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Performance and consistency of indicator groups in two biodiversity hotspots
Joaquim Trindade-Filho1, Rafael Dias Loyola
1Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia e Evolução, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Goiás, Goiânia, Goiás, Brazil.
Plos One
|June 4, 2011
Summary
Restricted-range species are effective indicators for conservation planning, representing mammal diversity in Brazil
Area of Science:
- Conservation Biology
- Biodiversity Assessment
- Indicator Species
Background:
- Limited data and funding necessitate the use of indicator groups for spatial conservation prioritization.
- Evaluating the regional consistency of indicator group performance is crucial for their selection.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the effectiveness and consistency of nine indicator groups for representing mammal species in two Brazilian Biodiversity Hotspots.
- To identify indicator groups that perform reliably across different regions for conservation planning.
Main Methods:
- Systematic examination of nine indicator groups in the Brazilian Cerrado and Atlantic Forest Biodiversity Hotspots.
- Assessed effectiveness by comparing species representation achieved by indicator groups versus random sets.
- Determined consistency by statistical analysis of target species representation across the two regions.
Main Results:
- Effective indicator groups required selecting less than 2% of the area to represent target mammal species.
- Restricted-range species proved to be the most effective indicators for overall mammal diversity and target species.
- Restricted-range species demonstrated high consistency in performance across both studied Biodiversity Hotspots.
Conclusions:
- Several indicator groups can aid in mammal conservation planning in the Cerrado and Atlantic Forest.
- Restricted-range species are consistently the most effective indicator group for conservation planning.
- This indicator group is vital for capturing high diversity of endemic and endangered species.
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