VM projects currently available:

                           

Odonata of southern Africa

Date started: 22-Sep-2010

The Odonata VM aims to improve the sparse knowledge of the geographic distribution of this striking group of insects; many species are only known from a handful of localities. This project provides an easy way of collecting and curating distribution records.
To participate in the Odonata VM you need to be a registered ADU observer. Close-up photographs of dragonflies or damselflies, along with date and locality information, including geographic coordinates are submited to the VM in the data upload section (available to logged users). The Virtual Museum allows you to upload a maximum of three images per record.
Please take the GPS coordinates as accurately as possible; alternatively you can also find your position on the Google Map available in the upload page, but this may be difficult if you are away from good landmarks.

 

Photos of Weaver Nests

Date started: July 2008
Web page: http://weavers.adu.org.za/

PHOWN (Photos of Weaver Nests) is a conservation project aimed at determining the distribution of colonies or nests of all weaver species globally. Counting weaver nests and taking photos allows monitoring of changes in weaver breeding effort. Many weavers are common while some weaver species are threatened; this project provides an easy way of monitoring them.

PHOWN is a project of the Animal Demography Unit (Department of Zoology, University of Cape Town).

 

Southern African Butterfly Conservation Assessment

Date started: May 2007
Web page: http://sabca.adu.org.za

SABCA is a conservation project aimed at determining the distribution and conservation priorities of all butterfly species in South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland.

SABCA is a joint project of the Animal Demography Unit (Department of Zoology, University of Cape Town), the South African National Biodiversity Institute and The Lepidopterists' Society of Africa.

 

Southern African Frog Atlas Project

Date started: 1996
Web page: http://adu.org.za/frog_atlas.php

Distribution data collected during seven years of fieldwork (1996-2003), plus earlier data compiled from museum records, private collections, the literature and conservation agencies.

Data was used for the 2003 red listing of all frog species of the region, the results were published in the bookAtlas and Red Data Book of the Frogs of South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland.

 

Southern African Reptile Conservation Assessment

Date started: 10 May 2005
Web page: http://sarca.adu.org.za

SARCA aims to improve our understanding of the diversity and distribution of reptiles in South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland, and thereby make possible an improvement in the conservation status of these animals.

SARCA also aims to improve public awareness of the value and plight of reptiles and also provide conservation agencies with a clear definition of conservation priorities that will help them to plan their activities.

 

Mammal Virtual Museum

Date started: July 2010
Web page: http://mammals.adu.org.za/

The Cape Leopard Trust and the Animal Demography Unit are collaborating to develop a Virtual Museum for Mammals (VIMMA) which will act as a repository for distribution records of mammal species in southern Africa.

VIMMA consists of digital photographic records of mammals along with accurate geographical coordinates of where the pictures were taken. VIMMA is limited to wild (or feral) mammals. So domestic animals are excluded, and so is Homo sapiens. Records for species which are abundant and in places where they are well-known to occur, such as Impala in the Kruger National Park, are superfluous. But the golden rule that applies is: If in doubt, submit.

 

Virtual Tree Herbarium (ViTH)

Date started: 2010-12-01

Southern African Atlas of trees

Instructions for the Virtual Tree Herbarium:
Most trees can be identified with photographs of their bark, their leaves and their flowers and/or fruit. Try to take pictures of all of these, from the same tree. The Virtual Museum allows you to upload a maximum of three images per record. If you are a tree expert, and you know that a photograph of a particular feature provides certain identification, then you can upload just that picture into VITH.
Please take the GPS coordinates, as accurately as you are able, as close to the tree as feasible. You can enter these into VITH in three formats (decimal degrees DD.DDDDD, degrees and decimal minutes DD MM.MMM, and degree minutes and decimal seconds DD MM SS.S). You can also find your position on the Google Map, but this may be difficult if you are away from good landmarks.
If you are walking a transect, the strategy we would suggest you adopt is to take a set of photographs of each species you encounter. Feel free to repeat a species if about a kilometre has passed since last you photographed it.