SECOSUD II - Conservation and equitable use of biological diversity in the SADC region: Biodiversity Network of Mozambique initiative and Mobilizing primary biodiversity data for Mozambican species of conservation concern.

The study area of the SECOSUD II Project encompasses the following countries belonging to the Southern African Development Community: Mozambique, Eswatini, South Africa and Zimbabwe. The project Mobilizing primary biodiversity data for Mozambican species of conservation concern was designed for Mozambique.

The dataset was digitised in the framework of the BioNoMo initiative, as part of SECOSUD II Project and is one of the occurrence datasets published on GBIF through the project Mobilizing primary biodiversity data for Mozambican species of conservation concern, within the Biodiversity Information for Development Programme.

The SECOSUD II Project aims to consolidate the capacities of decision-makers responsible for land planning and management of natural resources. This project also aims promote and support the harmonisation of land management processes at the national, regional and international level. The main objective of the SECOSUD II Project is to promote biodiversity conservation and sustainable economic development in the SADC (Southern African Development Community) region, consistent with the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) goals (SECOSUD II Italian Cooperation Project 2017a). Project activities include support for the development of a national platform for the collection, organisation and sharing of information on biological diversity. BioNoMo activities include initialising the database of primary biodiversity data in each partner institution to create a biodiversity information network, freely available on a deputed web portal. Such web portal provides: (i) the documentation on biodiversity at national level; (ii) data on primary biodiversity; and (iii) species data such as taxonomic lists and image archives. BioNoMo aims to be a tool for national aggregation of biological diversity data, making such data available to support the development of more effective strategies for biodiversity conservation. Therefore, it is a source of information which can support scientific research and national institutions in the reporting commitments related to international convention on biodiversity conservation, such as the Convention on Biological Diversity (SECOSUD II Italian Cooperation Project 2017b). SECOSUD II works with research institutes involved in the management and conservation of biodiversity in the SADC region. The project works with some of the main collectors and suppliers of primary biodiversity data in the region, such as NHMM, UEM – Department of Biological Sciences, UEM – Centre of Biotechnology, Mozambican Institute for Agricultural Research, Mozambican Institute for Fishery Research, the Mozambican National Administration of Conservation Areas, Gorongosa National Park – E. O. Wilson Biodiversity Lab and Wildlife Conservation Society – Combo Project, South African National Biodiversity Institute, the University of Eswatini and the Eswatini National Trust Commission (SECOSUD II Italian Cooperation Project 2017b).

The project Mobilizing primary biodiversity data for Mozambican species of conservation concern aims to mobilise data on endemic and near-endemic species of plants, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish (Biodiversity Information for Development 2019). The main objective is to increase the availability and use of biodiversity information, to support land-use decision-making (Global Biodiversity Information Facility Secretariat 2017) and biodiversity conservation strategy planning. Currently, more than 130000 occurrence records have been digitised (Biodiversity Information for Development 2019). The lead project institution in the country was the Instituto de Investigação Agrária de Moçambique (IAMM), including several additional partners involved at national and international level. Moreover, in order to promote the exchange of taxonomic knowledge, a partnership with the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) has been developed, leading to the creation of a network of experts between both countries and to the consequent capacity building in Mozambique. Another partner, the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, provided additional training in IUCN Red Listing through its Tropical Important Plants Area initiative. Finally, through its BioNoMo initiative, SECOSUD II Project provided technical assistance to the data digitising activities and has made the digitised data available via the BioNoMo portal. In addition, other partners who allowed data publishing are: Entomoteca – Ministério de Agricultura e Segurança Alimentar (MASA), National History Museum of Maputo, Universidade Eduardo Mondlane, Institute for Fishery Research and South African Aquatic Biodiversity Institute (SAIAB) (Biodiversity Information for Development 2019).

The Italian Agency for Development Cooperation funds SECOSUD II Project. European Union and Global Biodiversity Information Facility funded Mobilizing primary biodiversity data for Mozambican species of conservation concern.

Sampling occurred in nine (9) provinces of the Country (Maputo, Gaza, Inhambane, Manica, Sofala, Tete, Zambezia, Nampula and Niassa). No records were collected in Cabo Delgado Province (Fig. 1).

