Itambo Malombe

The journal publishes in the field of natural history relevant to the eastern African region, particularly the conservation of its biological diversity.

The genus Nymphaea L. (water lily) is the most diverse genus in the family Nymphaeaceae, with more than 50 species worldwide, including 11 species distributed in Africa. The complex and variable morphology of Nymphaea makes it extremely difficult to accurately identify species based on morphological characteristics alone. DNA barcoding has the potential to identify species accurately. In this study, 158 Nymphaea populations from seven African countries were collected for species identification by ITS, trnT-trnF and rpl16. Additionally, the three candidate DNA barcodes were evaluated for genetic distance and barcoding gap. Based on the comprehensive analysis of sequence similarity, genetic distance method and phylogenetic tree, a total of 137 populations of seven Nymphaea species from African were well-identified, including N. lotus, N. petersiana, N. zenkeri, N. nouchali var. caerulea, N. micrantha and N. guineensis. ITS has more obvious advantages over trnT-trnF, rpl16 and trnT-trnF+rpl16 in the intraspecific and interspecific variation differences and barcoding gap and can identify most species. trnT-trnF and rpl16 can identify some species that cannot be identified by ITS. The results showed that it is more appropriate to apply the combination of ITS and trnT-trnF (or rpl16) as the DNA barcoding of Nymphaea. Additionally, this study further enriches the DNA barcoding database of Nymphaea and provides a reference basis for studying taxonomy, phylogenetics and evolutionary origin of Nymphaea.

SWEA-Dataveg is a vegetation-plot database collecting observations mainly in sub-Saharan Africa but also open to the rest of the African continent. To date this database contains more than 5,500 plot observations provided by 47 sources (projects, monographs, and articles). While the database is stored in PostgreSQL (including the PostGIS extension), the R-package “vegtable” implements a suitable exchange format. In this article we assess the current content of SWEA-Database and introduce its history and future as a repository of data for syntaxonomic assessments and macroecological research.

We investigated forest edge effects on the composition, abundance and species richness of epiphyllous (leaf-inhabiting) bryophytes in tropical cloud-forest fragments in the Taita Hills (Eastern Arc Mountains, Kenya). Six sample plots each of 0.04 ha (20 × 20 m) were established along a disturbance gradient extending in 200 m from the forest edge at three sites. Four leaves were collected from each phorophyte species and the diversity of epiphyllous bryophytes examined. Relative humidity and temperature readings were recorded using time-calibrated data loggers and a digital hygrometer. The epiphyllous species composition among localities and forest-edge distance classes were analysed using multivariate procedures. Overall, 1387 leaves distributed across 489 phorophytes were studied, and 95 species of bryophyte epiphylls were found in the 18 0.04-ha plots selected. The richness and distribution of epiphyllous bryophyte species did not change with the forest-edge distance, but rather depended on phorophyte species composition and (micro-) environmental variables such as sunlight exposure and spatial and dimensional canopy structure. The differences in epiphyll diversity among forest fragments were thus influenced by site-specific characteristics. Our findings suggest that management policies addressed to preserve ancient uncut stands that exhibit as much original phorophyte diversity as possible, need to be urgently achieved to protect epiphyll communities in African tropical cloud forests.