Prioritizing species for conservation planning

The efforts to protect biological diversity must be prioritized because resources for nature conservation are limited. Conservation prioritization can be based on numerous criteria, from ecological integrity to species representation, but in this review I address only species-level prioritization. Criteria used for species prioritization range from aesthetical to evolutionary considerations, but I focus on the aspects that are biologically relevant. I distinguish between two main aspects of diversity that are used as objectives: Maintenance of biodiversity pattern, and maintenance of biodiversity process. I identify two additional criteria typically used in species prioritization that serve for achieving the objectives: The species’ need of protection, and cost and effectiveness of conservation actions. I discuss how these criteria could be combined with either of the objectives in a complementarity-based benefit function framework for conservation prioritization. But preserving evolutionary process versus current diversity pattern may turn out to be conflicting objectives that have to be traded-off with each other, if pursued simultaneously. Although many reasonable criteria and methods exist, species prioritization is hampered by uncertainties, most of which stem from the poor quality of data on what species exist, where they occur, and what are the costs and benefits of protecting them. Surrogate measures would be extremely useful but their performance is still largely unknown. Future challenges in species prioritization lie in finding ways to compensate for missing information.     

Biodiversity gains from efficient use of private sponsorship for flagship species conservation

To address the global extinction crisis, both efficient use of existing conservation funding and new sources of funding are vital. Private sponsorship of charismatic ‘flagship’ species conservation represents an important source of new funding, but has been criticized as being inefficient. However, the ancillary benefits of privately sponsored flagship species conservation via actions benefiting other species have not been quantified, nor have the benefits of incorporating such sponsorship into objective prioritization protocols. Here, we use a comprehensive dataset of conservation actions for the 700 most threatened species in New Zealand to examine the potential biodiversity gains from national private flagship species sponsorship programmes. We find that private funding for flagship species can clearly result in additional species and phylogenetic diversity conserved, via conservation actions shared with other species. When private flagship species funding is incorporated into a prioritization protocol to preferentially sponsor shared actions, expected gains can be more than doubled. However, these gains are consistently smaller than expected gains in a hypothetical scenario where private funding could be optimally allocated among all threatened species. We recommend integrating private sponsorship of flagship species into objective prioritization protocols to sponsor efficient actions that maximize biodiversity gains, or wherever possible, encouraging private donations for broader biodiversity goals.     

The price of conserving avian phylogenetic diversity: a global prioritization approach

The combination of rapid biodiversity loss and limited funds available for conservation represents a major global concern. While there are many approaches for conservation prioritization, few are framed as financial optimization problems. We use recently published avian data to conduct a global analysis of the financial resources required to conserve different quantities of phylogenetic diversity (PD). We introduce a new prioritization metric (ADEPD) that After Downlisting a species gives the Expected Phylogenetic Diversity at some future time. Unlike other metrics, ADEPD considers the benefits to future PD associated with downlisting a species (e.g. moving from Endangered to Vulnerable in the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List). Combining ADEPD scores with data on the financial cost of downlisting different species provides a cost–benefit prioritization approach for conservation. We find that under worst-case spending $3915 can save 1 year of PD, while under optimal spending $1 can preserve over 16.7 years of PD. We find that current conservation spending patterns are only expected to preserve one quarter of the PD that optimal spending could achieve with the same total budget. Maximizing PD is only one approach within the wider goal of biodiversity conservation, but our analysis highlights more generally the danger involved in uninformed spending of limited resources.     

Phylogenetic diversity and its conservation in the presence of phylogenetic uncertainty: a case study of cladoceran communities in urban waterbodies

The need to protect and preserve biodiversity is a pressing issue and requires that conservation projects be based on solid foundations. Knowledge of species evolutionary history can serve as a tool to help guide conservation projects on the basis of evolutionary heritage. We used communities of Cladocera (Crustacea, Branchiopoda) in urban waterbodies to identify which sites should be prioritized for phylogenetic diversity conservation. Phylogenetic trees were inferred using DNA sequences from two mitochondrial genes. Furthermore, we also evaluated the consequences of phylogenetic uncertainty for identifying sites for conservation priority. Using results from Bayesian analyses, we considered the effect of uncertainty in the phylogenetic tree on phylogenetic diversity (PD) estimation. When phylogenetic uncertainty was taken into account, the conservation value of individual sites became uncertain and several potential comparisons between sites could not be supported. Consequently prioritization of one site over the other could not be defended in biodiversity conservation projects. Our study highlights the fact that accounting for phylogenetic uncertainty can alter the relative conservation priority of sites, as assessed by their phylogenetic diversity. Therefore, variability in the phylogenetic estimates should be consistently considered and integrated into estimates of phylogenetic diversity and conservation decisions to avoid making suboptimal choices.     

