Threats to reptiles at global and regional scales.

Reptiles are an important, yet often understudied, taxon in nature conservation. They play a significant role in ecosystems1 and can serve as indicators of environmental health, often responding more rapidly to human pressures than other vertebrate groups.2 At least 21% of reptiles are currently assessed as threatened with extinction by the IUCN.3 However, due to the lack of comprehensive global assessments until recently, they have been omitted from spatial studies addressing conservation or spatial prioritization (e.g., Rosauer et al.,4,5,6,7,8 Fritz and Rahbek,4,5,6,7,8 Farooq et al.,4,5,6,7,8 Meyer et al., 4,5,6,7,8 and Farooq et al.4,5,6,7,8). One important knowledge gap in conservation is the lack of spatially explicit information on the main threats to biodiversity,9 which significantly hampers our ability to respond effectively to the current biodiversity crisis.10,11 In this study, we calculate the probability of a reptile species in a specific location being affected by one of seven biodiversity threats-agriculture, climate change, hunting, invasive species, logging, pollution, and urbanization. We conducted the analysis at a global scale, using a 50 km × 50 km grid, and evaluated the impact of these threats by studying their relationship with the risk of extinction. We find that climate change, logging, pollution, and invasive species are most linked to extinction risk. However, we also show that there is considerable geographical variation in these results. Our study highlights the importance of going beyond measuring the intensity of threats to measuring the impact of these separately for various biogeographical regions of the world, with different historical contingencies, as opposed to a single global analysis treating all regions the same.

A biogeographical appraisal of the threatened South East Africa Montane Archipelago ecoregion.

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.

The tourism industry keeps beaches clean in Mozambique.

In this study, we conducted the first assessment of the litter abundance, diversity and predictors in Mozambique, by collecting approximately 2 tons of litter along six beaches across the country. We tested whether population, touristic industry, fishing, and recreation activities predict the quantity of macro litter for each of the 11 types and 141 subtypes of litter. Overall, we found that plastics made up 60.1 % of the items across all sampled beaches. Following plastics, clothing objects accounted for the second most weight (20.4 %) while foam objects were the second most abundant (15.7 %). More importantly, our results show that the tourism industry is a strong predictor for lower levels of litter across most types of litter while population density and fishing activity were strong predictors for higher levels. Our findings suggest that the tourism industry plays a crucial role in the country by maintaining the beaches clean.

Rediscovery of the lost skink Proscelotes aenea and implications for conservation.

Biodiversity loss is recognized as a grand challenge of the twenty-first century but ascertaining when a species is "lost" can be incredibly difficult-since the absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. This may be a relatively easy task for large and conspicuous animals, but extremely difficult for those living hidden lives or at low population sizes. We showcase this challenge by focusing on Africa's montane skink, Proscelotes aenea (Barbour & Loveridge 1928). In this study, we embarked on a year-long intensive survey to find this fossorial species in Lumbo, Northern Mozambique, the only remaining location where it may still occur but was recorded for the last time over 100 years ago. We located the species already after 20 days of intensive and targeted searching by five members of our team. The finding allowed us to describe, for the first time, details on the biology and ecology of the species, alongside photos and videos of live specimens (including a pregnant female), and to sequence DNA from the species, which we used to infer the phylogenetic placement. Our combined 12S and 16S phylogenetic analysis weakly suggest that the genus Proscelotes may not be monophyletic and therefore requires further phylogenetic work and potentially taxonomic revision. We also gathered evidence of a possible decrease in population abundance and, based on the species' ecology, we identified urbanization as a potential key threat, which could lead to the local or global extirpation of the species. We call for urgent conservation actions that help protect the future of the montane skink, and additional surveys to map its full distribution. As countries now work towards implementing the goals and targets of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, our study demonstrates the need for proper investments in biodiversity inventories and monitoring in order to halt species extinctions by 2030.

Madagascar's extraordinary biodiversity: Evolution, distribution, and use.

