Biography:

Mohammed Dakki, is a senior lecturer at the Mohamed V University and head of the zoology and animal ecology department at the Institut Scientifique, Rabat. He received his PhD in hydrobiology from Marseille University (France) in 1979 and Doctorate of State in applied ecology from the Sciences Faculty of Rabat (Morocco) in 1986. Pr. Dakki is a recognized international expert on the management of environmental and development projects, socioeconomic studies, payment of ecosystem services, establishment of management plans for protected areas and wildlife inventories. He gives courses on the evolution of animal adaptation, ecology of animal communities, biodiversity conservation methodologies and in-situ monitoring tools of terrestrial vertebrates. He has also trained hundreds of Master and PhD students. Dakki is leading some national and regional organizations and initiatives for the protection of Moroccan wildlife heritage and Mediterranean ecosystems especially wetlands.

Abstract:

Determinism of the actual configuration of the North-African biodiversity : paleoclimatic and human factors

The actual biodiversity of North Africa is now well known and has been characterized by several scientists, and its origin has been largely discussed. However, some characters of this biodiversity have not been sufficiently explained and need steel some clarifications. These characteristics are synthesised, using frequently comparisons with Europe (Temperate region) and South Saharan regions. But most of the synthesis is based on the analysis of the habitats diversity in the Mediterranean and Saharan biomes, which offers the basic explanations of the actual composition and distribution of the wildlife communities. The major part of this presentation is concentrated on paleogeographic and, more especially, paleoclimatic interpretations of the actual composition and diversity of the North African biodiversity, while most of the ecologists focused generally on the human impacts, both in actual and historical contexts. The influence of paleoclimatic fluctuations in the Mediterranean and Saharan regions on animal and vegetal communities is analysed, through a model of ecological speciation and selection under climate change constraints. Human pressures on nature, both before and during the period of 'technologic expansion', are also briefly synthesized, with special focus on the actual climate changes, mostly marked in the Mediterranean region by severe and recurrent droughts. Illustration examples are generally related to the Moroccan biodiversity, with extrapolations to the other countries, and will cover different wildlife groups.