Filling the gap: Noteworthy herpetological discoveries in North West Province, South Africa
Citation
Tolley K, Telford N, Makhubo B, Power J, Alexander G (2022). Filling the gap: Noteworthy herpetological discoveries in North West Province, South Africa. Version 1.3. South African National Biodiversity Institute. Occurrence dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/v9y9p5 accessed via GBIF.org on 2024-08-30.Description
The North West Province, South Africa, is centrally situated in southern Africa and is characterised by savannah with a mesic, temperate climate in the east and a hot, arid climate in the west. While the eastern region is fairly well-documented for herpetofauna, the arid central and western regions are poorly surveyed. Given that the Province has been targeted by the national government for development of infrastructure, the overall deficiency of biodiversity data could result in impact assessments that are not well-informed. We, therefore, carried out herpetofaunal surveys over two years (2019–2020) in the North West Province to improve knowledge on the distributions of reptiles and amphibians. Our surveys added a total of 578 new records to an earlier baseline of 1340 records. In addition, over 300 records were added to a citizen-science platform in connection with our surveys. As compared to the previous 100 years, our surveys increased the herpetofaunal dataset by 68% in just two years, increased geographic coverage by 20% and brought the total number of species with accurate records for the Province to 102 reptiles and 23 amphibians. We also recorded range extensions for five reptile species and confirmed the presence of Dendroaspis polylepis (Black Mamba) in the west where it had been last recorded in 1996. Our surveys resulted in a significant increase in biodiversity data for the Province and provided a better foundation for spatial planning that accounts for biodiversity and the maintenance of ecological function.Purpose
The North West province has been targeted by the national government for development of infrastructure. The overall deficiency of biodiversity data could result in impact assessments that are not well-informed. Herpetofaunal surveys were done over two years (2019–2020) in the North West Province to improve knowledge on the distributions of reptiles and amphibians.Sampling Description
Study Extent
North West ProvinceSampling
Occurrence records from databases that were available on commonly accessed public databases prior to surveys were used.Quality Control
Dataset was updated for outdated taxonomy and checked for geographic coordinate errors as compared to locality descriptionsMethod steps
- As of 31 December 2018, species distribution maps were downloaded from the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (https://www.iucnredlist.org/) and the South African Species Status website (http://speciesstatus.sanbi. org/). Species richness maps in QGIS v.3.2 were created by using the counts of species per grid cell and by using a color gradient.
Taxonomic Coverages
Geographic Coverages
North West Province
Bibliographic Citations
Contacts
Krystal Tolleyoriginator
position: Researcher
South African National Botanical Institute
Private Bag X7 Claremont
Cape Town
7708
Western Cape
ZA
Telephone: 021 799 8658
email: k.tolley@sanbi.org.za
userId: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7778-1963
Nicolas Telford
originator
position: Laboratory Manager Molecular Laboratory
South African National Botanical Institute
Private Bag X7 Claremont
Cape Town
7708
Western Cape
ZA
Telephone: 021 799 8656
email: N.Telford@sanbi.org.za
userId: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0607-7335
Buyisile Makhubo
originator
School of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal
Private Bag X54001
Durban
3629
KwaZulu-Natal
userId: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1184-5362
John Power
originator
Biodiversity Management, Department of Economic Development, Environment, Conservation and Tourism, North West Provincial Government
Mmabatho
2790
North West
ZA
userId: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0684-4007
Graham Alexander
originator
School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand
P.O. Wits, 2050
Joahnnesburg
2001
Gauteng
ZA
email: graham.alexander@wits.ac.za
userId: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3991-4099
Krystal Tolley
metadata author
position: Researcher
South African National Biodiversity Institute
Private Bag X 7
Cape Town
7708
Western Cape
ZA
email: k.tolley@sanbi.org.za
userId: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7778-1963
Krystal Tolley
administrative point of contact
position: Researcher
South African National Botanical Institute
Private Bag X7 Claremont
Cape Town
7708
Western Cape
ZA
Telephone: 021 799 8658
email: k.tolley@sanbi.org.za
userId: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7778-1963
Nicolas Telford
administrative point of contact
position: Laboratory Manager Molecular Laboratory
South African National Botanical Institute
Private Bag X7 Claremont
Cape Town
7708
Western Cape
ZA
Telephone: 021 799 8656
email: N.Telford@sanbi.org.za
userId: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0607-7335
Buyisile Makhubo
administrative point of contact
School of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal
Private Bag X54001
Durban
3629
KwaZulu-Natal
ZA
userId: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1184-5362
John Power
administrative point of contact
Biodiversity Management, Department of Economic Development, Environment, Conservation and Tourism, North West Provincial Government
Mmabatho
2790
North West
ZA
userId: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0684-4007
Graham Alexander
administrative point of contact
School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand
P.O. Wits, 2050
Johannesburg
2001
Gauteng
ZA
email: graham.alexander@wits.ac.za
userId: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3991-4099