Factors related to species richness, endemism, and conservation status of the herpetofauna (Amphibia and Reptilia) of Mexican states

Abstract

Mexico is a megadiverse country with high endemicity in its herpetofauna. We examine how species richness, proportion of state and country endemic species, and proportion of species in a category of conservation concern using listings in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List and the Secretaría del Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (SEMARNAT) in 27 of 32 Mexican states are related to environmental and human demographic and socioeconomic variables. Amphibian and reptile species richness were positively related to latitude range and number of physiographic regions and negatively related to latitude. The proportion of state endemic amphibian species in a state was negatively related to latitude whereas no variables influenced the proportion in reptiles. The proportion of country endemics in a state was positively related to human population density and the number of physiographic regions and negatively related to per capita gross domestic product (GDP) and latitude range for amphibians; it was positively related to human population density and elevation range and negatively related to latitude range for reptiles. The proportion of amphibian species in an IUCN category of concern in a state was positively related to human population density and negatively related to latitude; for reptiles, it was negatively related to human population density. The proportion of SEMARNAT-listed species in a state was positively related to human population density for both amphibians and reptiles and negatively related to latitude range for amphibians. Our analyses found that larger macroecological patterns (e.g., latitudinal species gradient, heterogeneity-richness relationships) and human population density play important roles in determining the richness and conservation status of Mexican amphibians and reptiles.