Cost-effective conservation decisions are robust to uncertainty in the species–area relationship

Abstract

Guilhaumon et al. (1) use an extensive dataset to determine the most appropriate functional form for species–area relationships (SARs) among terrestrial plants and vertebrates. Their discovery that the traditional power-law relationship is not the most appropriate model in the majority of ecoregions raises compelling macroecological questions. However, their subsequent conservation analyses are based on outdated hotspot methods (2), and the “significant concerns” they raise about the use of power-law SARs in conservation prioritization may therefore be premature.