Table 1 Broad taxonomic groups encompassing all sub-Saharan African terrestrial vertebrates and vascular plants, with rationale for how they were allocated into species response groups.
Taxonomic group | Response group allocation |
Birds (Aves) - 1970 species - 17 response groups | Large, taxonomically unique species were allocated into response groups first: vultures and raptors (large and small), large terrestrial species (e.g., cranes) and waterbirds. Two additional wide-ranging groups were added: aerial feeders (swifts and swallows) and opportunistic species that thrive in human-dominated landscapes. The remaining groups were classified based on their habitat nesting location (cavity, ground, other) and body size. |
Amphibians (Amphibia) - 799 species - 7 response groups | Experts emphasised the influence of breeding habitat in how amphibians respond to human-modified landscapes. Six groups were thus defined by the predominant habitat in which each species breeds (direct developers, water: permanent or ephemeral and flowing or still, seep, tree hollow). |
Reptiles (Reptilia) - 1481 species - 13 response groups | Habitat utilisation, taxonomy, and body size (in a hierarchical manner) influence likely responses of reptiles. First, species occupying strictly aquatic, fossorial, rupicolous, or arboreal habitats were grouped. Because of their derived life history traits, the remaining chelonians were allocated to their own group. Remaining species were grouped on the basis of taxonomy (snake vs lizard), body size, and degree of habitat specialisation. |
Mammals (Mammalia) | |
Bats - 214 species - 10 response groups | Bats were grouped by their foraging strategy (clutter, edge or open environment insect foragers; fruit-eaters), their roosting location (cave, crevice, foliage) and degree of roost flexibility. |
Insectivores - 205 species - 9 response groups | Insectivores were grouped by a combination of taxonomy, body size, habitat (forest, montane, savanna) and stratum (aquatic, arboreal, fossorial, terrestrial). |
Rodents, rabbits, hyraxes - 426 species - 16 response groups | Rodents were grouped based on a combination of their taxonomy, habitat preference (arid, forest, montane, savanna/grassland, wetland), body size, diet (herbivorous, granivorous, generalist), stratum (aquatic, arboreal, fossorial, rupicolous, terrestrial) and habits (diurnal, nocturnal). |
Small carnivores, aardvark, pangolins - 70 species - 16 response groups | Small carnivores were grouped based on range size (esp. when restricted vs large); stratum (arboreal, terrestrial, aquatic); habitat(s) (notably to differentiate forest, savanna, rocky); diet (esp. for specialised vs omnivorous species); foraging socio-ecology (solitary vs social); body size; and taxonomic affiliation. Five non-carnivoran mammalian species were also included because of similar ecological characteristics, relatively small body size, and similar phylogenetic relationships. |
Large carnivores - 7 species | The elicitation was done at species level; no response groups were provided. |
Large herbivores - 95 species | The elicitation was done at species level; with each large mammal herbivore species also allocated into one of 12 response groups based on diet (grazer, browser, mixed, frugivore) and body size, with sociality, habitat (e.g., arid, montane, water-dependent), movement (e.g., migratory) and taxonomic groupings also considered. |
Primates - 106 species - 6 response groups | Primates were grouped using a combination of habitat (primary/secondary rainforest, woodland/savanna, grassland, generalist found in moist and more arid forests/woodlands); stratum (strictly arboreal, semi-terrestrial, terrestrial); and diet (omnivorous, specialist). |
Vascular plants: graminoids, forbs, trees and shrubs ~45,000 species - 33 response groups | Plants were first differentiated by growth form: graminoids (grasses, sedges, rushes); forbs (herbaceous annuals and perennials, geophytes, geoxyles, tubers, herbaceous climbers, dwarf shrubs, succulents, suffrutices); and trees and shrubs (including woody lianas and epiphytes). Within each of these broad groups, plants were grouped based on an assembly of traits that facilitate survival by avoiding, promoting, resisting or tolerating dominant abiotic or biotic limitations to growth (e.g., water, light, herbivory, fire). The potential for humans to modify these abiotic and biotic drivers contributed to the decision to assess plant groups within biomes. E.g., deforestation for agriculture removes light competition constraints, potentially allowing an influx of savanna grasses. By contrast, clearing a savanna environment for agriculture would have much less effect on light availability, and different shifts in plant groups would be anticipated. |
