dâures — biodiversity of the brandberg massif, namibia

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Blackwell Science LtdOxford, UKDDIDiversity and Distributions1366-9516Blackwell Science, 2000200184BibliodiversionsBibliodiversionsBibliodiversions

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DON’T FIDDLE WHILE ROME BURNS

Mack, A.L. & Alonso, L.E. (eds) (2001)

A biologicalassessment of the Wapoga River area of north-westernIrian Jaya, Indonesia

. RAP (Rapid AssessmentProgram) Bulletin of Biological Assessment 14.Distributed for Conservation International by theUniversity of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL. 132 pp,tables, maps, colour photographs. Paperback:Price £13.00, US$19.95. ISBN 1 881 17332 1.

In April 1998, a group of biologists specializingin different taxa conducted a Conservation Inter-national (CI)-initiated Rapid Assessment Pro-gram (RAP) of the Wapoga River Area in IrianJaya, the Indonesian part of New Guinea. Theirprimary mission was to provide data on the biotaof this barely explored area for potential use bymany sorts of decision makers, from nationalpolicy planners to local communities so that theycould integrate them with conservation anddevelopment activities affecting the province.

The book, in English and Indonesian, startswith a series of short introductions. Chaptersfollow these on the surveys of plants, aquaticinsects, ants, fish, amphibians, birds and mam-mals. The surveys covered five sites. Not allbiologists visited each site. In their chapters mostbemoan the lack of time and limitations set bythe weather and terrain, being unable to hirelocal trappers and guides, are frank about theconcomitant lack of completeness of their stud-ies, list their findings, discuss new species to bedescribed and conclude that there is a need forfurther survey work. Nonetheless, this is useful.We are provided with a series of highly informedtaxonomic snapshots that together leave nodoubt that the area is both biologically fascinat-ing and of high conservation value. Whether thisjustifies purchase of this book at UK£13.00 ismoot; the document is likely to be of better valueonce it is integrated into a greater whole, perhapsan ‘Ecology of Irian Jaya’, following similarworks for other islands of the archipelago.

Although biological data were gathered, theusefulness of this information to national and

local policy and spatial planners is not clear andraises general doubts about the value of suchsurveys to conservation planning in South-eastAsian and Pacific conservation in general.

What was accomplished that makes such sur-veys priority activities for conservation organiza-tions in Irian Jaya? Conservation Internationalprioritized Irian Jaya as a ‘conservation hotspot’,and whether or not this analytical approach isvalid (Jepson & Canney, 2001), Irian Jaya iswidely recognized as one of the last great tropicalwilderness areas on Earth. Yet its terrestrialenvironment faces unsustainable forestry practicesand rampant illegal logging, land conversion andrapid development. The marine environment isbeing degraded by over-fishing and coral bomb-ing. Trying to mitigate these threats are a smallnumber of dedicated individuals in NGOs andgovernment. Human resources available locallyto encourage better development alternatives withsolid recommendations are few, and withoutback-up, the sorts of area surveyed by this RAPremain threatened with future extirpation. So,what was accomplished beyond the collection ofspecimens during a one-off, quick survey? Whatdo the contributors of chapters contribute tomitigating the conservation threats their studyarea will face? Not a lot, apparently.

Some examples: whereas, botanically, new spe-cies were found ‘the impression obtained walkingthrough this forest was of low species richness,however, this may have been a false impression’.As this author (Ridsdale) noted, plant identifica-tion needs fruits and flowers. Collecting in asmall area in a one-month time frame can con-tribute little to understanding an unexploredforest. The aquatic insect chapter notes ‘this highdegree of endemism marks the Wapoga system,particularly in its upper reaches, as a notablecentre of regional biodiversity’. Yet given howlittle of Irian Jaya has been explored, how endemicare the endemics? On a landscape to ecoregionalscale how notable is the biodiversity centre? Like-wise, the fish chapter notes that ‘to date it is themost species-rich system in northern Irian Jaya,but would certainly be surpassed by the muchlarger Mamberano system once it has been

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adequately sampled’ and again, throughout thechapters there are calls for further surveys toreally understand the diversity of the area.

The problem here is not with the biologistsdoing surveys. These are always important inadvancing science in general, and conservationwhen specific questions are being addressed. Theproblem is that there was no obvious frameworkwithin which this survey was based. The scale ofthe conservation problems faced by Irian Jayacannot be met by data from RAPs. The overallsummary and recommendations conclude ‘thesefindings highlight the urgent need for more bio-logical surveys before the protected areas systemcan be refined or improved’. This is wrong.

