Skip to content
Home
About Us
Resources
Profiles Metrics
Authors Directory
Institutions Directory
Top Authors
Top Institutions
Top Sponsors
AI Digest
Contact Us
Menu
Home
About Us
Resources
Profiles Metrics
Authors Directory
Institutions Directory
Top Authors
Top Institutions
Top Sponsors
AI Digest
Contact Us
Home
About Us
Resources
Profiles Metrics
Authors Directory
Institutions Directory
Top Authors
Top Institutions
Top Sponsors
AI Digest
Contact Us
Menu
Home
About Us
Resources
Profiles Metrics
Authors Directory
Institutions Directory
Top Authors
Top Institutions
Top Sponsors
AI Digest
Contact Us
Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
agricultural and biological sciences
Extinction risk and diversification are linked in a plant biodiversity hotspot
PLoS Biology, Volume 9, No. 5, Article e1000620, Year 2011
Notification
URL copied to clipboard!
Description
It is widely recognized that we are entering an extinction event on a scale approaching the mass extinctions seen in the fossil record. Present-day rates of extinction are estimated to be several orders of magnitude greater than background rates and are projected to increase further if current trends continue. In vertebrates, species traits, such as body size, fecundity, and geographic range, are important predictors of vulnerability. Although plants are the basis for life on Earth, our knowledge of plant extinctions and vulnerabilities is lagging. Here, we disentangle the underlying drivers of extinction risk in plants, focusing on the Cape of South Africa, a global biodiversity hotspot. By comparing Red List data for the British and South African floras, we demonstrate that the taxonomic distribution of extinction risk differs significantly between regions, inconsistent with a simple, trait-based model of extinction. Using a comprehensive phylogenetic tree for the Cape, we reveal a phylogenetic signal in the distribution of plant extinction risks but show that the most threatened species cluster within short branches at the tips of the phylogeny-opposite to trends in mammals. From analyzing the distribution of threatened species across 11 exemplar clades, we suggest that mode of speciation best explains the unusual phylogenetic structure of extinction risks in plants of the Cape. Our results demonstrate that explanations for elevated extinction risk in plants of the Cape flora differ dramatically from those recognized for vertebrates. In the Cape, extinction risk is higher for young and fast-evolving plant lineages and cannot be explained by correlations with simple biological traits. Critically, we find that the most vulnerable plant species are nonetheless marching towards extinction at a more rapid pace but, surprisingly, independently from anthropogenic effects. Our results have important implications for conservation priorities and cast doubts on the utility of current Red List criteria for plants in regions such as the Cape, where speciation has been rapid, if our aim is to maximize the preservation of the tree-of-life. © 2011 Davies et al.
Authors & Co-Authors
Davies, T. Jonathan
United States, Santa Barbara
National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis
Canada, Montreal
Université Mcgill
Smith, Gideon F.
South Africa, Pretoria
South African National Biodiversity Institute
South Africa, Pretoria
University of Pretoria
Bellstedt, Dirk Uwe
South Africa, Stellenbosch
Stellenbosch University
Boatwright, James Stephen
South Africa, Claremont
Compton Herbarium
South Africa, Johannesburg
University of Johannesburg
Bytebier, Benny
South Africa, Stellenbosch
Stellenbosch University
South Africa, Durban
University of Kwazulu-natal
Cowling, Richard Mark
South Africa, Gqeberha
Nelson Mandela University
Forest, Félix
United Kingdom, Richmond
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Harmon, Luke J.
United States, Moscow
University of Idaho
Muasya, A. Muthama
South Africa, Cape Town
University of Cape Town
Schrire, Brian D.
United Kingdom, Richmond
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Steenkamp, Yolande
South Africa, Pretoria
South African National Biodiversity Institute
van der Bank, Michelle
South Africa, Johannesburg
University of Johannesburg
Savolainen, Vincent
United Kingdom, Richmond
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
United Kingdom, London
Imperial College London
Statistics
Citations: 125
Authors: 13
Affiliations: 13
Identifiers
Doi:
10.1371/journal.pbio.1000620
ISSN:
15449173
e-ISSN:
15457885
Study Locations
South Africa