The Cape Peninsula, South Africa: physiographical, biological and historical background to an extraordinary hot-spot of biodiversity

Cowling, Richard M.; Macdonald, I. A. W.; Simmons, Mark T.

doi:10.1007/bf00137608

Cited by 181 publications

(124 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…The area is characterised by a Mediterranean-type climate with cool, wet winters and hot dry summers (Cowling et al 1996;Goldblatt & Manning 2002), has an average rainfall of 265 mm and is dominated by strandveld vegetation (West Coast National Park 2006).…”

Section: Methods Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The Cape Floristic Region (CFR), the smallest of the six recognised floral kingdoms of the world, is an area of extraordinarily high diversity and endemism (Cowling et al 1996), and is home to more than 9 000 vascular plant species, of which 69% are endemic (Goldblatt & Manning 2002). Much of this diversity is associated with the fynbos biome (Turpie et al 2003), a Mediterranean-type, fire-prone shrubland (Turpie et al 2003;Van Wilgen et al 2001).…”

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confidence: 99%

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The alien invasive land snail <i>Theba pisana </i>in the West Coast National Park: Is there cause for concern?

Odendaal

Haupt

Griffiths

2008

Koedoe

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The distribution, abundance, size distribution and diurnal activity patterns of invasive land snails, Theba pisana, in the West Coast National Park (WCNP), South Africa, were investigated. The park was divided into 1 km 2 grids, within each of which five 1 m 2 quadrat counts of live snails were recorded. Of 106 grids sampled, 19% contained live snails. The average density of snails was 4.04 m -2 ± 24.9, significantly lower than in disturbed habitats adjacent to the park (57 m -2 ± 96.25), but very high densities were recorded at two sites. Snails were most abundant along roadsides and densities decreased dramatically with distance from roads. T. pisana in the WCNP appear to have an annual lifecycle, breeding in autumn to winter and growing to adult size of about 14 mm diameter by the end of the following summer. Snails were observed on a wide variety of endemic and introduced plant species and appeared to have a catholic diet. They are active mostly at night and especially during periods of high humidity, irrespective of temperature. Given the very high densities that T. pisana can attain at some sites, plus their apparently catholic feeding habits, their potential impact on the vegetation of the park is cause for concern and should be further investigated. Control of the main colonies should also be considered.

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Section: Methods Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The alien invasive land snail <i>Theba pisana </i>in the West Coast National Park: Is there cause for concern?

Odendaal

Haupt

Griffiths

2008

Koedoe

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“…Most forest vegetation has remained fire free (Table 1), but where fires do occur, they appear to be getting more frequent (although not as frequent as in fynbos). The vegetation mapped as forest by Cowling et al (1996) included areas of scrub thicket with a potential to develop into forest. These authors recognised that prolonged ('centuries-long') fire-free periods would be needed to allow forests to develop on these sites.…”

Section: Ecological Effects Of Fire In Non-fynbos Vegetationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It obtained World Heritage Site status in line with its global importance as a hotspot of biodiversity for higher plants and invertebrates (Cowling, Macdonald & Simmons 1996). The dominant vegetation of the area is fynbos, a Mediterranean-climate shrubland that is both fire prone and fire adapted (Van Wilgen, Bond & Richardson 1992, Van Wilgen, Richardson, Kruger & Van Hensbergen 1992.…”

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confidence: 99%

“…Finally, well-developed Afromontane forests covering ~1 000 ha occur in sheltered areas; these tend to be fire free (Van Wilgen et al 1990), although forest margins are scorched by fire from time to time. Further details of the area are provided by Cowling et al (1996). The fire regime of the area is characterised by dry-season (summer) fires at intervals of between 10 and 20 years (Bond 1997) …”

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confidence: 99%

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The recent fire history of the Table Mountain National Park and implications for fire management

Forsyth

Wilgen

2008

Koedoe

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This paper provides an assessment of fire regimes in the Table Mountain National Park over the past four decades. We compiled a GIS database of all fires between 1970 and 2007 and analysed the fire regime in terms of the frequency, season and size of fires and the relationship between fire occurrence and fire weather. Most fires (90.5% of area burnt) occurred in summer and autumn, the ecologically acceptable season for fires. However, mean fire return intervals declined by 18.1 years, from 31.6 to 13.5 years, between the first and last decades of the record respectively. The area subjected to short (≤ six years) intervals between fires covered > 16% of the park in the last two decades of the record, compared to ~ 4% in the first two decades. A relatively small number of large fires dominated in terms of area burnt. Of the 373 fires recorded, 40 fires > 300 ha burnt 75% of the area, while 216 fires < 25 ha burnt 3.4% of the area. Fires occurred under a wide range of weather conditions, but large fires were restricted to periods of high fire danger. Prescribed burning was a relatively unimportant cause of fires, and most (> 85%) of the area burnt in wildfires. Areas subjected to short fire return intervals should be considered for management interventions. These could include the re-establishment of extirpated fire-sensitive species, the clearing of invasive alien plants and increased precautions for the prevention or rapid suppression of future accidental fires.

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The effects of extreme seasonality of climate and day length on the activity budget and diet of semi‐commensal chacma baboons (Papio ursinus) in the Cape Peninsula of South Africa

Doorn

O’Riain

Swedell

2009

American J Primatol

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We examined the effects of extreme seasonality on the activity budget and diet of wild chacma baboons with access to a high-quality, human-derived food source. The Cape Peninsula of South Africa is unusual among nonhuman primate habitats due to its seasonal extremes in day length and climate. Winter days are markedly shorter and colder than summer days but have higher rainfall and higher primary production of annually flowering plants. This combination of fewer daylight hours but higher rainfall is substantially different from the ecological constraints faced by both equatorial baboon populations and those living in temperate climates with summer rainfall. We sought to understand how these seasonal differences affect time budgets of food-enhanced troops in comparison to both other food-enhanced troops and wild foraging troops at similar latitudes. Our results revealed significant seasonal differences in activity budget and diet, a finding that contrasts with other baboon populations with access to high-return anthropogenic foods. Similar to nonprovisioned troops at similar latitudes, troop members spent more time feeding, socializing, and traveling during the long summer days compared to the short winter days, and proportionately more time feeding and less time resting in summer compared to winter. Summer diets consisted mainly of fynbos and nonindigenous foods, whereas winter diets were dominated by annually flowering plants (mainly grasses) and ostrich pellets raided from a nearby ostrich farm. In this case, food enhancement may have effectively exaggerated seasonal differences in activity budgets by providing access to a high-return food (ostrich pellets) that was spatially and temporally coincident with abundant winter fallback foods (grasses). The frequent use of both alien vegetation and high-return, human-derived foods highlights the dietary flexibility of baboons as a key element of their overall success in rapidly transforming environments such as the South African Cape Peninsula.

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The Cape Peninsula, South Africa: physiographical, biological and historical background to an extraordinary hot-spot of biodiversity

Cited by 181 publications

References 30 publications

The alien invasive land snail <i>Theba pisana </i>in the West Coast National Park: Is there cause for concern?

The alien invasive land snail <i>Theba pisana </i>in the West Coast National Park: Is there cause for concern?

The recent fire history of the Table Mountain National Park and implications for fire management

The effects of extreme seasonality of climate and day length on the activity budget and diet of semi‐commensal chacma baboons (Papio ursinus) in the Cape Peninsula of South Africa

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