Whether including exotic species alters conservation prioritization: a case study in the Min River in southeastern China

Conservation practices from the perspective of functional diversity (FD) and conservation prioritization need to account for the impacts of exotic species in freshwater ecosystems. This work first simulated the influence of exotic species on the values of FD in a schemed mechanistic model, and then a practical case study of conservation prioritization was performed in the Min River, the largest river in southeastern China, to discuss whether including exotic species alters prioritization. The mechanistic model revealed that exotic species significantly altered the expected FD if the number of exotic species occupied 2% of the community. Joint species distribution modelling indicated that the highest FD occurred in the west, northwest and north upstreams of the Min River. Values of FD in 64.69% of the basin decreased after the exotic species were removed from calculation. Conservation prioritization with the Zonation software proved that if first the habitats of exotic species were removed during prioritization, 62.75% of the highest prioritized areas were shifted, average species representation of the endemic species was improved and mean conservation efficiency was increased by 7.53%. Existence of exotic species will significantly alter the metrics of biodiversity and the solution for conservation prioritization, and negatively weighting exotic species in the scope of conservation prioritization is suggested to better protect endemic species. This work advocates a thorough estimate of the impacts of exotic species on FD and conservation prioritization, providing complementary evidence for conservation biology and valuable implications for local freshwater fish conservation.     

基于DNA条形码评估西双版纳国家级自然保护区对樟科植物进化历史的保护

为评估西双版纳国家级自然保护区对樟科这一重要植物类群进化潜力的保护情况, 揭示将物种进化历史纳入生物多样性保护评估的重要性, 本研究通过对西双版纳地区长期的野外调查并查阅标本记录与文献资料, 整理出该地区樟科13属121种物种的具体分布信息, 以植物条形码ITS序列作为分子标记构建了反映整个西双版纳地区樟科植物系统发育关系的系统发育树。我们以此为基础, 从物种层面分析了各物种的进化特异性(evolutionary distinctiveness, ED), 从区域层面分析了自然保护区内、外以及32个行政乡镇的系统发育多样性(phylogenetic diversity, PD), 并结合物种丰富度(species richness, SR)与物种濒危等级, 综合探讨了西双版纳国家级自然保护区对樟科植物进化历史的保护情况。研究发现, 西双版纳国家级自然保护区仅拥有整个西双版纳地区54.5%的樟科物种数, 却保护了该地区樟科植物约88.8%的进化历史, 没有被列入保护范围但却拥有高系统发育多样性的区域有打洛镇、易武乡等。就物种而言, 进化特异性相对较高的19个物种中, 有5种(26.3%)在自然保护区内没有分布; 濒危等级高的54个物种中, 有20种(37.0%)在自然保护区没有分布, 同时拥有高进化特异性和濒危等级的物种仅有1种不在保护区内分布。结果表明, 虽然西双版纳国家级自然保护区对樟科这一植物类群的系统发育多样性以及高保护价值物种的保护较好, 但仍有部分重要樟科植物的进化历史没有涵盖在现有自然保护区范围内; 按照传统方法设定的自然保护区虽能在一定程度上保护樟科物种的进化历史, 但仍然存在与标准化系统发育多样性保护策略相矛盾的地方。因此, 今后在建立自然保护区时, 应将系统发育多样性考虑在内, 以保护生物多样性应对环境变化的潜力。     

Assessing the mechanisms behind successful surrogates for biodiversity in conservation planning

