Who would have thought that the curiosity sparked during a family holiday at a game reserve would lead to endless research possibilities in the Waterberg?

In 2021, Prof Nigel Barker from the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences received almost R4.5m from the Foundational Biodiversity Information Programme (FPIB) for three years of biodiversity research across multiple institutions and disciplines. FPIB is a mechanism to ringfence National Research Foundation (NRF) funds for biodiversity research.

Prof Barker, Principal Investigator (PI) of this research project, explained that the aim was to document South Africa's biodiversity and focused on the Waterberg Mountain Complex (WMC), providing specimen records, genetic information, databases, etc.

Ms Marilize Greyling, founder of the Waterberg Research Support Centre (WRSC), was instrumental in the research since its inception and emphasised that the FPIB Waterberg Biodiversity Project (WBP) is the first structured baseline biodiversity project conducted in the Waterberg. ”It yielded excellent results with a couple of new species and range expansions identified – and we have just started scratching the surface.”

Prof Barker added, “This project required lots of sample and specimen collecting. These specimens had to be put into recognised collections – museums and herbaria. Naturally, staff at the University of Pretoria (UP) were the core of many of the disciplines. Other institutions included Bayworld (herpetology), SAIAB (aquatic biodiversity), Ditsong Museum (arachnids and mammals), WITS (aquatic biodiversity), UKZN (invertebrates), University of Limpopo (plants), SANBI (plants), University of Mpumalanga (mammals), Rhodes University (aquatic biodiversity). Major groups of organisms focused on include arthropods, including dung beetles, spiders, solifuges and scorpions (Ditsong Museum). Mammals were surveyed using camera traps and ultrasonic sound recorders for bats. Other major groups were snakes and frogs, fish and aquatic invertebrates, plants and even a component of soil microfauna and microbial diversity.”


 

Prof Catherine Sole from the Department of Zoology and Entomology has been documenting the insect diversity, especially dung beetles, which are key ecosystem elements. She and her students have sorted a total of 56 000 specimens that had been caught in pitfall traps across six localities in the Waterberg. This resulted in identifying 137 beetle species across 10 tribes and 38 genera. She estimates that approximately 42 undescribed species have been collected. Dr Werner Strumpher from Ditsong Museum was part of this team and was involved in the dung beetle survey and subsequent identifications.

Funding for ‘DNA barcoding’ was also included, as the use of DNA sequence data to identify new species and confirm existing species identifications is a major tool of modern-day biodiversity surveys Initially this had to wait until sufficient samples have been accumulated, but is currently being done on dung beetles, bats and some birds.

UP’s Department of Zoology and Entomology researchers and students have also been very involved in the FPIB Waterberg Biodiversity Project. According to Prof Mark Keith from the Mammal Research Institute in the Department of Zoology and Entomology, “This project provided valuable fine-scale data, which formed part of many MSc and honours students’ research. This research emphasises the value of fine-scale and systematic field work to provide up-to-date information on species presence data. It also demonstrates the importance of work supported by the FBIP to provide updated and verified species lists for the Waterberg, contributing to distribution records and ‘museum’ collections while offering landowners valuable, property-specific mammal data. These findings underscore the importance of integrating digital repositories with field-based studies to effectively inform management and conservation initiatives.”

Prof Mark Robertson (Department of Zoology and Entomology) and Prof Kate Parr (extraordinary professor) shared that research on savanna ecosystem function is being undertaken on Kaingo Game Reserve, near Vaalwater in the Waterberg. The research project aims to understand the primary pathways through which vegetation is consumed and how this affects ecosystem nutrient cycling. Prof Robertson explained, “Animals affect the cycling of nutrients, but their role in this process is poorly understood. This project involves a large-scale manipulative experiment to investigate the roles of large mammal herbivores and decomposers (termites) in the savanna ecosystem function through their impact on nutrient cycling. This involves measuring vegetation's primary productivity and chemical composition, where the impact of large mammal herbivores, termites, and a combination of both have been experimentally manipulated. The project also involves collaborators from Oxford University and the University of Witwatersrand.”

Prof Barker emphasised that “The Waterberg is not a haven for a great number of endemic species (species found there and nowhere else), but it is a region where topographic diversity, vegetation diversity and thus overall biodiversity is packed into a rather small area to combine into a unique ecosystem, and, while the Biosphere reserve protects some of the region, it needs expansion, especially in light of the threats of expanded mining and other industrial activities such as power stations that surround the mountainous regions of the Waterberg itself. In addition, the region has been declared a Strategic Water Source Area due to water provisioning to the Mokolo dam, which ensures water security in Lephalale. This further enhances the strategic economic importance of the Waterberg rivers and catchments.”

“Other research organisations and overseas universities (e.g. Trinity College Dublin, Ireland, which University of Winchester, UK, and the University of Georgia, USA) also have a research in the area, and the momentum of a general Waterberg research ethos grew rapidly, leading to the first Waterberg Research Convention (WRC) recently,” explained Prof Barker. This convention was organised by the Waterberg Research Support Centre and took place in January 2025. It provided a space where researchers presented findings on their work, and a lot of networking was also undertaken. Several team members of the FBIP presented their work, alongside many others involved in aspects of Waterberg conservation. Several postgraduate students involved in the WBP also presented their work as talks or posters.

What next? The initial FBIP funding has almost run out, but this project is morphing into several other smaller projects that will continue to be run by the FBIP WBP team members. Prof Barker has been awarded a further three years of NRF funding to investigate the impact and challenges of managing the encroachment of an indigenous species known locally as ‘bankrotbos (bankrupt bush) – a shrubby daisy that invades areas to the point where no commercial or economic activities can be carried out. As it is indigenous, this species is not on the radar of alien invasion researchers. This plant's impact on biodiversity and ecosystem services is not well known, and management, control and eradication measures have been only partially effective to date.

Ms Greyling added, “There is a real need and value to make the WBP a long-term project. “The WRSC, together with key institutions and organisations, aim to develop a Waterberg Research hub, including an accessible research and biodiversity database, laboratory, accommodation and access to research properties – a one-stop shop for research in the area.

Prof Barend Erasmus, Dean of the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, attended the Waterberg Research Convention to better understand the opportunity for research collaborations. “The Waterberg is such a unique piece of our natural heritage, but it is faced by a wide range of challenges. At UP, we know the value of place-based research where multiple disciplines and stakeholders work together to solve complex problems. I can see a great opportunity to expand our footprint in the Waterberg and work with landowners and stakeholders to ensure that the Waterberg legacy lives on. We are already in conversation with specific landowners to formalise our collaboration, and I look forward to making further announcements very soon,” Prof Erasmus concluded.