Abstract
Human-induced land use changes are causing extensive habitat fragmentation. As a result, many species are not able to shift their ranges in response to climate change and will likely need to adapt in situ to changing climate conditions. Consequently, a prudent strategy to maintain the ability of populations to adapt is to focus conservation efforts on areas where levels of intraspecific variation are high. By doing so, the potential for an evolutionary response to environmental change is maximized. Here, we use modeling approaches in conjunction with environmental variables to model species distributions and patterns of genetic and morphological variation in seven Ecuadorian amphibian, bird, and mammal species. We then used reserve selection software to prioritize areas for conservation based on intraspecific variation or species-level diversity. Reserves selected using species richness and complementarity showed little overlap with those based on genetic and morphological variation. Priority areas for intraspecific variation were mainly located along the slopes of the Andes and were largely concordant among species, but were not well represented in existing reserves. Our results imply that in order to maximize representation of intraspecific variation in reserves, genetic and morphological variation should be included in conservation prioritization.
Highlights
IntroductionLocal populations are increasingly unable to track ongoing climate change (Travis 2003) and will have to adapt to the new environmental conditions or go extinct
Human-induced land use changes are leading to rapid habitat fragmentation
Comparison between reserves based on species richness versus intraspecific variation Priority areas based on species-level data were only partly concordant with those based on intraspecific variation (Table 4) and may not be sufficiently effective in preserving either species richness or intraspecific variation given ongoing and future climate change
Summary
Local populations are increasingly unable to track ongoing climate change (Travis 2003) and will have to adapt to the new environmental conditions or go extinct. The ability to adapt genetically depends on the amount of heritable variation currently present in a population. One way to mitigate the potential impacts of climate change on biodiversity is to ensure that the evolutionary processes underlying the generation and maintenance of such variation are preserved (Smith et al 1993). Frankel 1974; Moritz 2002; Gregory et al 2006; Smith and Grether 2008), but in practice have seen limited use in conservation planning. Given the current rate of anthropogenic climate change, there is an urgent need for approaches that enable conservation biologists to take into account evolutionary processes in prioritization schemes
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