Heinz Lampe (auth.)

• Publisher: Springer US
• Year: 2005
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 443
• Edition: 1
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

In May 2004, the Alexander Koenig Zoological Research Museum hosted the Fifth International Symposium on Tropical Biology. This series was established at the ZFMK in the early 1980s, and has variably focused on systematics and ecology of tropical organisms, with an emphasis on Africa. Previous volumes are those edited by Schuchmann (1985), Peters and Hutterer (1990), Ulrich (1997), and Rheinwald (2000). The symposium in 2004 was organized by the Entomology Department under the direction of Michael Schmitt. The intention was to focus on Africa rather than on a particular taxon, and to highlight biodiversity at all levels ranging from molecules to ecosystems. This focus was timely partly because of the currently running BIOTA Africa programmes (BIOdiversity Monitoring Transect Analysis in Africa). BIOTA is an interdisciplinary research project focusing on sustainable use and conservation of biodiversity in Africa (http://www.biote-africa.de). Session titles were Biogeography and Speciation Processes, Phylogenetic Patterns and Systematics, Diversity Declines and Conservation, and Applied Biodiversity Informatics. Each session was opened by an invited speaker, and all together 77 lectures and 59 posters were presented. There were over 200 participants and it was gratifying to us to meet colleagues from 26 nations, including Russia, Ukraine, Japan, USA, and ten African countries. We thank all participants for their valuable contributions.

✦ Table of Contents

Complementarity of Species Distributions as a Tool for Prioritising Conservation Actions in Africa: Testing the Efficiency of Using Coarse-Scale Distribution Data....Pages 1-24
Scorpion Diversity and Distribution in Southern Africa: Pattern and Process....Pages 25-68
Madagascar as a Model Region for the Study of Tempo and Pattern in Adaptive Radiations....Pages 69-84
Commemorating Martin Eisentraut (1902–1994) - Important Explorer of Tropical African Vertebrates....Pages 85-98
Earwigs (Dermaptera: Insects) of Kenya - Checklist and Species New to Kenya....Pages 99-107
Morphometric Differentiation in the East African Grasshopper Genus Afrophlaeoba JAGO, 1983 (Orthoptera: Acrididae)....Pages 109-118
Katydids and Crickets (Orthoptera: Ensifera) of the Kakamega Forest Reserve, Western Kenya....Pages 119-124
Ecology and Diversity of Canopy Associated Ceratocanthidae (Insecta: Coleoptera, Scarabaeoidea) in An Afrotropical Rainforest....Pages 125-132
Human Influence on the Dung Fauna in Afrotropical Grasslands (Insecta: Coleoptera)....Pages 133-139
Genuine Africans or Tertiary Immigrants? — The Genus Hydropsyche in the Afrotropical Region (Insecta, Trichoptera: Hydropsychidae)....Pages 141-150
Fruit-Feeding Butterfly Communities of Forest ‘Islands’ in Ghana: Survey Completeness and Correlates of Spatial Diversity....Pages 151-158
Biogeography, Diversity and Ecology of Sawflies in the Afromontane Region (Insecta: Symphyta)....Pages 159-166
Diversity, Distribution Patterns and Endemism of Southern African Bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea)....Pages 167-172
Does Grazing Influence Bee Diversity?....Pages 173-179
The Pholcid Spiders of Africa (Araneae: Pholcidae): State of Knowledge and Directions for Future Research....Pages 181-186
West African Fish Diversity — Distribution Patterns and Possible Conclusions for Conservation Strategies....Pages 187-195
Distribution and Population Density of the Black-Eared Malagasy Poison Frog, mantella Milotympanum Staniszewski, 1996 (Amphibia: Mantellidae)....Pages 197-204
Amphibian and Reptile Diversity in the Southern Udzungwa Scarp Forest Reserve, South-Eastern Tanzania....Pages 205-212
Interpreting Morphological and Molecular Data on Indian Ocean Giant Tortoises....Pages 213-219
Molecular Systematics of African Colubroidea (Squamata: Serpentes)....Pages 221-228
Phylogeny and Biogeography of Malagasy Dwarf Geckos, Lygodactylus Gray, 1864: Preliminary Data from Mitochondrial DNA Sequences (Squamata: Gekkonidae)....Pages 229-235
Variability in a Common Species: The Lygodactylus Capensis Complex from Southern and Eastern Africa (Reptilia, Gekkonidae)....Pages 237-244
Migration Within and Out of Africa: Identifying Knowledge Gaps by Datamining the Global Register of Migratory Species....Pages 245-252
Avifaunal Responses to Landscape-Scale Habitat Fragmentation in the Littoral Forests of South-Eastern Madagascar....Pages 253-260
Use of Satellite Telemetry and Remote Sensing Data to Identify Important Habitats of Migratory Birds ( Ciconia Ciconia (Linnaeus 1758))....Pages 261-269
Conservation Priorities and Geographical Variation in Flycatchers (Aves: Platysteiridae) in the Democratic Republic of Congo....Pages 271-277
Rare Weavers (Aves: Ploceidae): Are Some Ploceus Species Hybrids?....Pages 279-286
Historical Determinants of Mammal Diversity in Africa: Evolution of Mammalian Body Mass Distribution in Africa and South America During Neogene and Quarternary Times....Pages 287-295
Diversity and Abundance of Diurnal Primates and Forest Antelopes in Relation to Habitat Quality: A Case Study from the Udzungwa Mountains of Tanzania....Pages 297-304
Small Mammal Diversity and Reproduction Along a Transect in Namibia (Biota S 07)....Pages 305-313
Possible Karyological Affinities of Small Mammals from North of the Ethiopian Plateau....Pages 315-319
Geographic Variation in the West African Scaly-Tailed Squirrel anomalurus Pelii (Schlegel and Müller, 1845) and Description of a New Subspecies (Rodentia: Anomaluridae)....Pages 321-328
Middle Ear Ossicles as a Diagnostic Trait in African Mole-Rats (Rodentia: Bathyergidae)....Pages 329-337
Community Analysis of Muridae (Mammalia, Rodentia) Diversity in Guinea: A Special Emphasis on Mastomys Species and Lassa Fever Distributions....Pages 339-350
Effects of Different Land Use on the Parasite Burden and MHC Constitution Of two Rodent Species ( Gerbillurus Paeba, Rhabdomys Pumilio ) in the Southern Kalahari Desert....Pages 351-361
An Assessment of the Systematics of the Genus Desmomys Thomas, 1910 (Rodentia: Muridae) Using Mitochondrial DNA Sequences....Pages 363-369
Integrative Taxonomy and Phylogenetic Systematics of the Genets (Carnivora, Viverridae, Genetta ): A New Classification of the Most Speciose Carnivoran Genus in Africa....Pages 371-383
How to Digitize Large Insect Collections — Preliminary Results of the DIG Project....Pages 385-393
Monitoring Landcover Changes of the Niger Inland Delta Ecosystem (Mali) by Means of Envisat-Meris Data....Pages 395-404
Is Geodiversity Correlated to Biodiversity? A Case Study of the Relationship Between Spatial Heterogeneity of Soil Resources and Tree Diversity in a Western Kenyan Rainforest....Pages 405-414
Decline of Woody Species in the Sahel....Pages 415-421
Diversity Over Time and Space in Enset Landraces ( Ensete Ventricosum ) in Ethiopia....Pages 423-438

✦ Subjects

Biodiversity; Biomedicine general; Terrestial Ecology; Evolutionary Biology; Animal Systematics/Taxonomy/Biogeography