Global tests of biodiversity concordance and the importance of endemism

John F. Lamoreux (), John C. Morrison, Taylor H. Ricketts, David M. Olson, Eric Dinerstein, Meghan W. McKnight and Herman H. Shugart
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John F. Lamoreux: University of Virginia
John C. Morrison: World Wildlife Fund–US
Taylor H. Ricketts: World Wildlife Fund–US
David M. Olson: Wildlife Conservation Society–South Pacific
Eric Dinerstein: World Wildlife Fund–US
Meghan W. McKnight: University of North Carolina
Herman H. Shugart: University of Virginia

Nature, 2006, vol. 440, issue 7081, 212-214

Abstract: Abstract Understanding patterns of biodiversity distribution is essential to conservation strategies1, but severe data constraints make surrogate measures necessary2,3,4. For this reason, many studies have tested the performance of terrestrial vertebrates as surrogates for overall species diversity, but these tests have typically been limited to a single taxon or region3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10. Here we show that global patterns of richness are highly correlated among amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals, as are endemism patterns. Furthermore, we demonstrate that although the correlation between global richness and endemism is low, aggregate regions selected for high levels of endemism capture significantly more species than expected by chance. Although areas high in endemism have long been targeted for the protection of narrow-ranging species11,12, our findings provide evidence that endemism is also a useful surrogate for the conservation of all terrestrial vertebrates.

Date: 2006
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DOI: 10.1038/nature04291

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