Tanzania's reptile biodiversity: distribution, threats and climate change vulnerability

Meng, H.; Carr, J.; Branch, W. R.; Capitani, C.; Marchant, R.

dc.creator	Meng, H.
dc.creator	Carr, J.
dc.creator	Branch, W. R.
dc.creator	Capitani, C.
dc.creator	Marchant, R.
dc.date	2020-03-20T09:06:39Z
dc.date	2020-03-20T09:06:39Z
dc.date	2016
dc.date.accessioned	2022-10-20T13:09:14Z
dc.date.available	2022-10-20T13:09:14Z
dc.identifier	Meng, H., Carr, J., Beraducci, J., Bowles, P., Branch, W. R., Capitani, C., ... & Marchant, R. (2016). Tanzania's reptile biodiversity: distribution, threats and climate change vulnerability. Biological Conservation, 204, 72-82.
dc.identifier	http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12661/2268
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12661/2268
dc.description	Abstract. Full Text is available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2016.04.008
dc.description	Assessments of biodiversity patterns and threats among African reptiles have lagged behind those of other vertebrate groups and regions. We report the first systematic assessment of the distribution, threat status, and climate change vulnerability for the reptiles of Tanzania. A total of 321 reptile species (including 90 Tanzanian endemics) were assessed using the global standard IUCN Red List methodology and 274 species were also assessed using the IUCN guidelines for climate change vulnerability. Patterns of species richness and threat assessment confirm the conservation importance of the Eastern Arc Mountains, as previously demonstrated for birds, mammals and amphibians. Lowland forests and savannah-woodland habitats also support important reptile assemblages. Protected area gap analysis shows that 116 species have less than 20% of their distribution ranges protected, among which 12 are unprotected, eight species are threatened and 54 are vulnerable to climate change. Tanzania's northern margins and drier central corridor support high numbers of climate vulnerable reptile species, together with the eastern African coastal forests and the region between Lake Victoria and Rwanda. This paper fills a major gap in our understanding of the distribution and threats facing Tanzania's reptiles, and demonstrates more broadly that the explicit integration of climate change vulnerability in Red Listing criteria may revise spatial priorities for conservation.
dc.language	en
dc.publisher	Elsevier
dc.subject	Species richness
dc.subject	Red List
dc.subject	Traits
dc.subject	Protected areas
dc.subject	Endemism
dc.subject	Conservation priority
dc.subject	Biodiversity
dc.subject	Climate change
dc.subject	African reptiles
dc.subject	Reptiles
dc.subject	Reptile species
dc.subject	Vertebrates
dc.subject	Eastern Arc Mountains
dc.subject	Savannah-woodland
dc.subject	Forest habitation
dc.title	Tanzania's reptile biodiversity: distribution, threats and climate change vulnerability
dc.type	Article