Special adaptations to the typically short and unpredictable aquatic phase and Species inĮphemeral rock pools, especially in an arid to semi-arid environment, need
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Richness (Bayly 1997), probably due to the limited carrying capacity and relatively small size of the pools (Blaustein & Schwartz 2001). Pools depend entirely on rainfall for runoff and filling of the basins.Įphemeral pool communities are usually quite simple with low species As they have an impermeable substratum, rock Set pools with varying morphometry (surface, depth, shape) and inundation These ephemeral rock pools typically show an island-like configuration of clusters of close Outcrops’ or ‘inselbergs’) fill temporarily with water after rain. Shallow eroded depressions on top of the isolated dome shaped hills (‘rocky In Botswana, such granite outcropsĪre concentrated in the Hardveld zone in the southeast (Fig. Granite escarpments are widespread in southern Africa, with the Drakensberg escarpment as a well known example. drying) surrounding landscape (Bussell & James 1997). Level of endemicity on the rocky outcrop ecosystem is sometimes believed toīe the result of radiation of particular species, especially after isolation from aĬhanging (e. The difference in species composition of the communities on granite outcrops compared with the surrounding environment is known for, amongst others, terrestrial invertebrates (Main 2000), cryptograms (lichens, fungi, mosses, liverworts and algae) (George 2000) and even mammals (Mares 1997). (Bayly 1997, Bussell & James 1997) and flora (Hopper et al. Ronment and often contain a particular (endemic) terrestrial and aquatic fauna Schweizerbart’sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, D-70176 Stuttgart Koninklijk Belgisch Instituut voor Natuurwetenschappen, Afdeling Zoetwaterbiologie (Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Freshwater Biology), Vautierstraatīiological Sciences, University of Botswana, P. Leuven, Laboratory of Aquatic Ecology, De Bériotstraat These outcrops generally occur as ecological islands in the envi1Īuthors’ addresses: K. Key words: rock pool, ephemeral, fauna, sampling.Ībout 15 % of the earth’s continents consist of exposed granite outcrops (Twidale 1982). Pool systems is to randomly sample three to four pools in a cluster, each in the final The best sampling strategy to assess species richness in these rock The need for more intense and time-integrated studies of these ephemeral systems andĮspecially the permanent residents with specific adaptations to the vagaries of their All new taxa were permanent inhabitants, illustrating A new chydorid species, four new turbellarian taxa and two new ostracod species were discovered. Rock pool species were separated in permanent and ephemeral inhabitants, based on their strategy to survive or escape the frequent dry phases of their habitat, respectively. We attempted to get a time integrated overview of invertebrate species composition inĪ set of 18 rock pools from two clusters (meta-communities). Means of frequent sampling (every other day) during an entire wet phase (hydrocycle), These systems have focused mainly on individual species or particular interactions.
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Mainly on the granite outcrops in the southwestern Hardveld zone. In semi-arid Botswana, such habitats occur
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Merlijn Jocqué1, Koen Martens2, Bruce Riddoch3 andĪbstract: Rock pools on granite outcrops occur worldwide and are poorly studied,ĭespite their intrinsic biological interest. Faunistics of ephemeral rock pools in southeastern