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Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
agricultural and biological sciences
Conservation Biogeography of the Sahara-Sahel: Additional protected areas are needed to secure unique biodiversity
Diversity and Distributions, Volume 22, No. 4, Year 2016
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Description
Aim: Identification of priority conservation areas and evaluation of coverage of the current protected areas are urgently needed to halt the biodiversity loss. Identifying regions combining similar environmental traits (climate regions) and species assemblages (biogroups) is needed for conserving the biodiversity patterns and processes. We identify climate regions and biogroups and map species diversity across the Sahara-Sahel, a large geographical area that exhibits wide environmental heterogeneity and multiple species groups with distinct biogeographical affinities, and evaluate the coverage level of current network of protected areas for biodiversity conservation. Location: Sahara-Sahel, Africa. Methods: We use spatially explicit climate data with the principal component analysis and model-based clustering techniques to identify climate regions. We use distributions of 1147 terrestrial vertebrates (and of 125 Sahara-Sahel endemics) and apply distance clustering methods to identify biogroups for both species groups. We apply reserve selection algorithms targeting 17% of species distribution, climate regions and biogroups to identify priority areas and gap analysis to assess their representation within the current protected areas. Results: Seven climate regions were identified, mostly arranged as latitudinal belts. Concentrations of high species richness were found in the Sahel, but the central Sahara gathers most endemic and threatened species. Ten biogroups (five for endemics) were identified. A wide range of biogroups tend to overlap in specific climate regions. Identified priority areas are inadequately represented in protected areas, and six new top conservation areas are needed to achieve conservation targets. Main conclusions: Biodiversity distribution in Sahara-Sahel is spatially structured and apparently related to environmental variation. Although the majority of priority conservation areas are located outside the areas of intense human activities, many cross multiple political borders and require internationally coordinated efforts for implementation and management. Optimized biodiversity conservation solutions at regional scale are needed. Our work contradicts the general idea that deserts are uniform areas and provide options for the conservation of endangered species. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Authors & Co-Authors
Brito, J. C.
Portugal, Porto
Universidade do Porto
Tarroso, Pedro
Portugal, Porto
Universidade do Porto
Vale, Cândida Gomes
Portugal, Porto
Universidade do Porto
Martínez-Freiría, Fernando
Portugal, Porto
Universidade do Porto
Boratyński, Zbyszek
Portugal, Porto
Universidade do Porto
Campos, João Carlos
Portugal, Porto
Universidade do Porto
Ferreira, Sónia A.
Portugal, Porto
Universidade do Porto
Godinho, Raquel
Portugal, Porto
Universidade do Porto
Gonçalves, Duarte Vasconcelos
Portugal, Porto
Universidade do Porto
Leite, João Vasco
Portugal, Porto
Universidade do Porto
Pereira, Paulo
Portugal, Porto
Universidade do Porto
Santos, Xavier
Portugal, Porto
Universidade do Porto
Ferreira Da Silva, Maria J.
Portugal, Porto
Universidade do Porto
United Kingdom, Cardiff
Cardiff University
Portugal, Lisbon
Universidade de Lisboa
Silva, Teresa Luísa
Portugal, Porto
Universidade do Porto
Velo-Antón, Guillermo
Portugal, Porto
Universidade do Porto
Veríssimo, Joana
Portugal, Porto
Universidade do Porto
Crochét, Pierre André
France, Paris
Cnrs Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
Pleguezuelos, Juan Manuel
Spain, Granada
Universidad de Granada
Carvalho, Sílvia B.
Portugal, Porto
Universidade do Porto
Statistics
Citations: 50
Authors: 19
Affiliations: 5
Identifiers
Doi:
10.1111/ddi.12416
ISSN:
13669516
Research Areas
Genetics And Genomics
Health System And Policy