Phylogeography and Biodiversity of African Forest Fauna

The forests of sub-Saharan Africa, from the Guineo-Congolian basin to the Eastern Arc Mountains and coastal woodlands, represent a crucible of evolutionary diversification. Phylogeographic studies reveal that past climatic oscillations, tectonic uplifts and riverine networks have repeatedly fragmented and reconnected these forests, driving speciation and shaping patterns of endemism. Montane inselbergs, deep river valleys and coastal refugia provided stable habitats during arid phases, allowing lineages to persist, diverge and later spread. Molecular phylogenetics has uncovered multiple vicariance events dating from the Oligocene to the Pleistocene, while comparative population genomics highlights idiosyncratic responses among plants, mammals, amphibians and reptiles. This rich tapestry of biodiversity underpins critical ecosystem services, supports human livelihoods and informs global conservation strategies. However, accelerating deforestation, land-use change and climate shifts threaten to erode these evolutionary legacies. Integrating phylogeographic insights into ecoregion delineation, protected-area design and community-based management is essential for safeguarding Africa’s forest heritage and its broader contributions to planetary biodiversity.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Recent surveys of mid-elevation rainforests on isolated granitic inselbergs in southern Malawi and northern Mozambique have uncovered a distinct archipelago of biodiversity. Thirty inselbergs rising above 1,000 m harbour the largest and smallest relic rainforests in the region, alongside endemic grasslands. Researchers documented 127 plant species, 45 vertebrates (including amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals) and 45 invertebrates, plus two new genera. Time-calibrated phylogenies indicate that repeated isolation events, driven by climatic fluctuations and geological stability, underlie this exceptional endemism. Since 2000, primary humid forest cover has declined by up to 43% in some areas, marking one of Africa’s highest deforestation rates. These findings call for urgent, integrated conservation efforts that reconcile biodiversity protection with local resource use.

Phylogeography and Biodiversity of African Forest Fauna publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in phylogeography and biodiversity of african forest fauna across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Phylogeography: Study of the historical processes that shape the geographic distributions of genetic lineages within species.

Vicariance: The splitting of species’ ranges by a barrier, leading to genetic divergence.

Refugia: Areas that remain climatically stable during adverse periods, allowing species to persist.

Endemism: The ecological state of a species being unique to a defined geographic location.

Molecular phylogenetics: Reconstruction of evolutionary relationships using genetic sequence data.

References

1. A biogeographical appraisal of the threatened South East Africa Montane Archipelago ecoregion. Scientific Reports (2024).
2. Molecular phylogenetics reveal multiple tertiary vicariance origins of the African rain forest trees. BMC Biology (2008).
3. Vanishing refuge? Testing the forest refuge hypothesis in coastal East Africa using genome‐wide sequence data for seven amphibians. Molecular Ecology (2018).
4. Phylogeography and evolutionary history of the Crocidura olivieri complex (Mammalia, Soricomorpha): from a forest origin to broad ecological expansion across Africa. BMC Ecology and Evolution (2015).