Phylogenetic Autocorrelation Analysis of Extinction Risks and the Loss of Evolutionary History in Felidae (Carnivora: Mammalia)

Phylogeny provides a natural measurement of biodiversity by allowing the computation of indexes that express the amount of phylogenetic diversity that are, in principle, independent of species counts and provides an objective measurement to evaluate the amount of biodiversity lost under the ongoing extinction crisis. In this note, we analyzed patterns of phylogenetic autocorrelation in extinction risks in Felidae (Mammalia: Carnivora) and estimated, using simulation procedures, the amount of phylogenetic diversity loss if k species are preserved in this clade. The simulations showed that loss of phylogenetic diversity based on the IUCN list for extinction threats in Felidae is within the expected values based on the simulated random model, a result also confirmed by the absence of phylogenetic autocorrelation in extinction risks, indicating that extinction threats are randomly distributed across the phylogeny. So, we confirm that loosing species will not necessarily generate a direct proportional loss of phylogenetic information and, consequently, that alternative measures of biodiversity could be used to establish conservation priorities under the common restriction of resources.