What biologically rich and under-explored areasthat are under severe conservation threat needare actions, now, and not academic displacementbehaviour (Whitten

et al.

, 2001). Sumatra andBorneo are almost exhausted, putting Irian Jayaincreasingly in the target scopes of undisciplinedresource extractors. Waiting for more surveysto somehow provide answers to the region’sproblems will be fiddling while Rome burns.Conservation practitioners know that Irian Jayais valuable. The challenge we all should be takingis to conserve swiftly what we can of what is left.After that, let’s start the fun work of surveys thatmost of us would rather be doing. It is just thatthe time for that is not now.

JIM JARVIE

Research Associate The Arnold Arboretum Harvard University

REFERENCES

Jepson, P. & Canney, S. (2001) Biodiversityhotspots: hot for what?

Global Ecology and Bio-geography

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, 225–227.Whitten, T., Holmes, D. & MacKinnon, K. (2001)

Conservation biology: a displacement behavior foracademia?

Conservation Biology

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, 1–3.


LIVING ON ROCK OUTCROPS

Porembski, S. & Barthlott, W. (eds) (2000)

Insel-bergs: biotic diversity of isolated rock outcrops intropical and temperate regions

. Ecological studies

146, Springer-Verlag, Heidelberg, Germany. xxxi+ 524 pp, figs, tables, colour plates, subject index,species index. Hardback: Price £103.00, US$149.00,sFr 257.00. ISBN 3 540 67269 9.

This book appears at the 100th anniversary ofthe coining of the term ‘inselberg’, by the Germangeologist Wilhelm Bornhardt, to designate graniticoutcrops present in East Africa. It comprisesmainly a synthesis of research produced within along-term research project of the Botanical Insti-tute of the University of Bonn. In their introduc-tion, the editors convincingly demonstrate thatthese very peculiar geological formations consti-tute natural laboratories to address some prevail-ing questions concerning the past and future ofbiotic diversity. Inselbergs appear as simplifiedsystems compared to forests, especially in thetropics; they are scattered in all continents andare thus more suited for a worldwide comparativebiodiversity analysis. Furthermore, they havegenerally escaped from human pressure. Theyoffer models for quantitative analysis of speciesdiversity and biotic communities within an almostuniform frame of physicochemical stresses.Moreover, the species that are adapted to theseconditions belong generally to distinct phyleticlines, illustrating parallel evolution of morpho-functional traits. The insularity of the popula-tions trapped on the outcrops also allows us toaddress issues concerning the population effectsof fragmentation. Such a topic is interdisciplin-ary by definition, from geology to evolutionarybiology through botany, zoology, populationgenetics and biogeography.

Although the geological processes responsiblefor inselberg formation are still controversial, itis clear that they were shaped during a very longperiod. Bremer suggests that they probably beganin a perhumid climate yielding intense weather-ing. Planational lowering with differential weath-ering could explain the isolation of outcropselevated above the basal surface, as proposed bythe French geographer Hurault in 1968, referenceto which is omitted. Rock nature, atmosphericagents, and different kinds of weathering, createthe conditions for the fine-scale differentiation ofhabitats. Microclimatic and vegetational differ-ences from the surrounding environment justifyconsideration of inselbergs as ‘islands’ in theinsularity perspective. Five contributions deal


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with the relationship between diversity, biologicalfeatures and environmental constraints. Here,sound arguments demonstrate that the input ofenergy and matter to these peculiar ecosystems isformed by microorganisms: free cyanobacteria,cyanolichens and green algal lichens, primaryagents capturing photonic energy, atmosphericCO

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and nitrogen, and weathering rock. The out-come of their activity is the possible colonizationby plants. As noted, the vascular plants presenton inselbergs belong to specialized types that areable to cope with nutrient deficiency or watershortage. Only 10 angiosperm families accountfor two-thirds of all inselberg specialists. Despiteclear differences in their floristic compositionbetween geographical and climatic regions, thoseplants share mechanisms of ecological adaptationto tolerate or avoid the action of stressing agents:short supply of water, high irradiance, hightemperature, limitation in the availability ofnutrients. Two main ‘strategies’ are considered:tolerance of desiccation and desiccation avoid-ance. Clearly, the adaptations represent outcomesof the pressure of several factors, which are oftenin opposition. For instance, a conflict betweendesiccation and starvation occurs whether thelimitation of the water loss is based on theclosure of stomata or the presence of an imperme-able cuticle. In contrast to desiccation-tolerantplants, which survive by a drastic reduction ofthe life processes and are able to repair structuresdamaged by desiccation, the plants that avoiddesiccation exhibit xeromorphic structures ormetabolic means that decouple the photosynthe-sis machinery from the supply of CO

