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Floristic affinities of an inselberg archipelago in the southern Namib desert—relic of the past, centre of endemism or nothing special?
Author(s) -
Burke A,
Jürgens N,
Seely M. K
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
journal of biogeography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.7
H-Index - 158
eISSN - 1365-2699
pISSN - 0305-0270
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-2699.1998.252116.x
Subject(s) - archipelago , endemism , ecology , biological dispersal , geography , range (aeronautics) , habitat , floristics , biogeography , biology , taxon , population , materials science , demography , sociology , composite material
The floral composition of an inselberg archipelago in the southern Namib desert was investigated with regard to species diversity, geographic range of the species, habitat niches, seed dispersal abilities and plant herbivore defence. Although no endemic species were found, the archipelago forms an extreme and often isolated outlier for a large number of species in their distribution area. The hypothesis is proposed that the isolated extreme habitat allowed survival of relic populations due to low immigration rate and low competition. The high proportion of species favouring long‐range dispersal might explain the lack of endemic species as well as the large contribution of species at their distributional boundary.