Krystal Tolley

Overview

Professor Tolley is a herpetologist who uses genetics and ecology to study African reptiles and amphibians. Research focusses on the biogeography and phylogenetics of African herpetofauna, particularly chameleons and snakes. She is a keen field biologist who carries out biodiversity surveys to improve foundational knowledge on reptiles and amphibians. She also is involved in conservation of species through several IUCN Red Listing specialist groups. Ongoing research projects include: Adaptation of chameleons to transformed habitats at the macro and micro evolutionary levels. Phylogenetics and biogeography of vipers Phylogenetics and biogeography of elapids Assessing phylogenetic diversity and EDGE indicators for South African reptiles and amphibians Long-term monitoring of threatened amphibians Teaching : Conservation Genetics Recent publications: 2025 Adair MG, Tolley KA, van Vuuren BJ, da Silva JM. 2025. Anthropogenic reverberations on the gut microbiome of dwarf chameleons ( Bradypodion ) . PeerJ 13:e18811. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.18811 Barends JM, Stanton-Jones WK, Alexander GJ, Tolley KA. 2025. Body size, not habitat or sex, best explains the extent of ultraviolet fluorescence in African dwarf chameleons ( Bradypodion ) . Journal of Zoology. Early View. https://doi.org/10.1111/jzo.70032 Cowan O, Conradie W, Keates C, Telford NS, Petford M, Egan V, Tolley KA. 2025. Lost Lizards: the importance of targeted surveys in filling knowledge gaps for reptile conservation in South Africa . Journal for Nature Conservation 84, 126790. doi.org/10.1016/j.jnc.2024.126790 Datta-Roy A, Brandley MC, Austin CC, Bauer AM, Harris DJ, Carranza S, Ukuwela KDB, De Silva A, Tolley KA, Karanth KP, Chaitanya R, Sil M. 2025. The contemporary distribution of scincine lizards does not reflect their biogeographic origin . Journal of Biogeography 52:767–779. https://doi.org/10.1111/jbi.15061 Tolley KA, Alexander GJ. Into Africa: The biogeography of the genus Python in Africa. Frontiers of Biogeography 18, e146955. https://doi.org/10.21425/fob.18.146955 Tolley KA, Alexander GJ, Winder IC, Dobson C, Hall C, Barlow A, McBride E, Reissig J, Trape J.-F., Nagy ZT, Wüster C, Wüster W. In press. Phylogeny and species delimitation in an iconic snake genus: the African mambas (Serpentes: Elapidae: Dendroaspis ). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society Tolley KA, Main DC, Dube KM, van Vuuren BJ, da Silva JM. In press. Ecological factors promote convergent evolution and ecological speciation in dwarf chameleons ( Bradypodion ). Zoosystematics and Evolution. 2024 Barends JM, Tolley KA. 2024. Big cities, big bodies: urbanisation correlates with large body sizes and enhanced body condition in African dwarf chameleons (Genus: Bradypodion ) . African Zoology 59(3). https://doi.org/10.1080/15627020.2024.2402256 Barends JM, Petford MA, Tolley KA. 2024. Comparing perch availability and perch use between African dwarf chameleon ( Bradypodion ) ecomorphs . Current Zoology, zoae076. https://doi.org/10.1093/cz/zoae076 Bayliss J, Bittencourt-Silva GB, Branch WR, Bruessow C, Collins S, Congdon C, Conradie W, Curran M, Daniels S, Darbyshire I, Farooq H, Fishpool L, Grantham G, Magombo Z, Matimele H, Monadjem A, Monteiro J, Osborne J, Saunders J, Smith P, Spottiswoode CN, Taylor P, Timberlake J, Tolley KA, Tovela E, Platts PJ. 2024. The South East Africa Montane Archipelago (SEAMA) – a biogeographical appraisal of a threatened ecoregion . Scientific Reports 14, Article number: 5971. