Red List Status
VU - Vulnerable, D2 (IUCN version 3.1)

Red List Assessment

Red List Status

Is the reassessment subject to the 5-year rule? (Not specified)

Assessment Information

Date of Assessment: 2023-01-25

Reviewed? (Not specified)

Assessor(s): Braun, K.

Reviewer(s): (Not specified)

Contributor(s): (Not specified)

Facilitators/Compilers: (Not specified)

Institution(s): (Not specified)

Acknowledgements: (Not specified)

Regions: Global

Regional Expert Questions: (Not specified)

Assessment Rationale

Syncolostemon comptonii has a very restricted distribution, and is restricted to ultramafic soils. Its calculated estimated extent of occurrence was smaller than the area of occupancy of 16 km², so the latter has been used for this assessment. Part of its range falls within a protected area, but the remaining locations are at risk from expansion of forestry plantations and ongoing livestock grazing. Based on this, it has been assessed as Vulnerable, under Criterion D2.
Date last seen: 1999

Reasons for Change

Reason(s) for Change in Red List Category from the Previous Assessment: (Not specified)

Red List Index

Red List Index: (Not specified)

Distribution

Geographic Range

This species is known only from north west Eswatini, on ultramafic sites in Malolotja Nature Reserve and adjacent areas near the Nkomati River. The detailed locality information is from Donald McCallum's unpublished masters thesis.

Area of Occupancy (AOO)

Estimated area of occupancy (AOO) - in km2	Justification
16	The area of occupancy has been estimated from four recorded localities, calculated using GeoCAT (Bachman et al. 2011), with the standard 2x2 km grid cell being applied.

Continuing decline in area of occupancy (AOO)	Qualifier	Justification
No	Inferred	The distribution of this species is partly included in Malolotja Nature Reserve, where it receives protection, and the remainder of the appropriate habitat has probably not declined in recent years, habitat loss due to forestry plantations having occurred at least 30 years ago.

Extreme fluctuations in area of occupancy (AOO)	Justification
No	No fluctuations in area of occupancy are known.

Extent of Occurrence (EOO)

Estimated extent of occurrence (EOO)- in km2	EOO estimate calculated from Minimum Convex Polygon	Justification
16	true	The estimated extent of occurrence is based on four localities, calculated using GeoCAT (Bachman et al. 2011). As this is smaller than the area of occupancy, the latter has been used for extent of occurrence.

Continuing decline in extent of occurrence (EOO)	Qualifier	Justification
No	Inferred	The distribution of this species is partly included in Malolotja Nature Reserve, where it receives protection, and the remainder of the appropriate habitat has probably not declined in recent years, habitat loss due to forestry plantations having occurred at least 30 years ago.

Extreme fluctuations in extent of occurrence (EOO)	Justification
No	There are no known extreme fluctuations in extent of occurrence for this species.

Locations Information

Number of Locations	Justification
4	Based on Donald McCallum's unpublished masters thesis, this species is known from four localities, and is limited to ultramafic soils. These localities may be subject to different threats and are considered to be for locations.

Continuing decline in number of locations	Qualifier	Justification
Unknown	-	There have been no recent surveys of this species, so its continued existence throughout its range is unknown.

Extreme fluctuations in the number of locations	Justification
No	There is currently no information on any extreme fluctuations in the number of locations for this species.

Very restricted AOO or number of locations (triggers VU D2)

Very restricted in area of occupancy (AOO) and/or # of locations	Justification
Yes	The current known area of occupancy based on four records is 16 km2. This might be an overestimation due to this species being limited to ultramafic soils.

Elevation / Depth / Depth Zones

Elevation Lower Limit (in metres above sea level): 690

Elevation Upper Limit (in metres above sea level): 940

Depth Lower Limit (in metres below sea level): (Not specified)

Depth Upper Limit (in metres below sea level): (Not specified)

Depth Zone: (Not specified)

Map Status

Map Status: (Not specified)

Biogeographic Realms

Biogeographic Realm: Afrotropical

Country	Presence	Origin	Formerly Bred	Seasonality
Eswatini	Extant	Native	-	Resident

Population

From Donald McCallum's unpublished masters thesis, this species is probably uncommon in the localities where it occurs, and is restricted to the serpentine sites. The fieldwork for this thesis was conducted in 1999, and there have been no more recent surveys of this species.

Population Information

Current Population Trend: Unknown

Number of mature individuals (=population size): (Not specified)

Extreme fluctuations? (in # of mature individuals): (Not specified)

Severely fragmented? (Not specified)

Continuing decline in mature individuals? (Not specified)

Continuing decline % in mature individuals within 1 generation or 3 years, whichever is longer (up to max. of 100 years in the future): (Not specified)

Continuing decline % in mature individuals within 2 generations or 5 years, whichever is longer (up to max. of 100 years in the future): (Not specified)

Continuing decline % in mature individuals within 3 generations or 10 years, whichever is longer (up to max. of 100 years in the future): (Not specified)

Extreme fluctuations in the number of subpopulations: (Not specified)

Continuing decline in number of subpopulations: (Not specified)

All individuals in one subpopulation: (Not specified)

Number of mature individuals in largest subpopulation: (Not specified)

Number of Subpopulations: (Not specified)

Population Reduction - Past

Percent Change in past: (Not specified)

Past Population Reduction Basis: (Not specified)

Causes of past reduction reversible? (Not specified)

