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Kass JM, Guénard B, Dudley KL, Jenkins CN, Azuma F, Fisher BL, Parr CL, Gibb H, Longino JT, Ward PS, Chao A, Lubertazzi D, Weiser M, Jetz W, Guralnick R, Blatrix R, Lauriers JD, Donoso DA, Georgiadis C, Gomez K, Hawkes PG, Johnson RA, Lattke JE, MacGown JA, Mackay W, Robson S, Sanders NJ, Dunn RR, Economo EP. The global distribution of known and undiscovered ant biodiversity. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2022; 8:eabp9908. [PMID: 35921404 PMCID: PMC9348798 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abp9908] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2022] [Accepted: 06/21/2022] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
Invertebrates constitute the majority of animal species and are critical for ecosystem functioning and services. Nonetheless, global invertebrate biodiversity patterns and their congruences with vertebrates remain largely unknown. We resolve the first high-resolution (~20-km) global diversity map for a major invertebrate clade, ants, using biodiversity informatics, range modeling, and machine learning to synthesize existing knowledge and predict the distribution of undiscovered diversity. We find that ants and different vertebrate groups have distinct features in their patterns of richness and rarity, underscoring the need to consider a diversity of taxa in conservation. However, despite their phylogenetic and physiological divergence, ant distributions are not highly anomalous relative to variation among vertebrate clades. Furthermore, our models predict that rarity centers largely overlap (78%), suggesting that general forces shape endemism patterns across taxa. This raises confidence that conservation of areas important for small-ranged vertebrates will benefit invertebrates while providing a "treasure map" to guide future discovery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jamie M. Kass
- Biodiversity and Biocomplexity Unit, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology, Onna, Okinawa 904-0495, Japan
| | - Benoit Guénard
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong
| | - Kenneth L. Dudley
- Biodiversity and Biocomplexity Unit, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology, Onna, Okinawa 904-0495, Japan
| | - Clinton N. Jenkins
- Department of Earth and Environment and Kimberly Green Latin American and Caribbean Center, Florida International University, 11200 SW 8th Street, Miami, FL 33199, USA
| | - Fumika Azuma
- Biodiversity and Biocomplexity Unit, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology, Onna, Okinawa 904-0495, Japan
| | - Brian L. Fisher
- Entomology, California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, CA 94118, USA
| | - Catherine L. Parr
- School of Environmental Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 3GP, UK
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0028, South Africa
- School of Animal, Plant, and Environmental Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, Wits 2050, South Africa
| | - Heloise Gibb
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Evolution, and Center for Future Landscapes, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Victoria 3086, Australia
| | - John T. Longino
- School of Biology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA
| | - Philip S. Ward
- Department of Entomology and Nematology, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Anne Chao
- Institute of Statistics, National Tsing Hua University, Hsin-Chu 30043, Taiwan
| | - David Lubertazzi
- Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, 26 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Michael Weiser
- Department of Biology and Geographical Ecology Group, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73019, USA
| | - Walter Jetz
- Center for Biodiversity and Global Change and Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA
| | - Robert Guralnick
- Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
| | - Rumsaïs Blatrix
- CEFE, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, EPHE, IRD, Montpellier, France
| | | | - David A. Donoso
- Departamento de Biología, Escuela Politécnica Nacional, Quito, Ecuador
| | - Christos Georgiadis
- Section of Zoology–Marine Biology, Department of Biology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Zografou 15772, Greece
| | | | - Peter G. Hawkes
- AfriBugs CC, 341 27th Avenue, Villieria, Pretoria, Gauteng Province 0186, South Africa
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Venda, Thohoyandou, Limpopo Province, South Africa
| | - Robert A. Johnson
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 852787-4501, USA
| | - John E. Lattke
- Department of Zoology, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Curitiba, CEP 81531-980, PR, Brazil
| | - Joe A. MacGown
- Department of Molecular Biology, Biochemistry, Entomology, and Plant Pathology, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS 39762, USA