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-54671-z Becker F, Alexander GJ, Tolley KA. 2024. Substrate specialisation drives an unexpectedly diverse radiation in barking geckos ( Ptenopus : Gekkonidae) . Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 197, 108104. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2024.108104 Clark TK, Alexander GJ, Tolley KA. 2024. Susceptibility of dwarf chameleons to climate and land use change: A vulnerability framework for conservation planning . African Zoology 59(1), 26-38. https://10.1080/15627020.2024.2311077 Clements H, Do Linh San E, Hempson G, Linden B, Maritz B, Monadjem A, Reynolds C, Siebert F, Stevens N, Biggs R, De Vos A, Blanchard R, Esler K, Hamann M, Loft T, Reyers B, Selomane O, Skowno A, Tshoke T, Abdoulaye D, Aebischer T, Aguirre-Gutiérrez J, Alexander G, Ali A, Allan D, Amoako E, Angedakin S, Aruna E, Avenant N, Badjedjea G, Bakayoko A, Bamba-kaya A, Bates M, Bates P, Belmain S, Bennitt E, Bradley J, Brewster C, Brown M, Brown M, Bryja J, Butynski T, Carvalho F, Channing A, Chapman C, Cohen C, Cords M, Cramer J, Cronk N, Cunneyworth P, Dalerum F, Danquah E, Davies-Mostert H, de Blocq A, De Jong Y, Demos T, Denys C, Djagoun C, Doherty-Bone T, Drouilly M, du Toit J, Ehlers Smith D, Ehlers Smith Y, Eiseb S, Fashing P, Ferguson A, Fernández-García J, Finckh M, Fischer C, Gandiwa E, Gaubert P, Gaugris G, Gibbs D, Gilchrist J, Gil Sanchez J, Githitho A, Goodman P, Granjon L, Grobler JP, Gumbi B, Gvoždík V, Harvey J, Hauptfleisch M, Hayder F, E Hema, Herbst M, Houngbédji M, Huntley B, Hutterer R, Ivande S, Jackson K, Jongsma G, Juste J, Kadjo B, Kaleme P, Kamugisha E, Kaplin B, Kato H, Kiffner C, Kimuyu D, Kityo R, Kouamé N’G, Kouete M, le Roux A, Lee A, Lötter M, Lykke AM, MacFadyen D, Macharia G, Madikiza Z, Mahlaba T, Mallon D, Mamba D, Mande C, Marchant R, Maritz R, Markotter W, McIntyre T, Measey J, Mekonnen A, Meller P, Melville H, Mganga K, Mills M, Minnie L, Didier Missoup A, Mohammad A, Moinde N, Fils Moise B, Monterroso P, Moore J, Musila S, Nago, SGA, Namoto M, Niang F, Nicolas V, Nkenku J, Nkrumah E, Nono GL, Norbert M, Nowak K, Obitte B, Okoni-Williams A, Onongo J, O'Riain MJ, Osinubi S, Parker D, Parrini F, Peel M, Penner J, Pietersen D, Plumptre A, Ponsonby D, Porembski S, Power RJ, Radloff FGT, Rambau R, Ramesh T, Richards L, Rödel M-O, Rollinson D, Rovero F, Saleh F, Schmiedel U, Schoeman MC, Scholte P, Serfass T, Shapiro JT, Shema S, Siebert SJ, Slingsby J, Sliwa A, Smit-Robinson H, Sogbohossou E, Somers M, Spawls S, Streicher J, Swanepoel L, Tanshi I, Taylor P, Taylor W, te Beest M, Telfer P, Thompson D, Tobi E, Tolley KA, Turner A, Twine W, Van Cakenberghe V, Van de Perre F, van der Merwe H, van Niekerk C, van Wyk P, Venter J, Verburgt L, Veron G, Vetter S, Vorontsova M, Wagner T, Webala P, Weber N, Weier S, White P, Whitecross M, Wigley B, Willems F, Winterbach C, Woodhouse G, Child M. 2024. Faunal and floral population intactness estimates across sub-Saharan African land uses: The bii4africa dataset . Scientific Data 11:191. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-023-02832-6 Dubiner S, Aguilar R, Anderson RO, Arenas Moreno DM, Avila LJ5, Boada-Viteri E, Castillo M, Chapple DG, Chukwuka CO, Cree A, Cruz FB, Colli GR, Das I, Delaugerre M-J, Du W-G, Dyugmedzhiev A, Doan TM, Escudero P5, Farquhar J, Gainsbury AM, Grey BS, Grimm-Seyfarth A, Hare KM, Henle K, Ibargüengoytía N, Itescu Y, Jamison S, Jimenez-Robles O, Labra A, Laspiur A, Liang T, Ludgate JL, Luiselli L, Martín J, Matthews G, Medina M, Méndez-de-la-Cruz FR Miles DB, Miranda-Calle AB, Monks JM, Morando M, Moreno Azocar DL, Murali G, Pafilis P, Pérez-Cembranos A, Pérez-Mellado