Causes of past reduction understood? (Not specified)

Causes of past reduction ceased? (Not specified)

Population Reduction - Future

Percent Change in future: (Not specified)

Future Population Reduction Basis: (Not specified)

Population Reduction - Ongoing

Both: Percent Change over any 10 year or 3 generation period, whichever is longer, and must include both past and future, future can't go beyond 100 years: (Not specified)

Both Population Reduction Basis: (Not specified)

Causes of both (past and future) reduction reversible? (Not specified)

Causes of both (past and future) reduction understood? (Not specified)

Causes of both (past and future) reduction ceased? (Not specified)

Quantitative Analysis

Probability of extinction in the wild within 3 generations or 10 years, whichever is longer, maximum 100 years: (Not specified)

Probability of extinction in the wild within 5 generations or 20 years, whichever is longer, maximum 100 years: (Not specified)

Probability of extinction in the wild within 100 years: (Not specified)

Habitats and Ecology

There is very little information currently available on the habitats and ecology for this species, apart from its requirement for the geology being ultramafic areas. The vegetation types of the areas where it has been recorded are Swaziland Sour Bushveld (SV14) and Barberton Montane Grassland (Gm17) (Mucina et. al., 2018).

IUCN Habitats Classification Scheme

Habitat	Season	Suitability	Major Importance?
2.2. Savanna -> Savanna - Moist	-	Suitable	-
4.7. Grassland -> Grassland - Subtropical/Tropical High Altitude	-	Suitable	-

Continuing Decline in Habitat

Continuing decline in area, extent and/or quality of habitat?	Qualifier	Justification
Unknown	-	It is unknown at this stage whether there has been continuing decline of suitable habitat for this species, where its range falls outside Malolotja Nature Reserve.

Life History

Generation Length: (Not specified)

Age at maturity: female or unspecified: (Not specified)

Age at Maturity: Male: (Not specified)

Size at Maturity (in cms): Female: (Not specified)

Size at Maturity (in cms): Male: (Not specified)

Longevity: (Not specified)

Average Reproductive Age: (Not specified)

Maximum Size (in cms): (Not specified)

Size at Birth (in cms): (Not specified)

Gestation Time: (Not specified)

Reproductive Periodicity: (Not specified)

Average Annual Fecundity or Litter Size: (Not specified)

Annual Rate of Population Increase: (Not specified)

Natural Mortality: (Not specified)

Does the species lay eggs? (Not specified)

Does the species give birth to live young: (Not specified)

Does the species exhibit parthenogenesis: (Not specified)

Does the species have a free-living larval stage? (Not specified)

Does the species require water for breeding? (Not specified)

Movement Patterns

Movement Patterns: (Not specified)

Congregatory: (Not specified)

Systems

System: Terrestrial

Plant / Fungi Specific

Wild relative of a crop? (Not specified)

Plant and Fungal Growth Forms: (Not specified)

Use and Trade

General Use and Trade Information

Species not utilized: (Not specified)

No use/trade information for this species: true

General notes regarding trade and use of this species: (Not specified)

Local Livelihood: (Not specified)

National Commercial Value: (Not specified)

International Commercial Value: (Not specified)

End Use: (Not specified)

Is there harvest from captive/cultivated sources of this species? (Not specified)

Trend in level of total offtake from wild sources: (Not specified)

Trend in level of total offtake from domesticated sources: (Not specified)

Harvest Trend Comments: (Not specified)

Non- Consumptive Use

Non-consumptive use of the species? (Not specified)

Explanation of non-consumptive use: (Not specified)

Livelihoods

Livelihoods: (Not specified)

Threats

There is potential habitat degradation occurring in the remaining appropriate habitats for this species which are found outside Malolotja Nature Reserve. This might be from expansion of forestry plantations as well as heavy grazing by livestock.

Threats Classification Scheme

No past, ongoing, or future threats exist to this species. (Not specified)

The threats to this species are unknown. (Not specified)

Threat	Timing	Scope	Severity
2.2.2. Agriculture & aquaculture -> Wood & pulp plantations -> Agro-industry plantations	Unknown	Minority (<50%)	Very Rapid Declines
2.3.2. Agriculture & aquaculture -> Livestock farming & ranching -> Small-holder grazing, ranching or farming	Ongoing	Minority (<50%)	Unknown

Conservation

Part of the range for this species falls within Malolotja Nature Reserve, near the Nkomati River.

Conservation Actions In- Place

Action Recovery Plan	Note
No	-

Systematic monitoring scheme	Note
No	-

Conservation sites identified	Note
Yes, over part of range	Part of the range for this species falls within Malolotja Nature Reserve, near the Nkomati River.

Occur in at least one PA	Note
Yes	This species has been found within Malolotja Nature Reserve.

Percentage of population protected by PAs (0-100)	Note
41-50	-

Area based regional management plan	Note
No	-

Invasive species control or prevention: (Not specified)

Harvest management plan	Note
No	-

Successfully reintroduced or introduced benignly	Note
No	-

Subject to ex-situ conservation	Note
No	-

Subject to recent education and awareness programmes	Note
No	-

Included in international legislation	Note
No	-

Subject to any international management/trade controls	Note
No	-

Important Conservation Actions Needed

Important Conservation Actions Needed: (Not specified)

Research Needed

Research Needed: (Not specified)

Syncolostemon comptonii - Codd