Madagascar's biota is hyperdiverse and includes exceptional levels of endemicity. We review the current state of knowledge on Madagascar's past and current terrestrial and freshwater biodiversity by compiling and presenting comprehensive data on species diversity, endemism, and rates of species description and human uses, in addition to presenting an updated and simplified map of vegetation types. We report a substantial increase of records and species new to science in recent years; however, the diversity and evolution of many groups remain practically unknown (e.g., fungi and most invertebrates). Digitization efforts are increasing the resolution of species richness patterns and we highlight the crucial role of field- and collections-based research for advancing biodiversity knowledge and identifying gaps in our understanding, particularly as species richness corresponds closely to collection effort. Phylogenetic diversity patterns mirror that of species richness and endemism in most of the analyzed groups. We highlight humid forests as centers of diversity and endemism because of their role as refugia and centers of recent and rapid radiations. However, the distinct endemism of other areas, such as the grassland-woodland mosaic of the Central Highlands and the spiny forest of the southwest, is also biologically important despite lower species richness. The documented uses of Malagasy biodiversity are manifold, with much potential for the uncovering of new useful traits for food, medicine, and climate mitigation. The data presented here showcase Madagascar as a unique "living laboratory" for our understanding of evolution and the complex interactions between people and nature. The gathering and analysis of biodiversity data must continue and accelerate if we are to fully understand and safeguard this unique subset of Earth's biodiversity.

Madagascar's extraordinary biodiversity: Threats and opportunities.

Madagascar's unique biota is heavily affected by human activity and is under intense threat. Here, we review the current state of knowledge on the conservation status of Madagascar's terrestrial and freshwater biodiversity by presenting data and analyses on documented and predicted species-level conservation statuses, the most prevalent and relevant threats, ex situ collections and programs, and the coverage and comprehensiveness of protected areas. The existing terrestrial protected area network in Madagascar covers 10.4% of its land area and includes at least part of the range of the majority of described native species of vertebrates with known distributions (97.1% of freshwater fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals combined) and plants (67.7%). The overall figures are higher for threatened species (97.7% of threatened vertebrates and 79.6% of threatened plants occurring within at least one protected area). International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List assessments and Bayesian neural network analyses for plants identify overexploitation of biological resources and unsustainable agriculture as the most prominent threats to biodiversity. We highlight five opportunities for action at multiple levels to ensure that conservation and ecological restoration objectives, programs, and activities take account of complex underlying and interacting factors and produce tangible benefits for the biodiversity and people of Madagascar.

Snakebite incidence in rural sub-Saharan Africa might be severely underestimated.

Snakebites in sub-Saharan Africa account for 20,000 to 32,000 annual deaths. But since most data is retrieved from hospital or incomplete central databases, and many victims do not seek hospital treatment or prefer traditional remedies, the current numbers are likely underestimated. In order to reduce snakebite incidence by 50% by 2030 as targeted by World Health Organization, it is crucial to accurately quantify and understand the current rates of snakebite incidence, which can only be reliably measured through household surveys. In this study, we interviewed 1037 households in nine communities in Cabo Delgado, northern Mozambique. Our aim was to quantify true snakebite incidence and under-reporting, by comparing the total number of snakebites reported to our team during household surveys with the subset of reports that reached health centers. We additionally quantified snakebite incidence in terms of species, location of the attack, type of treatment, season, and gender of the victims. These data allow us to propose conservative extrapolations of snakebite incidence and mortality for the province of Cabo Delgado and for Mozambique. Of all snakebites reported in the surveys (N = 296), most incidents were treated exclusively by traditional doctors (N = 174; 59%) and 25% were not seen by any doctor. Most bites occurred on farms and during the rainy season. Using a conservative estimation where we assume our results to be extrapolatable for the whole of rural Mozambique, but considering snakebites in urban areas to be inexistent, we propose that in Cabo Delgado, every year at least 6124 people are victims of snakebites, of which at least 791 result in deaths. In Mozambique, we extrapolated that every year at least 69,261 people are victims of snakebite, of which at least 8950 result in death (one in eight snakebites is fatal). Our estimates are the first for Mozambique based on data retrieved in the country, and despite being an underestimation they increase snakebite incidence levels ten-fold and the number of deaths by 30-fold. Urgent and widespread surveys are needed to further assess the full extent of snakebites in sub-Saharan Africa, explore regional patterns and develop mitigation plans.

Species perceived to be dangerous are more likely to have distinctive local names.