| | - William Mackay
- Biodiversity Collections, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Texas, El Paso, TX, 79968, USA
| | - Simon Robson
- College of Science and Engineering, Central Queensland University, Townsville, QLD 4812, Australia
| | - Nathan J. Sanders
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Robert R. Dunn
- Department of Applied Ecology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27607, USA
| | - Evan P. Economo
- Biodiversity and Biocomplexity Unit, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology, Onna, Okinawa 904-0495, Japan
- Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
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Weiser MD, Siler CD, Smith SN, Marshall KE, McLaughlin JF, Miller MJ, Kaspari M. Robust metagenomic evidence that local assemblage richness increases with latitude in ground‐active invertebrates of North America. OIKOS 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.08791] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Michael D. Weiser
- Univ. of Oklahoma, Dept of Biology Norman OK USA
- Univ. of Oklahoma, Geographical Ecology Group Norman OK USA
| | - Cameron D. Siler
- Univ. of Oklahoma, Dept of Biology Norman OK USA
- Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History Norman OK USA
| | - Sierra N. Smith
- Univ. of Oklahoma, Dept of Biology Norman OK USA
- Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History Norman OK USA
| | | | - Jessica F. McLaughlin
- Univ. of Oklahoma, Dept of Biology Norman OK USA
- Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History Norman OK USA
| | - Matthew J. Miller
- Univ. of Oklahoma, Dept of Biology Norman OK USA
- Reneco International Wildlife Consultants Abu Dhabi UAE
| | - Michael Kaspari
- Univ. of Oklahoma, Dept of Biology Norman OK USA
- Univ. of Oklahoma, Geographical Ecology Group Norman OK USA
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Oberprieler SK, Andersen AN, Gillespie GR, Einoder LD. Vertebrates are poor umbrellas for invertebrates: cross‐taxon congruence in an Australian tropical savanna. Ecosphere 2019. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.2755] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Stefanie K. Oberprieler
- CSIRO Tropical Ecosystems Research Centre P.M.B. 44 Winnellie Darwin Northern Territory 0822 Australia
- Research Institute for the Environment and Livelihoods Charles Darwin University Darwin Northern Territory 0909 Australia
- Research School of Biology Australian National University Acton Canberra Australian Capital Territory 2600 Australia
| | - Alan N. Andersen
- CSIRO Tropical Ecosystems Research Centre P.M.B. 44 Winnellie Darwin Northern Territory 0822 Australia
- Research Institute for the Environment and Livelihoods Charles Darwin University Darwin Northern Territory 0909 Australia
| | - Graeme R. Gillespie
- Flora and Fauna Division Department of Environment and Natural Resources P.O. Box 496 Palmerston Northern Territory 0831 Australia
| | - Luke D. Einoder
- Flora and Fauna Division Department of Environment and Natural Resources P.O. Box 496 Palmerston Northern Territory 0831 Australia
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Hargreaves AL, Suárez E, Mehltreter K, Myers-Smith I, Vanderplank SE, Slinn HL, Vargas-Rodriguez YL, Haeussler S, David S, Muñoz J, Carlos Almazán-Núñez R, Loughnan D, Benning JW, Moeller DA, Brodie JF, Thomas HJ, Morales M. PA. Seed predation increases from the Arctic to the Equator and from high to low elevations. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2019; 5:eaau4403. [PMID: 30801010 PMCID: PMC6382403 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aau4403] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2018] [Accepted: 01/09/2019] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Species interactions have long been predicted to increase in intensity toward the tropics and low elevations because of gradients in climate, productivity, or biodiversity. Despite their importance for understanding global ecological and evolutionary processes, plant-animal interaction gradients are particularly difficult to test systematically across large geographic gradients, and evidence from smaller, disparate studies is inconclusive. By systematically measuring postdispersal seed predation using 6995 standardized seed depots along 18 mountains in the Pacific cordillera, we found that seed predation increases by 17% from the Arctic to the Equator and by 17% from 4000 meters above sea level to sea level. Clines in total predation, likely driven by invertebrates, were consistent across treeline ecotones and within continuous forest and were better explained by climate seasonality than by productivity, biodiversity, or latitude. These results suggest that species interactions play predictably greater ecological and evolutionary roles in tropical, lowland, and other less seasonal ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- A. L. Hargreaves
