South African National Survey of Arachnida (SANSA): review of current knowledge, constraints and future needs for documenting spider diversity (Arachnida: Araneae)

Biodiversity is one of the most important concepts in contemporary biology, with a broad range of applications. In November 1995, South Africa ratified the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). Signatories are obligated to develop a strategic plan for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. To meet the requirements of the CBD, the South African National Survey of Arachnida (SANSA) was initiated in 1997. This national project has several aims: to document and describe the arachnid fauna of South Africa; to consolidate all the available data on South African arachnids into one relational database and to make this biodiversity information available to science; and to address issues concerning their conservation and sustainable use. Extensive sampling took place and the SANSA database contains a wealth of biodiversity data that are used to provide answers to ecological questions. Presently 71 spider families, 471 genera and 2170 species are known from South Africa, representing approximately...