Biogeographic tools help to assess the effectiveness of protected areas for the conservation of anurans in the Mantiqueira mountain range, Southeastern Brazil

Abstract

Herein, we present the first comprehensive study of anurans biogeography and conservation in an important mountain chain of the Atlantic Forest bioregion (AF), the Mantiqueira Mountain Range (MMR). We use biotic element analyses to test biogeographical units previously established through a preliminary Parsimony Analysis of Endemicity based on the distribution of anuran species found on the MMR. Furthermore, we assess the actual status of species richness, endemism, weighted endemism, and discuss conservation strategies based on habitat loss, and protected areas (PA) representativeness for the Areas of Endemism and biotic elements (BEs) recovered. We found nine biogeographical units in MMR. Biodiversity metrics identified small patches of high biodiversity throughout MMR, including five that match with the BEs. All BEs recovered present a massive rate of habitat loss and four of them are poorly safeguarded in established protected areas. Our analysis enables linking the BEs of anurans to different areas topographically delimited along the MMR, probably due to the historical process related to climate shifts of the AF. We hypothesize that vicariant speciation should have been a strong driver of diversification in Anura. However, the current MMR protected area system is not safeguarding most of the areas of biogeographical relevance detected in our analyses. The results found here could be used to provide guidance to establish or review current protected areas delimitations, which demonstrate the inefficiency of the current PA system in safeguarding biodiversity. The ad hoc manner to establish protected areas is failing to preserve anuran biodiversity and therefore the evolutionary history of MMR. Although our results are focused solely on anurans, the biogeographical units found represent the biogeographic history of MMR and should be used as an objective and effective criteria to improve the conservation strategies and planning of protective areas.