A Guidebook to NamibRand Nature Reserve, by Ann Scott, Danica Shaw, Louise Clapham, Nils Odendaal and Mike Scott

A Guidebook to NamibRand Nature Reserve, by Ann Scott, Danica Shaw, Louise Clapham, Nils Odendaal and Mike Scott. Venture Media, Windhoek, Namibia 2017. ISBN 9789994585144

A Guidebook to NamibRand Nature Reserve, by Ann Scott, Danica Shaw, Louise Clapham, Nils Odendaal and Mike Scott is not intended as a detailed field guide, however, but rather to enlighten the visitor to the Reserve about the very special and unique adaptations these plants and animals have evolved in order to survive the extreme and harsh environment associated with the Namib Desert.

As an aid to identification, the plant species have been divided into seven groups, according to their growth form (and also depending on whether parts of the plant are water-storing/succulent), namely grasses, geophytes, succulents, herbs, dwarf shrubs, shrubs and trees. Some groups may overlap, such as the quiver tree (Aloe dichotomo), which is both a tree and a succulent. In both the text and the checklist, plant species are divided into families and then listed according to scientific names, both arranged in alphabetical order. Animal species are presented in taxonomic order, from the lower forms such as invertebrates, amphibians and reptiles to the more highly developed groups such as birds and mammals. These species are grouped according to the broad habitat types where they typically may be found. For each species illustrated we include the scientific name, family name (for plants), order (for animals) and where possible some of the common names in English, Afrikaans, German and Khoekhoegowab (a local click language spoken in the south of Namibia; the latter names for plants have been sourced largely from Mannheimer et al. 2008; Mannheimer & Curtis 2009; and Dr John Irish). The sections on the lower invertebrate animals, amphibians and reptiles, include the common and scientific names of the species. Plant and animal species are classified in terms of risk of extinction according to a standard global system, the IUCN Red List of Threatened species. For birds, BirdLife International is the official authority. These global Red Data categories are used to supplement the national categories, for example in the Namibian Red Data Book for birds by Simmons, Brown & Kemper (2015). A map of NamibRand Nature Reserve is provided on the inner back cover. At the back of the book, a glossary (page 175) provides simple explanations of terminology. An index is included (page 176), together with a reading and reference list (page 173). A full plant species checklist for NamibRand is provided in Appendix 1 and the (vertebrate) animal species checklists in Appendix 2. [...]

This is an excerpt from A Guidebook to NamibRand Nature Reserve, by Ann Scott, Danica Shaw, Louise Clapham, Nils Odendaal and Mike Scott.

Title: A Guidebook to NamibRand Nature Reserve
Compilation: Ann Scott; Danica Shaw; Louise Clapham; Nils Odendaal; Mike Scott
Publisher: Venture Media
Windhoek, Namibia 2017
ISBN 9789994585144
Softcover, 20 x 20 cm, 193 pages, numerous color photos and images, 1 map