Poorly known South African mountainendemic appears to be a very valuablekeystone species20 April 2016

The Amathole mountain endemic Macowania revoluta ismore than just a pretty face. Credit: Joanne Bentley

Mountain ecosystems are valuable providers ofkey resources including water. These ecosystemscomprise diverse species, some of which appear tobe especially important to the ecosystem'sfunctioning. In poorly studied mountainenvironments in biodiversity-rich countries, thesekeystone species can often be overlooked andundervalued.

Macowania is a group of yellow daisy shrubsoccurring in the alpine-like regions of theDrakensberg and highlands of Ethiopia, Eritreaand Yemen. Doctoral student Joanne Bentley,University of Cape Town, studied the geneticrelationships between the various Macowania species and relatives during her Masters degreestudies. Her research led to the first collection ofthe poorly known species Macowania revoluta(known also as the Amathole Macowania) in about40 years.

The story of Macowania revoluta is published in theopen access journal PhytoKeys.

The Amathole Macowania appears to be anexceptionally important keystone species. This isbecause it forms one of the dominant members ofthe valuable mountain wetland communities and,thus, likely plays a very important role in wetlandfunctioning and soil protection.

It appears to be somewhat tolerant of woody alienspecies and a valuable pioneer species protectingits native co-habitants. Plants like this one buffermore sensitive plants from sudden changes inenvironment (such as forestry, alien invasion andfire), and provide an opportunity for the ecosystemto 'bounce back'.

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The Amathole mountain endemic Macowania revoluta asa young plant. Credit: Ralph Clark

Restricted to the Amathole mountains in theEastern Cape Province, South Africa, the AmatholeMacowania was first collected sometime before1870 by the pioneer botanist Peter MacOwan, andwas well documented until around 1949. After that,except for one record in 1976, the plant quietlydisappeared.

"This was the first Macowania species that wefound during our fieldtrip across the greaterDrakensberg. We had combed several of thelocalities where it had been collected before; mostlyfrom several decades ago, some from more than acentury ago!" says Joanne Bentley. "We becameincreasingly doubtful about finding the plant, giventhe heavily transformed plantation landscape."

"Ready to throw in the towel, we came across apeaty area on the margins of the forest and decidedon one last investigation. We were lucky: it wasgrowing prolifically! It was a very special moment."

The growth form of the 'Amathole Macowania' suggeststhat it is a valuable keystone species that can be used tobuffer the mountains from further degradation. Credit:Ralph Clark

As it often happens, exciting discoveries come inbulk. Joanne's discovery of the plant in July 2010was followed by another record in October 2010, bythe Curator of the Schonland Herbarium, TonyDold. In 2014 at least three additional localitieswere recorded along the popular Amathole HikingTrail by Dr Ralph Clark, Rhodes University. Afurther record was added in 2015 by Vathi Zikishe,South African National Biodiversity Institute. Theverdict: this is a very localised but patchilyabundant species, and an ecologically valuablecomponent of the Amathole flora.

Listed as 'Data Deficient' in the Threated Plants Listfor South Africa, this string of modern records of thespecies also provided the first opportunity to get an

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idea of its ecology and abundance, as well as thefirst photographs.

"The practical value of this species in local landrestoration projects still needs to be explored, butthe opportunities are exciting," says Dr Clark. "Thediscovery that this obscure endemic mountain plantis not only abundant, but is, in fact, fulfilling anextremely important ecological role, highlights thevalue of detailed mountain biodiversity research insouthern Africa."

Provided by Pensoft PublishersAPA citation: Poorly known South African mountain endemic appears to be a very valuable keystonespecies (2016, April 20) retrieved 1 October 2021 from https://phys.org/news/2016-04-poorly-south-african-mountain-endemic.html

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