Format: ORAL

Alex Asase1,Daniel Jimnez-Garca2,Andrew Townsend Peterson3

1Centre for Plant Medicine Research, P. O. Box 73, Mampong-Akuapem, Ghana 2Centro de Agroecología y Ambiente, Instituto de Ciencias, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, Puebla, Puebla, México 3Biodiversity Institute, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, USA

Although climate change is a leading cause of species extinction, the effects of climate change on geographic distributions and conservation status of African plants have not seen detailed evaluation. We employed ecological niche modelling approaches to investigate the potential effects of climate change on geographic distributions of the threatened West-Central African genusTalbotiella. The results of the study showed habitat suitability was lower in the northern parts of its range in West Africa and at its southern extremes in West-Central Africa. Potentially suitable areas where new populations or species of the genus could be discovered in West Africa was between Liberia and southwestern Ghana. Model transfers to future conditions showed range shifts and contractions in geographic distributions. Conservation of species of the genus should also include threats by factors such as degradation, agriculture and development of industrial infrastructure. Our study shows how niche modelling approaches could be used to enhance the conservation and discovery of African biodiversity.