Figure 1.  

Distribution map of specimens' occurrence sites.

Samples from the Entomological Collection of NHMM were collected between 1914 and 2018 in 225 localities. The main contributor to the collection was Maria Corinta Ferreira Fontes de Melo Ferreira (1922–2003), during her work as resident entomologist at the NHMM and Gunderico da Veiga Ferreira, an entomologist for the Board of Geographical Missions and Colonial Research. In 1949, Maria Corinta Ferreira established a programme for collecting insects in the wood sawmills and forests of the Maputo Region. Consequently, the programme was extended (mainly in 1965 and 1973) to other southern provinces, with the intent of enriching and diversifying the museum’s entomological collection (Antunes 2016).

In the most recent years, the collection was expanded through contributions from National Parks and Reserves; the majority of specimens was donated by Gorongosa National Park and the Maputo Special Reserve. Field expeditions, conducted by the NHMM, have also led to an increase in the number of specimens, particularly in the Coleoptera and Lepidoptera orders.

The data quality control was supported by national and international entomology experts, which validated the taxonomic classification of specimens.

In the framework of the BioNoMo initiative and the Mobilizing primary biodiversity data for Mozambican species of conservation concern project, assistants and staff of data provider institutions were trained on biodiversity database creation, digitisation and management.

The dataset was developed through the digitisation of labels and field cards of the specimens in the Entomological Collection of NHMM. The data included in the dataset were cleaned with an exhaustive review of existing museum material. Such review was supported by entomology specialists from the Sapienza – University of Rome, by performing a taxonomic verification of each specimen collected. Specimens without a reliable taxonomic classification were not included in the dataset. Thus, a revision of the cataloguing records of the included specimens (such as catalogue number, collector, data, location of collection, storage and the status of maintenance of the specimens) was performed. In order to automatically update the dataset through an international biodiversity database, such as the Catalogue of Life (https://www.catalogueoflife.org/) and the Encyclopedia of Life (https://eol.org/), taxonomic classification was updated and validated using R Statistical Program version 3.4.2., which allowed us to compare our data with other entomological databases. Data were digitised through SPECIFY Version 7.

Approximately 93% of specimens were georeferenced according to the guidelines of Chapman and Wieczorek (2020). Using the Georeferencing Calculator tool, the point-radius method was adopted as a practical solution for the georeferencing of descriptive localities. This method has been chosen to facilitate the management of uncertainties related to the georeferencing of the older samples (Wieczorek et al. 2004).

In addition, maps and gazetteers were used to further refine the georeferencing of the sampling locations by providing coordinates and spatial boundaries for the sites described in the field card of each specimen. The geographic coordinates were determined using Google Maps. Decimals of geographic coordinates were based on the World Geodetic System 84 (WGS84) datum.

The georeferencing process applied is consistent with the requirements of the Darwin Core standard on which the dataset has been built. The Darwin Core standard is an open access ensemble of rules and definitions to facilitate the digital sharing of information about biological diversity. Darwin Core is based mainly on the concept of taxa, their occurrence in nature, as documented by observations, specimens, samples and related information (Wieczorek et al. 2010).

The dataset covers all Mozambique’s provinces, except Cabo Delgado. The specimens were collected in different provinces of Mozambique as follows: Maputo (3912), Tete (1507), Sofala (874), Inhambane (620), Gaza (214), Zambezia (94), Niassa (85), Manica (71) and Nampula (26) (Fig. 2). Georeferencing could not be carried out for 564 specimens.

Figure 2.  

Number of insect specimens from each of Mozambique’s Provinces involved.

The dataset includes 7967 specimens from seven orders, 48 families and 409 species. Orthoptera is the most represented order (39% of the specimens), followed by Diptera (26%) and Lepidoptera (18%). The remaining part of the specimens belongs to the orders Blattodea, Odonata, Coleoptera and Mantodea, which account for 10%, 5%, 2% and 0.60% of the data, respectively (Fig. 3).

Figure 3.  

Number of insect specimens per order presented in the dataset