V, Peters R, Pizzatto L, Pincheira-Donoso D, Schwarz R, Shermeister B, Shine R, Theisinger O, Theisinger W, Tolley KA, Torres-Carvajal O, Valdecantos S, Van Damme R, Vitt LJ, Wapstra E, While G, Levin E, Meiri S. 2024. A global analysis of field body temperatures of active squamates in relation to climate and behaviour . Global Ecology and Biogeography, e13808. https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.13808 Herrel A, Taft JM, Main DC, da Silva JM, Tolley KA. 2024. Branching out: Perch diameter and orientation affect pull strength in chameleons (Genus: Bradypodion ) . Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 143(3), blae003. https://doi.org/10.1093/biolinnean/blae003 Keren-Rotem T, Main DC, Barocas A, Donaire-Barroso D, Haddas-Sasson M, Vila C, Shaharabany T, Wolf L, Tolley KA, Geffen E. 2024. Genetic and behavioural factors affecting interpopulation colour pattern variation in two congeneric chameleon species . Royal Society Open Science 11, 231554. doi.org/10.1098/rsos.231554 Lindken T, Anderson CV, Ariano-Sánchez D, Barki G, Biggs C, Bowles P, Chaitanya R, Cronin DT, Jähnig S, Jeschke JM, Kennerley RJ, Lacher, Jr. TE, Luedtke JA, Liu C, Long B, Mallon D, Martin GM, Meiri S, Pasachnik SA, Reynoso VH, Stanford CVB, Stephenson PJ, Tolley KA, Torres-Carvajal O, Waldien DL, Woinarski JCZ, Evans T. 2024. What factors influence the rediscovery of lost tetrapod species ? Global Change Biology 30, 1 – 18. DOI: 10.1111/gcb.17107 Main DC, Taft JM, Geneva AJ, van Vuuren BJ, Tolley KA. 2024. The efficacy of single mitochondrial genes at reconciling the complete mitogenome phylogeny - a case study on dwarf chameleons . PeerJ 12:e17076. DOI 10.7717/peerj.17076 Petford MA, Herrel A, Alexander GJ, Tolley KA. 2024. Differences between urban and natural populations of dwarf chameleons ( Bradypodion damaranum ): a case of urban warfare . Urban Ecosystems 27, 577 – 589. doi.org/10.1007/s11252-023-01474-1 Tolley KA, Alexander GJ. 2024. Science in decline: Is quality sacrificed for quantity and ease of access ? African Journal of Herpetology 73(1), 126 - 129. doi: 10.1080/21564574.2024.2325359 Tolley KA, Weeber J. 2024. Breeding of Rose’s Dwarf Mountain Toadlet ( Capensibufo rosei ) in a fire-prone, sclerophyllous habitat . African Herp News 85, 21 – 30. Books: Tolley KA, Conradie W, Pietersen DW, Weeber J, Burger M, Alexander GJ. 2023. The conservation status of the reptiles of South Africa, Eswatini and Lesotho . Suricata 10. South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria. Tolley KA, Herrel A. (Eds). 2013. The Biology of the Chameleons. University of California Press. 275 pp. Tolley KA, Burger M. 2007. Chameleons of Southern Africa. Struik Publishers, Cape Town. 100 pp. Popular science, technical articles, book chapters: Skowno AL, Poole CJ, Raimondo DC, Sink KJ, Van Deventer H, Van Niekerk L, Harris LR, Smith-Adao LB, Tolley KA, Zengeya TA, Foden WB, Midgley GF, Driver A. 2019. National Biodiversity Assessment 2018: The status of South Africa’s ecosystems and biodiversity. Synthesis Report . South African National Biodiversity Institute, an entity of the Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries, Pretoria. http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12143/6362 Tolley KA, Alexander GJ. 2024. Reptiles in South Africa are under threat – but there’s good news too. The Conversation, 15 April 2024 Alexander GJ, Maritz B, Tolley KA. 2021. Red tape is choking biodiversity research in South Africa. What can be done about it? The Conversation 7 October 