Bio-diversity

The first phase of this project examined the Scarabaeinae component of the beetles of the southern Mega-Kalahari basin. Beetles were surveyed on a transect through the Botswana Kalahari from northeast to southwest which straddles three large national parks. The three parks represent different ecological areas with complex topography and geology. The local ecological factors coupled with climatic patterns across the Kalahari transect appear to have promoted species diversity on the one hand and set distribution boundaries for some species on the other. Standardised , quantitative sampling and analysis of species richness, abundance and diversity, have revealed exciting ecological and biogeographical patterns between three areas in the Mega-Kalahari basin. Therefore information from conservation areas validates comparisons between species assemblages in natural and intensively farmed systems. The current phase 2 of the project will study dung beetle ecology and biogeography in Botswana. Phase 1 was aimed at establishing baseline data in terms of species richness, abundance and assemblage structure for most species with affinity to sandy landscapes across a rainfall gradient from SW to NE Botswana.

Botswana