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Globally threatened biodiversity of the Eastern Arc Mountains and Coastal Forests of Kenya and Tanzania


Roy E. Gereau
Neil Cumberlidge
Claudia Hemp
Axel Hochkirch
Trevor Jones
Mercy Kariuki
Charles N. Lange
Simon P. Loader
Patrick K. Malonza
Michele Menegon
P. Kariuki Ndang’ang’a
Francesco Rovero
Philip Shirk

Abstract

We present an account of the 909 globally threatened taxa (793 species, 74 subspecies, 42 varieties) of animals and plants in the Eastern Arc Mountains and Coastal Forests of Kenya and Tanzania and the sites in which they occur based upon a review of the 2015 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Results for animals are summarised by Class (Amphibia, Aves, Gastropoda, Insecta, Malacostraca, Mammalia, Reptilia) and presented for plants as a whole (Classes Bryopsida, Cycadopsida, Jungermanniopsida, Liliopsida, Lycopodiopsida, Magnoliopsida, Pinopsida, Polypodiopsida). We analyse the status of previously known and newly identified sites in which globally threatened biodiversity occurs and summarise the current state of research on the globally threatened and ecologically critical biodiversity of the EACF. We then provide recommendations for future research, environmental regulations, and management regimes based upon comprehensive and reliable data to ensure the continued survival of the EACF’s biodiversity within the context of sustainable resource utilisation.

Keywords: biodiversity, conservation, endemism, hotspot, IUCN Red List


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eISSN: 1026-1613
print ISSN: 0012-8317