Abstract
AbstractSpatial prioritization in systematic conservation planning has traditionally been developed for several to many species and/or habitats, and single-species applications are rare. We developed a novel spatial prioritization model based on accurate estimates of remotely-sensed data and maps of threats potentially affecting long-term species persistence. We used this approach to identify priority areas for the conservation of the Endangered Greek meadow viper Vipera graeca, a cold-adapted species inhabiting mountaintops in the Pindos Mountains of Greece and Albania. We transformed the mapped threats into nine variables to estimate conservation value: habitat suitability (climate suitability, habitat size, occupancy, vegetation suitability), climate change (future persistence, potential for altitudinal range shift) and land-use impact (habitat alteration, degradation, disturbance). We applied the Zonation systematic conservation planning tool with these conservation value variables as biodiversity features to rank the areas currently occupied by the species and to identify priority areas where the chances for population persistence are highest. We found that 90% of current habitats will become unsuitable by the 2080s and that conservation actions need to be implemented to avoid extinction as this is already a threatened species with a narrow ecological niche. If threats are appropriately quantified and translated into variables of conservation value, spatial conservation planning tools can successfully identify priority areas for the conservation of single species. Our study demonstrates that spatial prioritization for single umbrella, flagship or keystone species is a promising approach for the conservation of species for which few data are available.
Highlights
Biological diversity has experienced significant losses as a result of a number of factors that directly or indirectly affect species
Approach We used spatial prioritization, an approach rarely applied to single species (Adam-Hosking et al, ), which is based on quantifying known threats and transforming them into variables describing conservation value based on current conditions
Vegetation suitability We modelled the spatial distribution of suitable vegetation using the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), which quantifies the amount of phytomass on the surface from satellite-based imagery data
Summary
Biological diversity has experienced significant losses as a result of a number of factors that directly or indirectly affect species. Reptiles are threatened by habitat loss, degradation and fragmentation, introduction of invasive species, pollution, pathogens and climate change, resulting in global population declines (Cox & Temple, ). Species adapted to high altitude habitats are threatened by climate change because they often have low dispersal ability, a high level of habitat specialization and fragmented distributions, all of which predict low probability of range shift (Davies et al, ). Ectothermic animals such as reptiles are further threatened by climate change because of their sensitivity to changes in the thermal landscape and low dispersal ability (Sinervo et al, ). Mountain-dwelling species usually escape the changing thermal landscape by shifting their distributions to higher altitudes (Haines et al, ) but this is possible only if the local topography allows this (Şekercioğlu et al, )
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