Global patterns of extinction risk and conservation needs for Rodentia and Eulipotyphla

Rosalind J Kennerley,Richard P Young,Thomas E Lacher,Michael A Hudson,Samuel T Turvey,Nicolette S Roach,Barney Long,Shelby D Mccay,Alice Hughes

doi:10.1111/ddi.13368

Abstract

AbstractAimTo explore global patterns in spatial aggregations of species richness, vulnerability and data deficiency for Rodentia and Eulipotyphla. To evaluate the adequacy of existing protected area (PA) network for these areas. To provide a focus for local conservation initiatives.LocationGlobal.MethodsTotal species, globally threatened (GT) species, and Data Deficient (DD) species richness were calculated for a 1° resolution grid. Correspondence analyses between global species richness against GT species richness were performed. To assess PA network adequacy, a correspondence analysis was conducted to identify areas of high richness and GT species richness that have poor protection.ResultsSix hotspots were identified for GT eulipotyphlans, encompassing 40% of GT species. Three of these contain higher numbers of GT species than would be expected based on their overall species richness. Ten priority regions were identified for GT rodents, which together contain 34% of all GT species. Six contain higher numbers of GT rodent species than would be expected based on their overall species richness. For DD species, 15% of DD eulipotyphlans were represented within three priority regions, whereas 18 were identified for rodents, capturing 53% of all DD species. Areas containing lower numbers of protected GT eulipotyphlan species than expected include Mexico; Cameroonian Highlands; Albertine Rift; Tanzania; Kenya; Ethiopia; western Asia; India; and Sri Lanka. Areas containing lower numbers of protected GT rodent species than expected are Borneo, Sumatra and Sulawesi. Five eulipotyphlans and 44 rodents have ranges which fall completely outside of PAs.Main conclusionRodentia and Eulipotyphla priority regions should be considered separately to one another and to other mammals. This analysis approach allows us to pinpoint and delineate geographical areas which represent key regions at a global level for rodents and eulipotyphlans, in order to facilitate conservation, field research and capacity building at a local level.

Highlights

Determining the spatial patterns of biodiversity and extinction risk provides invaluable insights into broad-scale processes of evolution, macroecology and biogeography and constitutes an integral component of evidence-based conservation (Ladle & Whittaker, 2011; Thompson et al, 2001)
We evaluated the adequacy of existing habitat conservation measures by contrasting these spatial patterns with the distribution of protected areas, thereby identifying possible areas where small mammals are poorly covered by the global protected area (PA) network
While previous studies have described global patterns of all mammal diversity and how these relate to PAs (Ceballos & Brown, 1995; Jenkins et al, 2013; Rodrigues, 2004), the current study is the first global analysis of conservation-relevant distributional patterns shown by rodents and eulipotyphlans, which together comprise nearly half of the world's mammals, and identified spatial aggregations of species richness, vulnerability and data deficiency

Summary

| INTRODUCTION

Determining the spatial patterns of biodiversity and extinction risk provides invaluable insights into broad-scale processes of evolution, macroecology and biogeography and constitutes an integral component of evidence-based conservation (Ladle & Whittaker, 2011; Thompson et al, 2001). Small mammals exhibit high levels of morphological and functional diversity, constitute an important component of global vertebrate biomass and play fundamental roles in key global ecological processes including pollination, seed dispersal, nutrient cycling, soil dynamics, and habitat structuring and maintenance (Campos et al, 2017; Clark et al, 2016; Whitford & Kay, 1999; Zoeller et al, 2016) They have so far received very little attention in conservation research or priority- setting (Amori & Gippoliti, 2001; Amori et al, 2011; Kennerley et al, 2018; Lacher et al, 2017; Verde Arregoitia, 2016). These two approaches allow us to pinpoint and delineate geographical areas which represent key regions at a global level for rodent and eulipotyphlan insectivores to provide a basis for local conservation, field research and capacity building

| METHODS

Findings

| DISCUSSION