Limited by the availability of data, conservation planners must use surrogates for biodiversity when selecting conservation areas. Although several methods have been proposed for selecting surrogates, no clear set of species attributes have been described that allow for the efficient a priori selection of surrogate groups. We used a database of 1449 species in two regions of the United States to (1) examine the consistency in the performance of simple taxonomic-based surrogates of biodiversity and (2) test five hypotheses proposed to explain surrogate performance. First, we compared the ability of sites selected to protect members of seven surrogate groups to protect non-surrogate species in the north-western United States and in the Middle-Atlantic region of the eastern United States. Then, in a separate analysis, we tested whether surrogate performance could be explained by (1) taxonomic diversity; (2) nested species distributions; (3) hotspots of biodiversity; (4) species range sizes; (5) environmental diversity. Our first analysis revealed little consistency in the performance of surrogates in the two different study regions. For example, butterflies provided protection for 76% of all other species in the north-western United States but only 56% of all other species in the eastern United States. Our second analysis revealed only weak associations between species characteristics and surrogate performance. Furthermore, these associations proved inadequate for selecting successful surrogates across study regions. Overall, our results suggest that in lieu of searching for optimal surrogate groups, research efforts will be better spent by developing alternative methods for assessing conservation value in areas where data on species distributions are limited.     

Losing history: how extinctions prune features from the tree of life

Biodiversity provides many valuable services to humanity; however, rapid expansion of the human population has placed increasing pressure on natural systems, and it has been suggested that we may be entering a sixth mass extinction. There is an urgent need, therefore, to prioritize conservation efforts if we are to maintain the provisioning of such service in the future. Phylogenetic diversity (PD), the summed branch lengths that connect species on the tree-of-life, might provide a valuable metric for conservation prioritization because it has been argued to capture feature diversity. Frequently, PD is estimated in millions of years, and therefore implicitly assumes an evolutionary model in which features diverge gradually over time. Here, I explore the expected loss of feature diversity when this assumption is violated. If evolution tends to slow down over time, as might be the case following adaptive radiations, losses of feature diversity might be relatively small. However, if evolution occurs in rapid bursts, following a punctuated model, impacts of extinctions might be much greater. PD captures many important properties, but if we use it as a proxy for feature diversity, we first need to ensure that we have the correct evolutionary model.     

Predicting loss of evolutionary history: Where are we?

The Earth's evolutionary history is threatened by species loss in the current sixth mass extinction event in Earth's history. Such extinction events not only eliminate species but also their unique evolutionary histories. Here we review the expected loss of Earth's evolutionary history quantified by phylogenetic diversity (PD) and evolutionary distinctiveness (ED) at risk. Due to the general paucity of data, global evolutionary history losses have been predicted for only a few groups, such as mammals, birds, amphibians, plants, corals and fishes. Among these groups, there is now empirical support that extinction threats are clustered on the phylogeny; however this is not always a sufficient condition to cause higher loss of phylogenetic diversity in comparison to a scenario of random extinctions. Extinctions of the most evolutionarily distinct species and the shape of phylogenetic trees are additional factors that can elevate losses of evolutionary history. Consequently, impacts of species extinctions differ among groups and regions, and even if global losses are low within large groups, losses can be high among subgroups or within some regions. Further, we show that PD and ED are poorly protected by current conservation practices. While evolutionary history can be indirectly protected by current conservation schemes, optimizing its preservation requires integrating phylogenetic indices with those that capture rarity and extinction risk. Measures based on PD and ED could bring solutions to conservation issues, however they are still rarely used in practice, probably because the reasons to protect evolutionary history are not clear for practitioners or due to a lack of data. However, important advances have been made in the availability of phylogenetic trees and methods for their construction, as well as assessments of extinction risk. Some challenges remain, and looking forward, research should prioritize the assessment of expected PD and ED loss for more taxonomic groups and test the assumption that preserving ED and PD also protects rare species and ecosystem services. Such research will be useful to inform and guide the conservation of Earth's biodiversity and the services it provides.     

