Abstract
In this contribution the results of a zoogeographical analysis, carried out on the 123 endemic leaf beetle species (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) occurring in Italy and its immediately adjacent regions, are reported. To assess the level of faunistic similarity among the different geographic regions studied, a cluster analysis was performed, based on the endemic component. This was done by calculating the Baroni Urbani & Buser’s similarity index (BUB). Finally, a parsimony analysis of endemicity (PAE) was used to identify the most important areas of endemism in Italy.
Highlights
We refer to the “faunal provinces” proposed by Minelli et al (2006) for the peninsular and insular parts of Italy, showing the following areas: the Apulian Province, Central Apennines, Northern Apennines, Padanian Province, Sardinia, Sicily, and the Southern Apennines (Fig. 1)
The level of faunistic similarity between the different geographic regions studied was assessed, based on the endemic component, by performing a cluster analysis which used Operational Geographic Units (OGUs) as reference. This was done by calculating the Baroni Urbani & Buser’s similarity index (BUB) (Baroni Urbani and Buser 1976) on a presence-absence binary matrix of the endemic species
We found 123 endemic species of Chrysomelidae occurring in the study region (Table 1), which represent about 15% of the total leaf beetle fauna in Italy
Summary
Reid 1998), the individuation of areas with great endemic species concentration is very important for biogeographical and conservation purposes (Brooks et al 2006; Burlakova et al 2011; Whittaker et al 2005; Wilson et al 2006) It is important for the intrinsic value of the particular species, and for the funding for projects, since the idea of something exclusive and unique appeals politicians (Riddle et al 2011) and lay people (Meuser et al 2009).
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