Spatial priorities for the conservation of threatened mammals in the Neotropics
Keywords:
Gap-analysis, Ecoregions, Extinction, Systematic conservation planning, VertebratesAbstract
Nearly 25% of extant mammal species are currently under threat of extinction. Such a high levei of threat of extinction demands the production of effective strategies that direct resources to areas with high conservation value. Mammals are key elements of natural ecosystems as they play key ecologica/ roles in its maintenance. Thus, proposals for effective conservation actions for this group are of paramount importance. Here we aimed to identify key areas for the conservation of Neotropical mammals currently threatened with extinction, using ecoregions as biogeographical planning units. Neotropical ecoregions act as refuge for a diversity of vertebrate species, a/so harboring a large number of threatened species. We se/ected key areas for conservation on the basis of (1) ecological and evolutionary variables and others related to the life-history of each of the 207 species of threatened mammals that occur in the Neotropics, and
(2) the conservation status, total area and the proportion of available conservation area in 166 Neotropical ecoregions in which these species occur. We used an optimization procedure to select the minimum number of Neotropical ecoregions needed to represent ali species at least once, based on the complementarity principie. We combined solutions that satisfied this goal into different maps on which the relative importance of each ecoregion was noted according to the frequency with which it was highlighted as a priority for ali solutions. We also checked where it would be necessary to establish additional protected areas to complement the current Neotropical network of protected areas.
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