- Department of Biology, McGill University, 1205 Dr. Penfield Ave., Montreal, QC H3A 1B1, Canada
- Department of Zoology and Biodiversity Research Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - Esteban Suárez
- Instituto Biósfera & Colegio de Ciencias Biológicas y Ambientales, Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Ecuador
| | - Klaus Mehltreter
- Red de Ecología Funcional, Instituto de Ecología, A.C., carretera antigua a Coatepec No. 351, El Haya, Xalapa, 91070 Veracruz, México
| | - Isla Myers-Smith
- School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3FF, UK
| | - Sula E. Vanderplank
- Centro de Investigación Científica y de Educación Superior de Ensenada, Carr Tijuana-Ensenada 3918, Fraccionamiento Zona Playitas, 22860 Ensenada, México
- Botanical Research Institute of Texas, 1700 University Drive, Fort Worth, TX 76107, USA
| | - Heather L. Slinn
- Department of Biology, University of Nevada Reno, 1664 N Virginia street, Reno, NV 89557, USA
| | - Yalma L. Vargas-Rodriguez
- National Council of Science and Technology & University of Guadalajara, Apdo. Postal 4-014, Col. La Loma, Guadalajara, 44421 Jalisco, México
| | - Sybille Haeussler
- Bulkley Valley Research Centre and University of Northern British Columbia, Smithers, BC, Canada
| | - Santiago David
- Department of Zoology and Biodiversity Research Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - Jenny Muñoz
- Department of Zoology and Biodiversity Research Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - R. Carlos Almazán-Núñez
- Laboratorio Integral de Fauna Silvestre, Facultad de Ciencias Químico Biológicas, Universidad Autónoma de Guerrero, Av. Lázaro Cárdenas s/n, Chilpancingo, 39000 Guerrero, México
| | - Deirdre Loughnan
- Department of Zoology and Biodiversity Research Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - John W. Benning
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of Minnesota, 1479 Gortner Ave., St. Paul, MN 55108, USA
| | - David A. Moeller
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of Minnesota, 1479 Gortner Ave., St. Paul, MN 55108, USA
| | - Jedediah F. Brodie
- Division of Biological Sciences and Wildlife Biology Program, University of Montana, 32 Campus Drive, Missoula, MT 59812, USA
| | - Haydn J.D. Thomas
- School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3FF, UK
| | - P. A. Morales M.
- Herbario Universidad de Antioquia, Universidad de Antioquia, Calle 67 No. 53-108, Medellín, Colombia
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Lehtomäki J, Kusumoto B, Shiono T, Tanaka T, Kubota Y, Moilanen A. Spatial conservation prioritization for the East Asian islands: A balanced representation of multitaxon biogeography in a protected area network. DIVERS DISTRIB 2018. [DOI: 10.1111/ddi.12869] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Joona Lehtomäki
- Environmental Geography Group, Department of Earth Sciences, Faculty of Earth and Life SciencesVrije Universiteit Amsterdam Amsterdam The Netherlands
| | - Buntarou Kusumoto
- Center for Strategic Research ProjectUniversity of the Ryukyus Nishihara Okinawa Japan
| | - Takayuki Shiono
- Faculty of ScienceUniversity of the Ryukyus Nishihara Okinawa Japan
| | - Takayuki Tanaka
- Department of Mountain and Environmental Science, Interdisciplinary Graduate School of Science and TechnologyShinshu University Matsumoto, Nagano Japan
| | - Yasuhiro Kubota
- Faculty of ScienceUniversity of the Ryukyus Nishihara Okinawa Japan
- Marine and Terrestrial Field Ecology, Tropical Biosphere Research CenterUniversity of the Ryukyus Nishihara Okinawa Japan
| | - Atte Moilanen
- Finnish Natural History Museum, and the Department of GeosciencesUniversity of Helsinki Helsinki Finland
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Developing an Integrated Remote Sensing Based Biodiversity Index for Predicting Animal Species Richness. REMOTE SENSING 2018. [DOI: 10.3390/rs10050739] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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Reis RE, Albert JS, Di Dario F, Mincarone MM, Petry P, Rocha LA. Fish biodiversity and conservation in South America. JOURNAL OF FISH BIOLOGY 2016; 89:12-47. [PMID: 27312713 DOI: 10.1111/jfb.13016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 263] [Impact Index Per Article: 32.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2015] [Accepted: 04/14/2016] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