Operationalizing biodiversity for conservation planning

Biodiversity has acquired such a general meaning that people now find it difficult to pin down a precise sense for planning and policy-making aimed at biodiversity conservation. Because biodiversity is rooted in place, the task of conserving biodiversity should target places for conservation action; and because all places contain biodiversity, but not all places can be targeted for action, places have to be prioritized. What is needed for this is a measure of the extent to which biodiversity varies from place to place. We do not need a precise measure of biodiversity to prioritize places. Relative estimates of similarity or difference can be derived using partial measures, or what have come to be called biodiversity surrogates. Biodiversity surrogates are supposed to stand in for general biodiversity in planning applications. We distinguish between true surrogates, those that might truly stand in for general biodiversity, and estimator surrogates, which have true surrogates as their target variable. For example, species richness has traditionally been the estimator surrogate for the true surrogate, species diversity. But species richness does not capture the differences in composition between places; the essence of biodiversity. Another measure, called complementarity, explicitly captures the differences between places as we iterate the process of place prioritization, starting with an initial place. The relative concept of biodiversity built into the definition of complementarity has the level of precision needed to undertake conservation planning.     

Drawing ecological inferences from coincident patterns of population‐ and community‐level biodiversity

Biodiversity is comprised of genetic and phenotypic variation among individual organisms, which might belong to the same species or to different species. Spatial patterns of biodiversity are of central interest in ecology and evolution for several reasons: to identify general patterns in nature (e.g. species–area relationships, latitudinal gradients), to inform conservation priorities (e.g. identifying hotspots, prioritizing management efforts) and to draw inferences about processes, historical or otherwise (e.g. adaptation, the centre of origin of particular clades). There are long traditions in ecology and evolutionary biology of examining spatial patterns of biodiversity among species (i.e. in multispecies communities) and within species, respectively, and there has been a recent surge of interest in studying these two types of pattern simultaneously. The idea is that examining both levels of diversity can materially advance the above‐stated goals and perhaps lead to entirely novel lines of inquiry. Here, we review two broad categories of approach to merging studies of inter‐ and intraspecific variation: (i) the study of phenotypic trait variation along environmental gradients and (ii) the study of relationships between patterns of molecular genetic variation within species and patterns of distribution and diversity across species. For the latter, we report a new meta‐analysis in which we find that correlations between species diversity and genetic diversity are generally positive and significantly stronger in studies with discrete sampling units (e.g. islands, lakes, forest fragments) than in studies with nondiscrete sampling units (e.g. equal‐area study plots). For each topic, we summarize the current state of knowledge and key future directions.     

Making evolutionary history count: biodiversity planning for coral reef fishes and the conservation of evolutionary processes

Anthropogenic activities are having devastating impacts on marine systems with numerous knock-on effects on trophic functioning, species interactions and an accelerated loss of biodiversity. Establishing conservation areas can not only protect biodiversity, but also confer resilience against changes to coral reefs and their inhabitants. Planning for protection and conservation in marine systems is complex, but usually focuses on maintaining levels of biodiversity and protecting special and unique landscape features while avoiding negative impacts to socio-economic benefits. Conversely, the integration of evolutionary processes that have shaped extant species assemblages is rarely taken into account. However, it is as important to protect processes as it is to protect patterns for maintaining the evolutionary trajectories of populations and species. This review focuses on different approaches for integrating genetic analyses, such as phylogenetic diversity, phylogeography and the delineation of management units, temporal and spatial monitoring of genetic diversity and quantification of adaptive variation for protecting evolutionary resilience, into marine spatial planning, specifically for coral reef fishes. Many of these concepts are not yet readily applied to coral reef fish studies, but this synthesis highlights their potential and the importance of including historical processes into systematic biodiversity planning for conserving not only extant, but also future, biodiversity and its evolutionary potential.     