2021. https://theconversation.com/red-tape-is-choking-biodiversity-research-in-south-africa-what-can-be-done-about-it-169189 Tolley KA. 2021. The Conversation: Malawi's tiny Chapman’s chameleons are holding on for dear life. 3 August 2021. https://theconversation.com/malawis-tiny-chapmans-chameleons-are-holding-on-for-dear-life-153734 Tolley KA. 2020. Into Africa: Going Boldly to Places Herpetologists Have Not Gone Before. Herpetological Review 51(3), 648-650. Tolley KA, Rebelo A. 2020. Citizen science makes a mark for African herpetology. African Herp News 75, 40-42. Tolley KA. 2019. National Sensitive Species List for Reptiles and Amphibians. African Herp News 72, 6-8. Jansen van Vuuren B, Visser J, Bishop J, Dalton D, Masehela T, von der Heyden S, Kotze A, Mwale M, Selier J, Tolley KA. 2019. Chapter 2: Risks and impacts to genetic diversity, pressure and benefits. In National Biodiversity Assessment 2018 Technical Report Volume 7: Genetic Diversity. South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria. Report Number: http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12143/6376 Tolley KA, da Silva J, van Vuuren B. 2019. Chapter 10: Risks, Benefits and Trends of Genetic Diversity. In National Biodiversity Assessment 2018 Technical Report Volume 1: Terrestrial Realm. Skowno AL, Raimondo DC, Poole CJ, Fizzotti B (eds). South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria. Tolley KA, da Silva JM, Jansen van Vuuren B. 2019. South African National Biodiversity Assessment 2018 Technical Report Volume 7: Genetic Diversity. South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria. http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12143/6376 Tolley KA, Šmíd J. 2019. Chapter 4: Evaluating the status and trends of landscape level genetic diversity: a case study using South African reptiles, in National Biodiversity assessment 2018 Technical Report Volume 7: Genetic Diversity. South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria. Report Number: http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12143/6376 Tolley KA. 2018. How tiny toads seize the day – and the weather conditions – for breeding. The Conversation, 1 May 2018. https://theconversation.com/how-tiny-toads-seize-the-day-and-the-weather-conditions-for-breeding-95459 Holness, S., Driver, A., Todd, S., Snaddon, K., Hamer, M., Raimondo, D., Daniels, F., Alexander, G., Bazelet, C., Bills, R., Bragg, C., Branch, B., Bruyns, P., Chakona, A., Child, M., Clarke, R.V., Coetzer, A., Coetzer, W., Colville, J., Conradie, W., Dean, R., Eardley, C., Ebrahim, I., Edge, D., Gaynor, D., Gear, S., Herbert, D., Kgatla, M., Lamula, K., Leballo, G., Lyle, R., Malatji, N., Mansell, M., Mecenero, S., Midgley, J., Mlambo, M., Mtshali, H., Simaika, J., Skowno, A., Staude, H., Tolley, K., Underhill, L., van der Colff, D., van Noort, S. and von Staden, L. 2016. Biodiversity and Ecological Impacts: Landscape Processes, Ecosystems and Species. In Scholes, R., Lochner, P., Schreiner, G., Snyman-Van der Walt, L. and de Jager, M. (eds.). 2016. Shale Gas Development in the Central Karoo: A Scientific Assessment of the Opportunities and Risks. CSIR/IU/021MH/EXP/2016/003/A, ISBN 978-0-7988-5631-7, Pretoria: CSIR. Available at http://seasgd.csir.co.za/scientific-assessment-chapters/ Tolley KA, Bowie RCK, Price BW, Measey GJ, Forest F. 2014. The shifting landscape of genes since the Pliocene: terrestrial phylogeography in the Greater Cape Floristic Region. pp. 142-163, In: Allsopp N, Colville JF, Verboom T. (Eds.) Ecology and Evolution of Fynbos Understanding Megadiversity. Oxford University Press. Links: Centre for Ecological Genomics and Wildlife Conservation