endemism and the assessment of conservation priority brad boyle, brian j. enquist, michael d. weiser...
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Endemism and the assessment of
conservation priority
Brad Boyle, Brian J. Enquist, Michael D. WeiserUniversity of Arizona
Conservation in the fast lane
Two complementary approaches
• Rapid Assessment Program
• Hotspots
Myers, et al., 2000
Hotspots Program
• Identifies global conservation priorities
• Scale:– regional – usually one to
several countries
Rapid Assessment Program
• Information for specific conservation actions
• Scale: – Local– Specific region within
single country
HotspotsRAP
indicators:
HotspotsRAP
risk
indicators:
HotspotsRAP
risk
diversity
indicators:
HotspotsRAP
risk
diversity
endemism
indicators:
HotspotsRAP
risk
diversity
endemism
Conservationaction
HotspotsRAP
risk
diversity
endemism
Conservationaction
Endemism
Endemism
Important indicator of conservation priority
Endemism
Important indicator of conservation priority
However…
Endemism
Important indicator of conservation priority
However…• Typically “tallied” at the scale of entire
countries
Endemism
Important indicator of conservation priority
However…• Typically “tallied” at the scale of entire
countries• Little information at more local scales
Endemism
Important indicator of conservation priority
However…• Typically “tallied” at the scale of entire
countries• Little information at more local scales
• No standard baseline
Can SALVIAS improve our ability to assess endemism?
Plant endemism within the Mesoamerican Hotspot
Mesoamerican Hotspot• 8 countries• 1.1 million sq km• 24,000 plant species
5,000 endemic
http://www.biodiversityhotspots.org/xp/Hotspots/mesoamerica/
Mesoamerican HotspotWithin hotspot, how do
major habitats and geopolitical subdivisions within hotspot differ in plant endemism, and hence conservation priority?
http://www.biodiversityhotspots.org/xp/Hotspots/mesoamerica/
Mesoamerican HotspotWithin hotspot, how do
major habitats and geopolitical subdivisions within hotspot differ in plant endemism, and hence conservation priority?
Globally, how do subdivisions within the Mesoamerican Hotspot rank in endemism?
http://www.biodiversityhotspots.org/xp/Hotspots/mesoamerica/
Data sources
• Local inventories from SALVIAS database
• Species distributions estimated from specimen records using SALVIAS distributed query
Response variables
• Calculated total and percent endemic species per plot
Endemic species:
entire range within 2.5 x 2.5 deg. lat x long (=78,000 km2; cf. Pitman et al., 1999)
•Costa Rica•Southern Mexico (Oaxaca, Veracruz)
Categories: two regional subdivisions
Elevation
(m)
Precip (mm)
Montane rain forest 2750 3000-4000
Lower montane rain forest 1750 3500-5000
Premontane rain forest 750 4500-5500
Tropical wet forest 50 4000-4500
Tropical dry forest 50 1000-1600
Categories: five vegetation types
Comparisons
Within Mesoamerica• Total and proportion endemic species for each
vegetation types in each sub-region
Globally• Ranked Mesoamerican samples relative to entire
global SALVIAS inventory dataset
Number of inventories
Global: 280
• Tenth ha plots by Gentry, Boyle, and others• > 20 individual data contributors
Number of inventories
Mesoamerican hotspot: 33
Costa Rica Mexico
Montane rain forest 3 3
Lower montane rain forest 3 3
Premontane rain forest 3 2
Tropical wet forest 3 1
Tropical dry forest 5 7
Species rangesFrom 23 herbarium specimen databases using SALVIAS
Institution Coverage Database Type
MO Botanical Garden
(Tropicos)
N, S, & C. America Single online
REMIB Mexico Distributed (17 databases)
Univ. B.C. NW North America Single online
Univ. Tennessee E USA Single online
Univ. Oregon NW North America Single online
Univ. Texas SW USA Single online
Univ. Arizona SW USA Local
Data returned by SALVIAS
Species (fully determined)
Specimens
Data returned by SALVIAS
Species (fully determined)• Global dataset
7,369• Mesoamerican plots
909
Specimens
Data returned by SALVIAS
Species (fully determined)• Global dataset
7,369• Mesoamerican plots
909
Specimens• Total 1.9 million• Total, non-cultivated, with coordinates 1.2 million
How does endemism differ within the Mesoamerican Hotspot?