Functional and phylogenetic dimensions are more important than the taxonomic dimension for capturing variation in stream fish communities

Biodiversity is inherently multidimensional in nature, differences in evolutionary history, attributes of species, taxonomic composition constitutes a small fraction of whole variation present in this multidimensional space. Despite its multidimensional characteristic, biodiversity has been traditionally measured by assessing its dimensions separately through metrics of diversity. However, assessing multiple dimensions in a common framework opens the possibility of answering interesting questions that, until now, are poorly understood, such as: What dimensions capture most of the variation present in biodiversity among communities? We assess this question by extending the framework of Importance Values (IVs) to three dimensions of variation in biodiversity, functional, taxonomic and phylogenetic, and evaluate which of these captures the most variation in biodiversity space. To address this question we used data from stream fish communities of the Ivinhema River Basin in Brazil. We found that functional and phylogenetic dimensions are more important than the taxonomic dimension (represented by richness) in capturing variation in the biodiversity space formed by these three dimensions together. Furthermore, the IVs of these three dimensions were similar along an altitudinal gradient, indicating similar contributions by a given dimension in different environmental conditions. We highlight the importance of adopting a multidimensional approach when describing biodiversity, since richness (the proxy for taxonomic dimension), despite being the most commonly used, is an incomplete surrogate to capture the variation present in the biodiversity space of stream fish communities.     

Does higher taxon diversity reflect richness of conservation interest species?: The case for birds,mammals, amphibians,and reptiles in Greek protected areas

A critical issue in conservation biology is the establishment of a strong relationship between species richness and a surrogate index. Such a relationship could provide the basis for the establishment of cost effective and easy to monitor methods for measuring biodiversity, providing an alternative for the prioritization of sites for conservation. We found that richness of species of conservation interest could reliably be predicted from the richness of higher order taxa, such as genus and family, in amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals. Furthermore, the networks of reserve sites selected based upon the richness of genera or families were as effective in including species diversity, as the ones selected based upon species richness.     

Diversity of plant evolutionary lineages promotes arthropod diversity

Large‐scale habitat destruction and climate change result in the non‐random loss of evolutionary lineages, reducing the amount of evolutionary history represented in ecological communities. Yet, we have limited understanding of the consequences of evolutionary history on the structure of food webs and the services provided by biological communities. Drawing on 11 years of data from a long‐term plant diversity experiment, we show that evolutionary history of plant communities – measured as phylogenetic diversity – strongly predicts diversity and abundance of herbivorous and predatory arthropods. Effects of plant species richness on arthropods become stronger when phylogenetic diversity is high. Plant phylogenetic diversity explains predator and parasitoid richness as strongly as it does herbivore richness. Our findings indicate that accounting for evolutionary relationships is critical to understanding the severity of species loss for food webs and ecosystems, and for developing conservation and restoration policies.     

Protecting a single endangered species and meeting multiple conservation goals: an approach with Guaiacum sanctum in Yucatan Peninsula,Mexico

Aim New protected areas should consider safeguarding high conservation value sites based on multiple criteria and not just the presence of a single endangered or charismatic species. However, the extent to which complementary criteria coincide is usually unknown. We use the case of Guaiacum sanctum (Zygopyllaceae), an endangered timber tree species, to explore whether the protection of forests where this species is most abundant would meet other complementary conservation goals, such as capturing regional plant biodiversity, protecting other threatened/endemic species or safeguarding ecosystem services. Location Yucatan Peninsula, southern Mexico. Methods We conducted an analysis of the structure, composition and diversity of tree communities (including stems ≥5 cm dbh) at eight G. sanctum forest sites. We identified endemic and threatened tree species and quantified above‐ground tree biomass and carbon storage in these G. sanctum forests. Results Guaiacum sanctum forests contain 35–59 tree species on plots as small as 1000 m². The species composition of tree communities changed rapidly (high β‐diversity) across soil boundaries and rainfall regimes. Twenty‐one endemic and eight threatened tree species were recorded in our inventories. Individuals of G. sanctum represented up to 55% of the above‐ground carbon for trees ≥5 cm dbh. The high basal area of G. sanctum forests plus the high wood density, abundance, large size and longevity (more than 500 years) of G. sanctum and other tree species enhance the potential importance of these forests for carbon storage. Main conclusions A conservation strategy focused on protecting important populations of G. sanctum in the Yucatan Peninsula would have significant co‐benefits for conservation of regional tree species biodiversity and provision of critical ecosystem services. Our study illustrates a multiple criteria approach useful for the selection of areas with high conservation value on the basis of endemic, threatened species, species richness and ecosystem services.     