The freshwater and marine fish faunas of South America are the most diverse on Earth, with current species richness estimates standing above 9100 species. In addition, over the last decade at least 100 species were described every year. There are currently about 5160 freshwater fish species, and the estimate for the freshwater fish fauna alone points to a final diversity between 8000 and 9000 species. South America also has c. 4000 species of marine fishes. The mega-diverse fish faunas of South America evolved over a period of >100 million years, with most lineages tracing origins to Gondwana and the adjacent Tethys Sea. This high diversity was in part maintained by escaping the mass extinctions and biotic turnovers associated with Cenozoic climate cooling, the formation of boreal and temperate zones at high latitudes and aridification in many places at equatorial latitudes. The fresh waters of the continent are divided into 13 basin complexes, large basins consolidated as a single unit plus historically connected adjacent coastal drainages, and smaller coastal basins grouped together on the basis of biogeographic criteria. Species diversity, endemism, noteworthy groups and state of knowledge of each basin complex are described. Marine habitats around South America, both coastal and oceanic, are also described in terms of fish diversity, endemism and state of knowledge. Because of extensive land use changes, hydroelectric damming, water divergence for irrigation, urbanization, sedimentation and overfishing 4-10% of all fish species in South America face some degree of extinction risk, mainly due to habitat loss and degradation. These figures suggest that the conservation status of South American freshwater fish faunas is better than in most other regions of the world, but the marine fishes are as threatened as elsewhere. Conserving the remarkable aquatic habitats and fishes of South America is a growing challenge in face of the rapid anthropogenic changes of the 21st century, and deserves attention from conservationists and policy makers.
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Affiliation(s)
- R E Reis
- PUCRS, Laboratory of Vertebrate Systematics, Av. Ipiranga, 6681, 90619-900, Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | - J S Albert
- University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Lafayette, LA, 70504-2451, U.S.A
| | - F Di Dario
- Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Núcleo em Ecologia e Desenvolvimento Socioambiental de Macaé (NUPEM), Grupo de Sistemática e Biologia Evolutiva, Caixa Postal 119331, 27910-970, Macaé, RJ, Brazil
| | - M M Mincarone
- Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Núcleo em Ecologia e Desenvolvimento Socioambiental de Macaé (NUPEM), Grupo de Sistemática e Biologia Evolutiva, Caixa Postal 119331, 27910-970, Macaé, RJ, Brazil
| | - P Petry
- Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, 26 Oxford St Cambridge, MA, 02138, U.S.A
| | - L A Rocha
- Section of Ichthyology, California Academy of Sciences, 55 Music Concourse Dr, San Francisco, CA, 94118, U.S.A
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Zhao L, Li J, Liu H, Qin H. Distribution, congruence, and hotspots of higher plants in China. Sci Rep 2016; 6:19080. [PMID: 26750244 PMCID: PMC4707485 DOI: 10.1038/srep19080] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2015] [Accepted: 11/12/2015] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Identifying biodiversity hotspots has become a central issue in setting up priority protection areas, especially as financial resources for biological diversity conservation are limited. Taking China's Higher Plants Red List (CHPRL), including Bryophytes, Ferns, Gymnosperms, Angiosperms, as the data source, we analyzed the geographic patterns of species richness, endemism, and endangerment via data processing at a fine grid-scale with an average edge length of 30 km based on three aspects of richness information: species richness, endemic species richness, and threatened species richness. We sought to test the accuracy of hotspots used in identifying conservation priorities with regard to higher plants. Next, we tested the congruence of the three aspects and made a comparison of the similarities and differences between the hotspots described in this paper and those in previous studies. We found that over 90% of threatened species in China are concentrated. While a high spatial congruence is observed among the three measures, there is a low congruence between two different sets of hotspots. Our results suggest that biodiversity information should be considered when identifying biological hotspots. Other factors, such as scales, should be included as well to develop biodiversity conservation plans in accordance with the region's specific conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lina Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, P.R. China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, P.R. China
| | - Jinya Li
- State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, P.R. China
| | - Huiyuan Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, P.R. China
| | - Haining Qin
- State Key Laboratory of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, P.R. China
