FBIP: SeaKeys - Iziko_UCT_Historical Fish

Albe Bosman

doi:10.15468/vaz76u

FBIP: SeaKeys - Iziko_UCT_Historical Fish

Citation

Bosman A (2020). FBIP: SeaKeys - Iziko_UCT_Historical Fish. South African National Biodiversity Institute. Occurrence dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/vaz76u accessed via GBIF.org on 2022-10-01.

Description

Around the 1930’s Stevenson and Day along with the University of Cape Town (UCT) started up the UCT ecological survey project which aimed to create a reference collection of the biodiversity along the southern African coastline and various other localities around the world (e.g. Beaufort shelf transect Alaska, Madagascar, etc.) (Griffiths et al. 2010). Initially the survey/project was conducted along the shoreline of southern Africa (estimated collection areas: 36). The survey/project was later expanded to surveying the estuaries of southern Africa (estimated collection areas: 17). The survey/project was completed by conducting deeper water trawls and dredges of the west, south and east coast of southern Africa. It is important to note that each collection area contains various collection sites, for example False Bay (collection area) contains an estimated 856 collection sites. The reference collection and registers were donated to the IZIKO South African museum in the 1960’s by UCT. Numerous amounts of literature have been published by using the data in the registers (Barnard 1951, Stock & Day 1959, Stock & Day 1962, Griffiths 1974, Blaber 1974 and Griffiths et al. 2010). Currently there are a number of taxanomic projects underway, that rely on the data contained within the registers. By making the data available in a sensible electronic format will greatly improve the time taken to complete current and future projects that rely on the registers for data. Along with the reference specimen collection it also contains a vast number of observational records, which could potentially provide a massive istorical database of species occurrences dating back to more than forty years ago. Datasets such as these could potentially give us greater insights into the effects of global change on biodiversity (Chapman 2005, Chapman 2010).

Sampling Description

Study Extent

Southern Africa (South Africa, Namibia, Mozambique)

Sampling

Museum registers that house the observational data

Quality Control

Some georeferencing was done, needs further verification of georeferences and taxonomic verification.

Method steps

Various methods used, outlined in the spreadsheet

Taxonomic Coverages

Marine Fish

Animalia
common name: Marine Fish rank: kingdom

Geographic Coverages

Southern Africa (South Africa, Namibia, Mozambique)

Bibliographic Citations

Contacts

Albe Bosman
originator
position: Collections Manager: Ichthyology
Iziko Museums
25 Queen Victoria street
Cape Town
8000
Western Cape
ZA
Telephone: 0832599130
email: abosman@iziko.org.za

Albe Bosman
metadata author
position: Collections Manager: Ichthyology
Iziko Museums
25 Queen Victoria street
Cape Town
8000
Western Cape
ZA
Telephone: 0832599130
email: abosman@iziko.org.za

Mahlatse Kgatla
content provider
position: FBIP Data Specialist
SANBI
2 Cussonia Avenue
Pretoria
0184
Gauteng
ZA
Telephone: 0128435196
email: m.kgatla@sanbi.org.za
homepage: http://fbip.co.za/contact/

Albe Bosman
administrative point of contact
position: Collections Manager: Ichthyology
Iziko Museums
25 Queen Victoria street
Cape Town
8000
Western Cape
ZA
Telephone: 0832599130
email: abosman@iziko.org.za