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http://hdl.handle.net/1834/709
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| Title: | State of Biodiversity: Western Cape Province, South Africa. Amphibians and Reptiles |
| Authors: | Baard, E.H.W
de Villiers, A.L. |
| ASFA Terms: | Biodiversity
Aquatic reptiles
Amphibian culture |
| Issue Date: | 2000 |
| Citation: | Western Cape State of Biodiversity 2000 |
| Abstract: | The six floristic biomes in the Western Cape Province
(W.C.P.), namely the Fynbos, Afromontane Forest,
Thicket, Grassland, Nama and Succulent Karoo Biomes
(Low and Rebelo, 1996), are not only diverse with regard
to the variety of plant species and communities occurring
there, but also contain a wide diversity of animal species,
biogeographical zones, landscapes and natural features,
both within the terrestrial and aquatic (freshwater and
marine) context. In addition to the topographical diversity
of the Cape Fold Mountains, the coastal zone and
lowlands, and their transition into surrounding habitats,
the W.C.P. experiences a wide climatic diversity too.
These features have resulted in an extensive and complex
diversity of habitat types which partly explain the rich
biological diversity within the W.C.P. Past climatic
changes on a global scale have also influenced ecological
systems and processes within the W.C.P. to the extent
where it is believed that vicariant speciation processes and
events during global climatic changes have resulted in
evolutionary driving forces that have had significant
impacts on the biodiversity within the biogeographical boundaries of the W.C.P. (Vrba, 1985). |
| URI: | http://hdl.handle.net/1834/709 |
| Appears in Collections: | Miscellaneous
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