BACKGROUND: Species with direct uses, such as sources of food, shelter, building material and medicine tend to have more specific local names. But could the same apply for species that people fear? METHODS: To address this question, here we explore the behavior and perception of species diversity and dangerousness through a survey of 1037 households in nine villages in Cabo Delgado, northern Mozambique. We compare people's knowledge of snakes with that of lizards and amphibians. RESULTS: We find that northern Mozambicans know four to five times more local names for snakes than for lizards and frogs, despite the local species richness of snakes being comparable to the diversity of lizards and frogs. We further find that local knowledge was on par with the academic literature regarding snakebite symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that fear can increase the level of specificity in naming species among indigenous communities, which could lead to biases in the mapping and protection of species that include data from citizen reports.

Mapping Africa's Biodiversity: More of the Same Is Just Not Good Enough.

Species distribution data are fundamental to the understanding of biodiversity patterns and processes. Yet, such data are strongly affected by sampling biases, mostly related to site accessibility. The understanding of these biases is therefore crucial in systematics, biogeography, and conservation. Here we present a novel approach for quantifying sampling effort and its impact on biodiversity knowledge, focusing on Africa. In contrast to previous studies assessing sampling completeness (percentage of species recorded in relation to predicted), we investigate whether the lack of knowledge of a site attracts scientists to visit these areas and collect samples of species. We then estimate the time required to sample 90% of the continent under a Weibull distributed biodiversity sampling rate and the number of sampling events required to record $ \ge $50% of the species. Using linear and spatial regression models, we show that previous sampling has been strongly influencing the resampling of areas, attracting repeated visits. This bias has existed for over two centuries, has increased in recent decades, and is most pronounced among mammals. It may take between 172 and 274 years, depending on the group, to achieve at least one sampling event per grid cell in the entire continent. Just one visit will, however, not be enough: in order to record $ \ge $50% of the current diversity, it will require at least 12 sampling events for amphibians, 13 for mammals, and 27 for birds. Our results demonstrate the importance of sampling areas that lack primary biodiversity data and the urgency with which this needs to be done. Current practice is insufficient to adequately classify and map African biodiversity; it can lead to incorrect conclusions being drawn from biogeographic analyses and can result in misleading and self-reinforcing conservation priorities. [Amphibians; birds; mammals; sampling bias; sampling gaps; Wallacean shortfall.].

Endemism patterns are scale dependent.

Areas of endemism are important in biogeography because they capture facets of biodiversity not represented elsewhere. However, the scales at which they are relevant to research and conservation are poorly analysed. Here, we calculate weighted endemism (WE) and phylogenetic endemism (PE) separately for all birds and amphibians across the globe. We show that scale dependence is widespread for both indices and manifests across grain sizes, spatial extents and taxonomic treatments. Variations in taxonomic opinions-whether species are treated by systematic 'lumping' or 'splitting'-can profoundly affect the allocation of WE hotspots. Global patterns of PE can provide insights into complex evolutionary processes but this congruence is lost at the continental to country extents. These findings are explained by environmental heterogeneity at coarser grains, and to a far lesser extent at finer resolutions. Regardless of scale, we find widespread deficits of protection for endemism hotspots. Our study presents a framework for assessing areas for conservation that are robust to assumptions on taxonomy, spatial grain and extent.

The phylogenetic position and diversity of the enigmatic mongrel frog Nothophryne Poynton, 1963 (Amphibia, Anura).

The phylogenetic relationships of the African mongrel frog genus Nothophryne are poorly understood. We provide the first molecular assessment of the phylogenetic position of, and diversity within, this monotypic genus from across its range-the Afromontane regions of Malawi and Mozambique. Our analysis using a two-tiered phylogenetic approach allowed us to place the genus in Pyxicephalidae. Within the family, Nothophryne grouped with Tomopterna, a hypothesis judged significantly better than alternative hypotheses proposed based on morphology. Our analyses of populations across the range of Nothophryne suggest the presence of several cryptic species, at least one species per mountain. Formal recognition of these species is pending but there is a major conservation concern for these narrowly distributed populations in an area impacted by major habitat change. The phylogenetic tree of pyxicephalids is used to examine evolution of life history, ancestral habitat, and biogeography of this group.