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Pérez-Lachaud G, Lachaud JP. Arboreal ant colonies as 'hot-points' of cryptic diversity for myrmecophiles: the weaver ant Camponotus sp. aff. textor and its interaction network with its associates. PLoS One 2014; 9:e100155. [PMID: 24941047 PMCID: PMC4062527 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0100155] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2014] [Accepted: 05/22/2014] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Systematic surveys of macrofaunal diversity within ant colonies are lacking, particularly for ants nesting in microhabitats that are difficult to sample. Species associated with ants are generally small and rarely collected organisms, which makes them more likely to be unnoticed. We assumed that this tendency is greater for arthropod communities in microhabitats with low accessibility, such as those found in the nests of arboreal ants that may constitute a source of cryptic biodiversity. MATERIALS AND METHODS We investigated the invertebrate diversity associated with an undescribed, but already threatened, Neotropical Camponotus weaver ant. As most of the common sampling methods used in studies of ant diversity are not suited for evaluating myrmecophile diversity within ant nests, we evaluated the macrofauna within ant nests through exhaustive colony sampling of three nests and examination of more than 80,000 individuals. RESULTS We identified invertebrates from three classes belonging to 18 taxa, some of which were new to science, and recorded the first instance of the co-occurrence of two brood parasitoid wasp families attacking the same ant host colony. This diversity of ant associates corresponded to a highly complex interaction network. Agonistic interactions prevailed, but the prevalence of myrmecophiles was remarkably low. CONCLUSIONS Our data support the hypothesis of the evolution of low virulence in a variety of symbionts associated with large insect societies. Because most myrmecophiles found in this work are rare, strictly specific, and exhibit highly specialized biology, the risk of extinction for these hitherto unknown invertebrates and their natural enemies is high. The cryptic, far unappreciated diversity within arboreal ant nests in areas at high risk of habitat loss qualifies these nests as 'hot-points' of biodiversity that urgently require special attention as a component of conservation and management programs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabriela Pérez-Lachaud
- Departamento Conservación de la Biodiversidad, El Colegio de la Frontera Sur, Chetumal, Quintana Roo, Mexico
| | - Jean-Paul Lachaud
- Departamento Conservación de la Biodiversidad, El Colegio de la Frontera Sur, Chetumal, Quintana Roo, Mexico
- Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale, CNRS-UMR 5169, Université de Toulouse UPS, Toulouse, France
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Westgate MJ, Barton PS, Lane PW, Lindenmayer DB. Global meta-analysis reveals low consistency of biodiversity congruence relationships. Nat Commun 2014; 5:3899. [DOI: 10.1038/ncomms4899] [Citation(s) in RCA: 110] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2013] [Accepted: 04/16/2014] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
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Abstract
Identifying priority areas for biodiversity is essential for directing conservation resources. Fundamentally, we must know where individual species live, which ones are vulnerable, where human actions threaten them, and their levels of protection. As conservation knowledge and threats change, we must reevaluate priorities. We mapped priority areas for vertebrates using newly updated data on >21,000 species of mammals, amphibians, and birds. For each taxon, we identified centers of richness for all species, small-ranged species, and threatened species listed with the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. Importantly, all analyses were at a spatial grain of 10 × 10 km, 100 times finer than previous assessments. This fine scale is a significant methodological improvement, because it brings mapping to scales comparable with regional decisions on where to place protected areas. We also mapped recent species discoveries, because they suggest where as-yet-unknown species might be living. To assess the protection of the priority areas, we calculated the percentage of priority areas within protected areas using the latest data from the World Database of Protected Areas, providing a snapshot of how well the planet's protected area system encompasses vertebrate biodiversity. Although the priority areas do have more protection than the global average, the level of protection still is insufficient given the importance of these areas for preventing vertebrate extinctions. We also found substantial differences between our identified vertebrate priorities and the leading map of global conservation priorities, the biodiversity hotspots. Our findings suggest a need to reassess the global allocation of conservation resources to reflect today's improved knowledge of biodiversity and conservation.
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