Eburneo



ID

514

Author(s)

Michele Thieme and Robin Abell, WWF-US, Conservation Science Program, Washington, DC, USA


Countries

Burkina Faso
Ghana
Guinea
Ivory Coast

Reviewer(s)

Christian Lévêque, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), France


Major Habitat Type

Tropical and subtropical coastal rivers

Drainages flowing into

Atlantic Ocean


Main rivers to other water bodies

The largest rivers in the ecoregion, from east to west, are the Comoé, Bandama and Sassandra Rivers. In general, the rivers have a gradual incline and there are extensive lagoons along the coast, including the Ebrié, Tadio and Aby lagoon complexes. The lagoons extend along 300 km of coastline and cover about 1,200 km2 in area (Roth & Waitkuwait 1986). Floodplains are limited along this ecoregion’s rivers, with the exception of the upper Bandama and upper Comoé, where seasonally flooded areas are extensive.



Description

Boundaries

This ecoregion is defined by the basins of the Comoé, Bandama and Sassandra Rivers. Located principally within Côte d’Ivoire, these rivers traverse limited floodplains as they flow to the Atlantic Ocean. The coastal rivers and streams of Eburneo are rich in aquatic organisms, but have low levels of endemism among all taxa.

Topography

These rivers flow off of a plateau in the northern portion of the ecoregion and then continue south towards the coast.

Terrestrial habitats

The original vegetation of the ecoregion reflects the level of rainfall. Sudanian savanna woodland predominates in the north and grades to a transition zone of forest-savanna mosaic and then to Guinean rain forest in the south. In the southwest and southeast of the ecoregion, inselbergs, rocky outcrops characterized by exposed ancient crystalline rock, dot the rolling landscape (Sayer et al. 1992). Much of the forest vegetation has been converted to other land uses.

Justification for delineation

Although this area was originally included in the Upper Guinea ichthyofaunal province by Roberts (1975), Hugueny and Lévêque (1994) determined that the fish species of this ecoregion are more similar to the Nilo-Sudanian fauna than to the Upper Guinean fauna (Roberts 1975; Hugueny & Lévêque 1994). Thus, this ecoregion is included in the Nilo-Sudanian bioregion.

Level of taxonomic exploration

Good


References

  • Hugueny, B. and Lévêque, C. (1994). "Freshwater fish zoogeography in West Africa: Faunal similarities between river basins" Environmental Biology of Fishes 39 pp. 365-380.
  • Roberts, T. R. (1975). "Geographical distribution of African freshwater fishes" Zool. J. Linn. Soc. 57 pp. 249-319.
  • Roth, H. H. and Waitkuwait, E. (1986). "Repartition et statut des grandes espèces de mammifères en Côte d'Ivoire. III Lamantins" Mammalia 50 (2) pp. 227-242.
  • Sayer, J. A., Harcourt, C. S. and Collins, N. M. (1992). The conservation atlas of tropical forests: Africa London, UK: IUCN.
  • Teugels, G. G., Lévêque, C., Paugy, D., et al. (1988). "Etat des connaissances sur la faune ichtyologique des bassins côtieres de Côte d'Ivoire et de l’Ouest du Ghana" Revue d’Hydrobiologie Tropicale 21 pp. 221-37.
  • Unep (1999). "Regional overview of land-based sources and activities affecting the coastal environment and associated freshwater environment in the West and Central African region, Regional Seas Reports and Studies No. 171" The Hague, Netherlands and Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire: UNEP/GPA Co-ordination Office and West and Central Africa Action Plan, Regional Coordinating Unit.