In 2008, researchers from Sam Houston State University (SHSU) collected 230 mammals, 38 reptiles, over 80 owl pellets, and hundreds of vertebrate fossils from the Koanaka Hills of northwestern Botswana. Just two months later, vast expanses of Botswana including the study area were razed by wildfire. The occurrence of these fires immediately after a comprehensive sampling effort allows this project to immediately address unanticipated research questions through a second expedition in July 2009. The replication of previous collection efforts will help explain changes in species composition, abundance, and genetic diversity within animal communities following catastrophic fire. Conceptual studies of biodiversity on both a regional and temporal scale will follow. The research will test hypotheses concerning the effects of fire on animal composition of modern and fossil-rich Plio-Pleistocene cave deposits in the Koanaka Hills and will be invaluable to the reconstruction of past climates throughout southern Africa.
Broader impacts include introducing U.S. and Botswanan students to field work, specimen preservation, and taxonomic studies. Educational opportunities will be provided for at least 10 undergraduate and six graduate students from at least two U.S. institutions, and public outreach is assured through an established relationship between SHSU and the Botswana National Museum (BNM). Personnel from the BNM will join in field activities, enabling them to conduct biodiversity investigations on their own and to subsequently process and curate specimens properly for their national collections. This multidisciplinary project fosters long-term multinational and multi-institutional research and intellectual interaction among scientists and students from the U.S. and Botswana.