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2
4
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14
En
dem
ic s
pec
ies
MexicoCosta Rica
Endemism rankings of Mesoamerican 0.1 ha plots
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En
dem
ic s
pec
ies
MexicoCosta Rica
Highest-ranking Mexican plots tropical dry forest or premontane rain forest
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4
6
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En
dem
ic s
pec
ies
MexicoCosta Rica
Highest-ranking Costa Rican plots all wet forest, all elevations
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En
dem
ic s
pec
ies
MexicoCosta Rica
Lowest-ranking Costa Rican plots mostly tropical dry forest
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TMp TLMp TPMp Tw Td
Life Zone
En
dem
ic S
pec
ies
per
0.1
ha
Costa Rica
Mexico
Total endemics
Proportion endemics
0
0.05
0.1
0.15
0.2
0.25
TMp TLMp TPMp Tw Td
Life zone
Pro
po
rtio
n e
nd
emic
sp
ecie
s p
er 0
.1 h
a
Costa Rica
Mexico
How does Mesoamerican plant endemism rank globally?
Global rankings
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
TMp TLMp TPMp Tw Td
Life zone
Glo
ba
l e
nd
em
ism
pe
rce
nti
le
CostaRicaMexico
Endemism and latitude
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
-60 -40 -20 0 20 40 60
Latitude
End
emic
spe
cies
per
0.1
ha
Mesoamerica
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
-60 -40 -20 0 20 40 60
Latitude
En
de
mic
sp
ec
ies
pe
r 0
.1 h
a
Top 5%
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
-60 -40 -20 0 20 40 60
Latitude
En
de
mic
sp
ec
ies
pe
r 0
.1 h
a
Mata Atlantica, Brazil
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
-60 -40 -20 0 20 40 60
Latitude
En
de
mic
sp
ec
ies
pe
r 0
.1 h
a
New Caledonia
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
-60 -40 -20 0 20 40 60
Latitude
End
emic
spe
cies
per
0.1
ha
Choco biogeographic province
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
-60 -40 -20 0 20 40 60
Latitude
En
de
mic
sp
ec
ies
pe
r 0
.1 h
a
Andean montane forests
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
-60 -40 -20 0 20 40 60
Latitude
En
de
mic
sp
ec
ies
pe
r 0
.1 h
a
Amazonian foothill forests
• Nearly fourfold variation• Differences between regions depended on vegetation
types…
Conclusions: Mesoamerican plant endemism
• Costa Rican dry forest ranked last in both total and percent endemics
Conclusions: Mesoamerican plant endemism
• Costa Rican dry forest ranked last in both total and percent endemics
• Costa Rican rain forest (all elevations) relatively rich in endemics
Conclusions: Mesoamerican plant endemism
Conclusions: Mesoamerican plant endemism
• Mexican dry forest2.5 x richer in endemic species than Costa Rican
dry forest among highest ranks in Mesoamerican region
• Mexican dry forest2.5 x richer in endemic species than Costa Rican
dry forest among highest ranks in Mesoamerican region
• Mexican premontane forest rich in endemicshigh priority within the hotspot.
Conclusions: Mesoamerican plant endemism
Conclusions: Global endemism
• Mesoamerican forestsaverage on a global scale
Conclusions: Global endemism
• Mesoamerican forestsaverage on a global scale
• Globally highest-ranking sites restricted biogeographic regions with humid
lowland aseasonal forest: Mata Atlantica, Colombian Choco
Wet tropical montane forests
Conclusions: SALVIAS
• A global baseline for endemism and species distributions
Conclusions: SALVIAS
• A global baseline for endemism and species distributions
• Potentially powerful tool for conservation assessment
Thanks to:
SALVIAS development team (University of Arizona)
Brain Enquist, Mike Weiser, Srinivas Reddy (EEB)
James Jeffers, Nirav Marchant (ARL)
Numerous data contributors, but especially
Missouri Botanical Garden
Silvia Salas (SERBO-Oaxaca)
SupportConservation International (CABS, TEAM)
University of Arizona (EEB)