Abstract:
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 4.8% of the world fauna. This paper presents the current state of spider
biodiversity information and how it is managed. It demonstrates the importance of running a national
inventory; emphasises the significance of using a good database application; and the importance of
capacity development to improve the quality and integration of biodiversity information. Further, it
shows the role SANSA has played in unifying and strengthening arachnid research, with the major
thrust to discover the spider diversity in South Africa. We discuss the present status of knowledge,
constraints to improving this, and the future directions for research. SANSA has provided the
foundations for a more integrative approach to spider diversity research. Future research should build
on this legacy by linking taxonomic diversity with that of functional diversity, predicting the response
of this diversity to global change drivers. Functional approaches will link these studies to ecosystem
processes. Global collaborative studies at several sites following standardised sampling protocols and
focused research questions would add value to the SANSA collection and the importance of spiders for
the health of ecosystems.
