Intraspecific morphological and genetic variation of common species predicts ranges of threatened ones
Year: 2013
Type: article
Abstract: Predicting where threatened species occur is useful for making informed conservation decisions. However, because they are usually rare, surveying threatened species is often expensive and time intensive. Here, we show how regions where common species exhibit high genetic and morphological divergence among populations can be used to predict the occurrence of species of conservation concern. Intraspecific variation of common species of birds, bats and frogs from Ecuador were found to be a significantly better predictor for the occurrence of threatened species than suites of environmental variables or the occurrence of amphibians and birds. Fully 93 per cent of the threatened species analysed had their range adequately represented by the geographical distribution of the morphological and genetic variation found in seven common species. Both higher numbers of threatened species and greater genetic and morphological variation of common species occurred along elevation gradients. Higher levels of intraspecific divergence may be the result of disruptive selection and/or introgression along gradients. We suggest that collecting data on genetic and morphological variation in common species can be a cost effective tool for conservation planning, and that future biodiversity inventories include surveying genetic and morphological data of common species whenever feasible.
Authors: Trevon L. Fuller, Henri A. Thomassen, Manuel Peralvo, Wolfgang Buermann, Borja Milá, Charles M. Kieswetter, Pablo Jarrín-V, Susan E. Cameron Devitt, Eliza Mason, Rena M. Schweizer, Jasmin Schlunegger, Janice Chan, Ophelia Wang, Christopher J. Schneider, John P. Pollinger, Sassan Saatchi, Catherine H. Graham, Robert K. Wayne, Thomas B. Smith
Institutions: University of California, Los Angeles, Consortium for Sustainable Development of the Andean Ecoregion, University of Leeds, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, Boston University, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, University of Florida, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Northern Arizona University, The University of Texas at Austin, California Institute of Technology, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Stony Brook University
Language: English
Subfield: Genetics
Domain: Life Sciences
SDG: Life on land
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W4247434101