01197nas a2200133   4500008004100000245004500041210004500086300001200131490000600143520078200149100001800931700002000949856009400969       1997                        eng d00aBiodiversity and environmental stability0 aBiodiversity and environmental stability  a315-3230 v63 aAlthough levels of biological diversity may seem to be equivalent in different areas, diversity is created and maintained by a range of different processes: overlap of habitat on gradients; a dynamic mosaic of communities; and accumulation and evolution of taxa in extremely stable areas. These different communities will respond in very different ways to disturbance. The most fragile are those whose component taxa are genetically adapted to the stability of a predictable environment. These areas are often under pressure from local rural populations and require intensive local conservation management actions. In other areas, where diversity is adapted to dynamism, communities are more resilient to disturbance and conservation can be best effected by policy instruments.1 aFjeldså, Jon1 aLovett, Jon, C.  ufile://localhost/Users/breda/Desktop/Literature/F/Fjeldsa%CC%8A%20&%20Lovett%201997-2.pdf02216nas a2200133   4500008004100000245014300041210006900184300001200253490000600265520167900271100001801950700002001968856009401988       1997                        eng d00aGeographical patterns of old and young species in African forest biota: The significance of specific montane areas as evolutionary centres0 aGeographical patterns of old and young species in African forest  a325-3460 v63 aA widely accepted paradigm for speciation in tropical forests, the refuge theory, requires periodic habitat fragmentation driven by global climatic fluctuations to provide conditions for allopatric speciation. This implies that comparative species richness in refugia is due to loss of diverse communities in areas affected by climatic cycles. In this study we compare distribution patterns of bird and plant taxa which we consider to be of either deep phylogenetic lineages or recent radiations. It is demonstrated that lowland areas which have been postulated as Pleistocene refugia are dominated by species which represent lineages of pre-Pleistocene age. Since variations in species richness within these forest tracts reflect currently apparent environmental variables which might be considered to determine carrying capacity, we do not need to postulate that richness is the result of changes in forest cover in the past. Recently diversified taxa of plants and birds are found mainly at the periphery of the main rain forest blocks and in habitat islands outside them. Here, peak concentrations of young restricted-range species are often congruent with clusters of old and biogeographically relictual species. It is suggested that this reflects special intrinsic environmental properties of these areas, in the form of long-term environmental stability caused mainly by persistent orographic rain or mist. In this case, richness is not necessarily due to extinction outside these areas. Stability not only enables survival of relictual taxa, but also promotes morphological differentiation of radiating taxa, leading to aggregates of taxa of restricted distribution.1 aFjeldså, Jon1 aLovett, Jon, C.  ufile://localhost/Users/breda/Desktop/Literature/F/Fjeldsa%CC%8A%20&%20Lovett%201997-1.pdf02320nas a2200181   4500008004100000245011400041210006900155260001300224300001400237490000700251520171100258653002001969100002001989700002102009700001702030700001802047856007302065       2001                        eng d00aThe biogeography of the Anura of sub-equatorial Africa and the prioritisation of areas for their conservation0 abiogeography of the Anura of subequatorial Africa and the priori  cDecember  a2045-20760 v103 aThere is an increasing need for protected areas to conserve biodiversity efficiently. The Anura of sub-equatorial Africa have received little attention, but we quantitatively analyse a database containing presence-only data for anurans of sub-equatorial Africa to determine patterns of distribution and species richness, and discuss the roles of present and past environmental conditions in shaping these patterns. We consider the distribution of areas rich in endemic, range-restricted and Red Data Book (RDB) species to identify areas of significance to conservation. The Eastern Highlands of Zimbabwe and adjacent area in Mozambique, southeastern Malawi and the northern coast of KwaZulu/Natal are particularly species rich, whereas the southwestern Cape of South Africa and northwestern Zambia exhibit high degrees of endemism. Four major biogeographical sub-regions are identified, which can be further subdivided into provinces. All statistically significant, current environmental factors together account for 52.6% of species richness. Annual maximum rainfall, soil type variation, minimum temperature and range of elevation were all positively correlated with species richness. Thus, both habitat influences and history appear to have influenced patterns of anuran richness in the region. Generally, areas of high species richness coincide with those high in range-restricted, endemic and RDB species. In South Africa, the northeastern coast and southwestern Cape are hypothesised to have been both refugia and centres of speciation. Results suggest that the current reserve system in sub-equatorial Africa is inadequate for the conservation of the full complement of anuran species in the region.10aPhrynobatrachus1 aSeymour, C., L.1 ade Klerk, H., M.1 aChanning, A.1 aCrowe, T., M.  ufile://localhost/Users/breda/Desktop/Literature/S/Seymour%202001.pdf