Mapping Low-Elevation Species Richness and Biodiversity in the Eastern Mojave Desert

Abstract

Global loss of biodiversity is a well-known concern for conservationists and managers, but detailed spatial maps of local biodiversity for use by local managers are often lacking. We used a suite of existing species distribution models to calculate spatial variation in low-elevation species richness across Clark County, Nevada, USA, comprising much of the eastern Mojave Desert. We then used a macroecological model to estimate true latent low-elevation biodiversity across the county, correcting for potential taxonomic bias in the estimates of species richness. We found that species richness and biodiversity tended to be higher along the Muddy and Virgin Rivers and in the Las Vegas valley. Biodiversity was positively associated with flat, rocky landforms, low elevation, late seasonal greenup, and lower differences between winter and summer temperature. We present a brief example for local managers to apply the new publicly available low-elevation species richness and biodiversity spatial layers.