Geographic sampling bias in the South African Frog Atlas Project: implications for conservation planning |
| |
Authors: | Emily A Botts Barend F N Erasmus Graham J Alexander |
| |
Institution: | (1) School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, WITS, 2050 Johannesburg, South Africa |
| |
Abstract: | Quality conservation planning requires quality input data. However, the broad scale sampling strategies typically employed
to obtain primary species distribution data are prone to geographic bias in the form of errors of omission. This study provides
a quantitative measure of sampling bias to inform accuracy assessment of conservation plans based on the South African Frog
Atlas Project. Significantly higher sampling intensity near to cities and roads is likely to result in overstated conservation
priority and heightened conservation conflicts in urban areas. Particularly well sampled protected areas will also erroneously
appear to contribute highly to amphibian biodiversity targets. Conversely, targeted sampling in the arid northwest and along
mountain ranges is needed to ensure that these under-sampled regions are not excluded from conservation plans. The South African
Frog Atlas Project offers a reasonably accurate picture of the broad scale west-to-east increase in amphibian richness and
abundance, but geographic bias may limit its applicability for fine scale conservation planning. The Global Amphibian Assessment
species distribution data offered a less biased alternative, but only at the cost of inflated commission error. |
| |
Keywords: | |
本文献已被 SpringerLink 等数据库收录! |
|