Diversiteit van Suid-Afrikaanse spinnekoppe (Arachnida: Araneae) : dokumentering van 'n nasionale opname

Die Suid-Afrikaanse Nasionale Opname van Arachnida (SANSA) is in 1997 deur die Landbounavorsingsraad (LNR) geïnisieer met die primêre doelwit om die Arachnidafauna van Suid-Afrika op nasionale vlak te dokumenteer. Tydens die tweede fase van die projek, genaamd SANSA II, het die Suid-Afrikaanse Nasionale Biodiversiteitsinstituut (SANBI) deur hul program vir bedreigde spesies van 2006 tot 2010, in vennootskap met die LNR by die projek aangesluit. Gedurende die vier jaar lange projek is daar gepoog om alle beskikbare spinnekopdata in een databasis te konsolideer. Hierdie data is gebruik om die ruimtelike dekking van spesies te bepaal en vas te stel waar gapings in die data bestaan om sodoende prioriteitsareas te identifiseer vir meer gefokuste opnames. Uitgebreide versameltogte deur SANSA-veldwerkbestuurders is gedurende die vier jaar onderneem. Inligting oor spesies is aangevul deur byvangste van ander navorsingsprojekte, studenteprojekte, en deur openbare deelname. Al die pogings het waardevolle inligting voorsien oor die teenwoordigheid en verspreiding van spinnekoppe. Die inligting is gebruik om die Eerste atlas van spinnekopspesies van Suid-Afrika saam te stel, insluitende kaarte om die verspreiding van elke spesie aan te dui, sowel as inligting oor die vlakke van endemisme vir elke spesie. Tans is daar 71 spinnekopfamilies, 471 genera en 2028 spesies in Suid-Afrika bekend. Die derde fase van SANSA is in 2011 van stapel gestuur en verskeie aksies soos die saamstel van ’n rooidatalys van spesies, ‘n reeks handboeke vir al die biome, die publikasie van die atlas, en die beskrywing van nuwe spesies is onderweg.

The South African National Survey of Arachnida (SANSA) was initiated in 1997 by the Agricultural Research Council (ARC), with the main aim of documenting the Arachnid fauna of South Africa at a national level. Through their Endangered Species Programme, the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) came on board for the project’s second phase, called SANSA II, from 2006 to 2010, in partnership with the ARC. During this four-year project an attempt was made to consolidate all available data on South African spiders into one database. This data was used to determine the spatial coverage of the already available data, and to determine where ‘gaps’ in the data lie to identify priority areas for focused field work. Due to extensive collecting done by SANSA field work managers, specimen bycatches from other research projects, student projects, and through public participation in collecting specimens, more than 40 degree square grids were sampled in previously poorly sampled areas. This effort has provided valuable material that has improved our knowledge of the distribution of species, and provided specimens for future taxonomic studies. All this data was used to compile the First Atlas of the Spider Species of South Africa, including georeferenced locality data, distribution maps and information on the level of endemicity of each species. Following SANSA II, 71 spider families, 471 genera and 2028 species are presently known in South Africa. The third phase of SANSA started in 2011 and several actions, such as Red Listing of species, a handbook series for all the biomes, publication of the atlas, and description of new species are underway.