Biodiversity Hotspot of the Coastal Forests of Eastern AfricaUdgave 1

Biodiversity is declining at an alarming rate due to anthropogenic activities around the world. This book is the third volume in the new series Biodiversity Hotspots of the World, which highlights the 36 hotspot regions of the world, regions that have been designated as reaping maximum benefit from preservation efforts. This series is our humble attempt to document these hotspots as a conservation and preservation measure. The concise volumes in this series focus on the most interesting and important properties of these hotspots, covering physiography and climatology; vegetation and forest types; mangrove diversity, amphibian and reptile biodiversity; fishes, butterflies, insects, birds, mammals, pteridophytes, angiosperms, and much more. And of course, the unique threats and conservation efforts for the areas are addressed as well.

This volume covers the Coastal Forests of Eastern Africa Biodiversity Hotspot that stretches along the eastern edge of Africa and includes parts of Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania, and Mozambique. All islands lying immediately offshore are also part of the hotspot—Pemba, Zanzibar, Mafia and the Bazaruto Archipelago among them. While it is difficult to document the biodiversity of this inhospitable terrain, the coastal forests have exceptionally rich biodiversity and high endemism, with 11,000 species of plants and animals, including 1000 species of seaweed, 3000 species of mollusks, and 1500 species of fish. Anthropogenic activities including deforestation, fragmentation of habitats, pollution, increased human population, climate change, and poaching of wildlife pose serious threats to the biodiversity of the region.

This volume covers the geography, climate, and soil as well as the impact of climate change on the region, while also detailing the vegetation types, the various insects and invertebrates, amphibians, reptiles, mammals large and small, as well as coverage of the threats to and conservation of the rich biodiversity of the region.

Biodiversity Hotspot of the Coastal Forests of Eastern Africa, as well as the other volumes in this series, are essential resources for researchers and practitioners in the fields of conservation biology, ecology, and evolution as the series concisely records the existing biodiversity of these hotspots of the world.