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, so that thestomata can be open without danger of waterloss during the night. The relative abundance ofcarnivorous species is also a sign of selection foradaptation to a deficiency of mineral nutrients.However, the need for water to achieve digestioncould be related to their presence only in wetmicrohabitats (wet flushes). The past and futureof these unique ecosystems are evoked. Past,because due to their old age they could giveinformation about major climatic changes, andfuture, because they may be threatened by invas-ive alien weeds or uncontrolled access for tour-ism. The central part of the book offers a set ofunevenly documented surveys of the flora presenton inselbergs worldwide, gathering data that untilnow were scattered. The contribution on fauna,

however, is so poorly documented, ignoring alarge amount of references, that it might havebeen better left out of the book altogether. Aset of high-quality colour plates illustrates themain landscape and floristic characteristics ofinselbergs in several parts of the world.

This book certainly provides a solid foundationfor further studies on these ecosystems, studieswhich need interdisciplinary (hence international)research programmes and require institutionalsupport if biodiversity conservation is to be takenseriously.

CORINNE SARTHOU

Muséum National D’histoire Naturelle Laboratoire d’Ecologie Brunoy France.

REFERENCE

Hurault, J. (1968)

L’érosion régressive dans les régionstropicales humides et la genèse des inselbergs gran-itiques

. Institut Géographique National, Paris.


BRANDBERG BIODIVERSITY: WE NEED MORE THAN CHECKLISTS

Kirk-Spriggs, A.H. & Marais, E. (eds) (2000)

Dâures — biodiversity of the Brandberg Massif,Namibia.

Cimbebasia Memoir 9, NationalMuseum of Namibia, Windhoek, Namibia.389 pp, figs, tables, one colour foldout geologicalmap. Paperback: Price US$30.00 (plus US$5.00postage). ISBN 0 869 76560 4.

The Brandberg (burning mountain), or Dâuresas the locals call it, is an impressive inselberg.Rising some 1800 m above the sun-scorchedNamib coastal plain, it reaches a maximumaltitude of 2537 m. It is a circular structure, some25 km at its widest point, comprising massivegranites that were emplaced in the throat of anearly Cretaceous volcano.

This book is an inventory of the fauna andflora of the Brandberg. Much of the data werecollected in a sponsored and spirited attempt tosurvey this remote inselberg between 1992 and1999. The result is a remarkable inventory — atestament to the dedication of the organizers and


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participants of the project. Collecting beetles inthe hostile Brandberg environment is not a trivialexercise. Do not, however, expect a riveting read.Thirty-four of the book’s 39 chapters are check-lists, and few provide any context for their obser-vations. Occasionally, one might encounter astatement such as: ‘... the ant fauna included ninespecies of

Leptanilla

Emery, probably the mostdiverse assemblage of this genus yet recordedfrom a single locality worldwide’ (p. 371).Mostly, we are faced with bland lists of species,of interest to the specialist only. The introductorychapter by Kinahan, and the ones on geologyand climate, are, however, of more generalinterest.

The rationale for producing this volume is toprovide information on the scientific value of theBrandberg as a basis for World Heritage listing.This is good, since the Brandberg is a globalasset and is certainly worthy of special protectedstatus. It is a great pity therefore that there isno chapter that summarizes the archaeological,geological and biological data presented in this

book, and places it in a global context. Does theBrandberg have unusually high numbers of spe-cies and endemics relative to similar-sized regionsin other arid lands? The only way of answeringthis question is to dredge through the numerouschecklists, and do the analyses ourselves.

I have other gripes. The reader must wait untilpage 92 before a locality map is encountered.The chapter on the logistical support provided bythe sponsors of the expedition adds little of inter-est. However, do not underestimate the difficult-ies of inventorying plants and animals in anenvironment as harsh and inaccessible as theBrandberg. In this sense, this book is a triumph.The way in which the data are presented restrictsthe book’s appeal to a select group of arid landbiogeographers and specialist systematists. Thisis a pity.

RICHARD COWLING

Terrestrial Ecology Research Unit University of Port Elizabeth South Africa

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dâures — biodiversity of the brandberg massif, namibia

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