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FrogMAP: Frog Atlas of Southern Africa

This data-set comprises validated species occurrence records of Amphibians on the African continent, although the bulk of the data is for South Africa, Lesotho and Eswatini (former Swaziland). FrogMAP aims to build on the distribution data collected during seven years of fieldwork (1996-2003), plus earlier data compiled from museum records, private collections, the literature, and conservation agencies. Records range from 1905 to present.


FrogMAP is a Virtual Museum and citizen science project which aims to determine the distribution and conservation priorities of Amphibians on the African continent. FrogMAP is building the 21st century distribution maps for Africa's Amphibians. FrogMAP also aims to improve public awareness of the value and plight of Amphibians and also provide government agencies with a clear definition of conservation priorities that will help them to plan their activities.


FrogMAP is the continuation of the Southern African Frog Atlas Project (SAFAP) and incorporates the full SAFAP database with the current taxonomy. SAFAP data was used for the 2003 red listing of all frog species of the region, the results were published in the book “Atlas and Red Data Book of the Frogs of South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland”, published by the Smithsonian Institution, USA.


Identification of citizen science records, based on the photos uploaded, is done by a panel of experts in the relevant taxa. The taxonomy is kept up-to-date by the project coordinator, a professional herpetologist.


The data available to the public is the subset of shareable records (see Lineage for details), also, records for sensitive taxa are not available to the public. Records are provided at the recorded precision, usually point coordinates. However, historical records were assigned to a 15x15 minute grid (or QDS) based on the locality description when no coordinates were provided. The coverage is good for South Africa, Lesotho and Eswatini, but very sparse for the rest of Africa.

Simple

Date (Creation)
2018-08-28
Edition

1.0

Citation identifier
http://metadata.sanbi.org/geonetwork/srv/metadata/3975046c-08a4-45f0-8c2c-3c7235f6f06b
Purpose

The information consolidated within the project will build up a comprehensive identification guide, as well as mapping the ranges of each species.

Status
On going
Custodian
  FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology - Dr Rene Navarro ( Information Systems Specialist )
University of Cape Town, Rondebosch , Cape Town , 7701 , South Africa
+27 21 650 4751
Maintenance and update frequency
As needed
Keywords
Theme
  • African bird pictures archive

  • Distribution maps

  • Terrestrial

  • Fresh-water

  • Animalia: Chordata: Amphibia

Access constraints
Copyright
Use constraints
Copyright
Spatial representation type
Vector
Denominator
50000
Language
English
Character set
UTF8
Topic category
  • Environment
Begin date
2010-09-20
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Reference system identifier
WGS 1984

Distributor

Custodian
  FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology
Name

ZIP

Version

1

OnLine resource
A list of services published are available at this URL. ( WWW:LINK-1.0-http--link )

Virtual Museum System

OnLine resource
VMUS_to_DwC_20181005.xlsx ( WWW:LINK-1.0-http--link )

Virtual Museum field description and Darwin Core mapping

Hierarchy level
Dataset
Statement

FrogMAP continues SAFAP. After the project completion in 2003, the SAFAP database was closed and no additional records were added until it was re-opened as FrogMAp in the Virtual Museum system on 20-09-2010.


SAFAP is the Southern African Frog Atlas Project. The principal objectives of SAFAP were:

(1) Compile a comprehensive list of frogs species occuring in each quarter-degree grid cell in South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland.

(2) Use this information to map the distribution of all frog species in the atlas region.

(3) Assess the current conservation status of each species using the SAFAP distribution data.

(4) Create a database and publish a report to inform conservation planing and biological research on southern African frogs.

(5) Raise public awareness and appreciation for frogs and their conservation needs.


Data collection began in 1996 and continued into 2003, a period of more than seven years (the atlas period). In addition to data collected during the atlas period, data that predated 1996, some going back 100 years or more, were accessed from several institutions and from the field records and databases of individuals. Pre-1996 and post-1995 data are clearly distinguished in the distribution maps and summary statistics.


The atlas region consists of South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland. A quarter-degree grid, superimposed on this region, divided it into 2008 quarter-degree grid cells (QDGCs), each cell measuring 15 minutes of latitude by 15 minutes of longitude and c. 676 km2 in area, because lines of longitude converge towards the poles, the grid cells in the north of the atlas region are about 11% larger than those in the south. All data were referenced to at least the QDGC level of accuracy, but most of the commissioned data and those collected by the regional organizers were referenced to the nearest second, using a global positioning system.


Separation of the pre-1996 and post-1995 data sets (Figs 5 and 6) in the distribution maps and summary ­statistics implies that comparisons may be made between those two periods. Such comparisons are limited by differences in coverage achieved during each period. The atlas project attempted systematic coverage of all grid cells in the atlas region, whereas museum collecting has tended to concentrate on more limited areas or selected sites. Therefore, it cannot be ­assumed that differences in geographical distribution between the periods for a given species indicates actual change over time. The atlas data should generally be used only to generate hypotheses for testing. Over most of the atlas region, these data represent a benchmark for comparisons with future surveys


The book has species accounts and distribution maps for all 115 known frog species of the region as well as colour photos of the threatened species and their habitats and threats. The four introductory chapters cover project methods, conservation issues, biogeography of the region’s frogs, and causes of declines. The distribution maps reflect data collected during seven years of fieldwork (1996–2003) and earlier data compiled from museum records, private collections, the literature and conservation agencies.


Citation: Atlas and Red Data Book of the Frogs of South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland. 2004. Edited by Minter L.R., Burger M., Harrison J.A., Braack H.H., Bishop P.J. & Kloepfer D. SI/MAB Series no. 9. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Published by the Smithsonian Institution and the Avian Demography Unit (now Animal Demography Unit).


FrogMAP data sources and number of records in brackets: (as of 2018-10-31):

ADU-UCT (12386);

A. Channing (private records) (231);

A.L. de Villiers (private records) (378);

American Museum of Natural History, New York (173);

Angelo Lambiris (private collection and data base) (501);

California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco (259);

Ditsong National Museum of Natural History (formerly Transvaal Museum) (4821);

Durban Natural Science Museum, Durban (500);

Eastern Cape Department of Nature Conservation (2156);

Enviro-Insight (137);

G. Alexamder (private records) (1241);

John Ellerman Museum, Stellenbosch (70);

M. Bates (private records) (264);

M. Burger (private records) (2420);

Martin Pickersgill, UK (private database) (80);

Mpumalanga Park Board (3163);

Natal Museum, Pietermaritzburg (1262);

*National Museum, Bloemfontein (1041);

*Port Elizabeth Museum, Port Elizabeth (1690);

SANParks (5359);

Unknown (various collections) (11252);

Vincent Carruthers (transcription of field notes) (479);

Western Cape Nature Conservation Board, Stellenbosch (1553).

* indicates non-shareable records.

File identifier
3975046c-08a4-45f0-8c2c-3c7235f6f06b XML
Metadata language
English
Character set
UTF8
Date stamp
2019-07-18T07:27:32
Metadata standard name

SANS 1878

Metadata standard version

FGDC-STD-001-1998

Custodian
  FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology - Information Systems Specialist
FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town , Cape Town , Rondebosch , 7701 , South Africa
+27 21 650 4751
 
 

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Keywords

African bird pictures archive Animalia: Chordata: Amphibia Distribution maps Fresh-water Terrestrial

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