The Biodiversity Crisis: Lessons from Phylogenetic Sagas

The future of the world’s biodiversity involves preservation of individual species and, more importantly, preservation of the natural process by which the biosphere is populated. Inherited history allows species to carry within them the ability to adapt to changing circumstances. But inherited history also sets the limits for adaptation. Evolutionary potential is thus locked within shared history. Extinction removes, speciation replenishes. We must implement conservation policies that mimic the biotic expansion that sets the stage for speciation. If we do not provide space for species to spread out and find their own futures, building biodiversity reserves is tantamount to attempting to maintain standing diversity by blocking evolution. We must preserve as many species, associations, and places as possible in a geographic context large enough so that individual species may expand and contract and evolutionary dynamics can have free rein to shape the future.     

云南被子植物菊类分支的系统发育多样性及其分布格局

全球气候变化与人为活动等因素导致的生物多样性丧失,引起了全球各界对生物多样性保护的高度关注。传统生物多样性保护主要对物种、特有种、受威胁物种的种类组成及其分布模式开展研究,忽视了进化历史在生物多样性保护中的作用。云南是全球生物多样性热点地区的交汇区,生物多样性的保护历来受到广泛关注,为了更好地探讨云南生物多样性的保护措施,该研究以云南被子植物菊类分支物种为研究对象,基于物种间的演化关系,结合其地理分布,从进化历史的角度探讨物种、特有种、受威胁物种的种类组成及系统发育组成的分布格局,并整合自然保护地的空间分布,识别生物多样性的重点保护区域。结果表明：云南被子植物菊类分支的物种、特有种及受威胁物种的物种密度与系统发育多样性均显著正相关;通过零模型分析发现,由南向北标准化系统发育多样性逐渐降低;云南南部、东南部、西北部是云南被子植物菊类分支的重点保护区域,加强这些区域的保护,将最大化地保护生物多样性的进化历史和进化潜能。由此可见,融合进化历史信息的植物多样性格局分析不仅有助于更加深入地理解植物多样性的形成与演变,也为生物多样性保护策略的制定提供更多的思路。     

Spatial mismatches between plant biodiversity facets and evolutionary legacy in the vicinity of a major Mediterranean city

The analyses of congruencies among biodiversity components address the issue of conservation priorities, but previously they have been done at coarse scales with limited relevance for conservation actions. Moreover, these former studies consider only the species level components of biodiversity and not the intra-specific evolutionary legacy that influences future biodiversity. This study represents the first assessment of congruencies between various components of plant biodiversity and the evolutionary legacy of a narrow endemic taxon (Arenaria provincialis, Caryophyllaceae). Assessment is conducted in the vicinity of a Mediterranean big city (Marseille, S.E. France) where habitats and flora are threatened by mass tourism and urban sprawl. Our analyses reveal that the different plant biodiversity facets assessed are spatially mismatched and unequally protected. Moreover, by using only species-level components of biodiversity as conservation targets we ignore crucial areas for the evolutionary legacy of this narrow endemic plant. Our results highlight the crucial role of phylogeography as a criterion to target the genetic precursors of future biodiversity in conservation planning.     

The future of evolutionary diversity in reef corals

One-third of the world''s reef-building corals are facing heightened extinction risk from climate change and other anthropogenic impacts. Previous studies have shown that such threats are not distributed randomly across the coral tree of life, and future extinctions have the potential to disproportionately reduce the phylogenetic diversity of this group on a global scale. However, the impact of such losses on a regional scale remains poorly known. In this study, we use phylogenetic metrics in conjunction with geographical distributions of living reef coral species to model how extinctions are likely to affect evolutionary diversity across different ecoregions. Based on two measures—phylogenetic diversity and phylogenetic species variability—we highlight regions with the largest losses of evolutionary diversity and hence of potential conservation interest. Notably, the projected loss of evolutionary diversity is relatively low in the most species-rich areas such as the Coral Triangle, while many regions with fewer species stand to lose much larger shares of their diversity. We also suggest that for complex ecosystems like coral reefs it is important to consider changes in phylogenetic species variability; areas with disproportionate declines in this measure should be of concern even if phylogenetic diversity is not as impacted. These findings underscore the importance of integrating evolutionary history into conservation planning for safeguarding the future diversity of coral reefs.