Hotspots Of Endemism Research Articles

Stacked machine learning models for predicting species richness and endemism for Mediterranean endemic plants in the Mareotis subsector in Egypt

An effective method for identifying species and evaluating the effects of changes caused by humans on specific species is the application of species distribution modelling (SDM) in desert environments. The fact that many dry lands and deserts throughout the world are situated in inhospitable regions may be the reason why such applications are still infrequently used on plant species in Egypt's Mediterranean region. Henceforth, the current study aims to map species richness and weighted endemism of Mediterranean endemics in the Mareotis subsector in Egypt and determine the environmental variables influencing distribution of these taxa. We produced a map of species distribution range using Ensemble SDMs. Further, stacked machine learning ensemble models derived from Random Forest (RF) and MaxEnt models were applied on 382 Mediterranean endemics distribution data to estimate and map diversity and endemism using two indices: species richness (SR) and weighted endemism index (WEI). The best models for ensemble modelling were chosen based on Kappa values and the Area Under the Receiver Operator Curve (AUC). The results showed that the models had a good predictive ability (Area Under the Curve (AUC) for all SDMs was > 0.75), indicating high accuracy in forecasting the potential geographic distribution of Mediterranean endemics. The main bioclimatic variables that impacted potential distributions of most species were wind speed, elevation and minimum temperature of coldest month. According to our models, six hotspots were determined for Mediterranean endemics in the present study. The highest species richness was recorded in Sallum, Matrouh wadis and Omayed, followed by Burg El-Arab, Ras El-Hekma and Lake Mariut. Indeed, species richness and endemism hotspots are promising areas for conservation planning. This study can help shape policy and mitigation efforts to protect and preserve Mediterranean endemics in the coastal desert of Egypt. These hotspots should be focused on by policy makers and stakeholders and declared as protectorates in the region. The largest number of species per area would be protected by focusing primarily on the hotspots with high species richness.

Climate change and land use threaten global hotspots of phylogenetic endemism for trees

Across the globe, tree species are under high anthropogenic pressure. Risks of extinction are notably more severe for species with restricted ranges and distinct evolutionary histories. Here, we use a global dataset covering 41,835 species (65.1% of known tree species) to assess the spatial pattern of tree species’ phylogenetic endemism, its macroecological drivers, and how future pressures may affect the conservation status of the identified hotspots. We found that low-to-mid latitudes host most endemism hotspots, with current climate being the strongest driver, and climatic stability across thousands to millions of years back in time as a major co-determinant. These hotspots are mostly located outside of protected areas and face relatively high land-use change and future climate change pressure. Our study highlights the risk from climate change for tree diversity and the necessity to strengthen conservation and restoration actions in global hotspots of phylogenetic endemism for trees to avoid major future losses of tree diversity.

Annotated checklist of Indonesian Impatiens (Balsaminaceae)

Impatiens is a genus of flowering plants widely distributed in Indonesia, with a high level of endemism. Some studies about on Impatiens have been conducted in Indonesia and several new species have recently been proposed, however, a list of all Indonesian Impatiens species has never been provided. Here, such a checklist of the Indonesian Impatiens species is presented to provide a comprehensive and up‐to‐date inventory of this genus in the region. There are 52 species, plus 3 subspecies and 7 varieties, of Impatiens in Indonesia. Most of the species are distributed in Sumatra, some in Java, Sulawesi, Kalimantan (Borneo), Lesser Sunda Islands, Maluku and Papua. Sumatra has the highest number of Impatiens species in Indonesia (45 species), while the Maluku region has the least (two species). Most of the species are native (50 species) and endemic (46 species), with Sumatra being the endemic hotspot (39 species). Some Impatiens species, such as I. dewildeana, have expanded their distribution to new areas. The conservation status of Impatiens species in Indonesia has not been assessed previously, therefore, we follow IUCN, as a reference for determining the status of Impatiens in Indonesia, especially those endemic to Sumatra. It is concluded that a majority of the species is threatened, and several may already be extinct.

The non-acarine Arachnida of the Amathole Mountains, South Africa

ABSTRACT Background: The Eastern Cape province of South Africa has a rich floral diversity, with seven of the country’s eight floral biomes represented in the province. The non-acarine arachnid fauna of the province is largely understudied and considerable gaps exist in our knowledge of the distribution, diversity and levels of endemism of the arachnid fauna. Objectives: To address this, non-acarine arachnids were sampled intensively in the Afromontane forests and surrounding biotopes in the Amathole Mountains over the course of a decade. Methods: In the present contribution, comprehensive checklists of the non-acarine arachnids (specifically, the orders Amblypygi, Araneae, Opiliones, Pseudoscorpiones and Scorpiones) of the region are presented, based on a combination of field sampling, provenance data from museum specimen databases, and a review of the historical literature. Results: In total, 398 species of non-acarine arachnids have been recorded from the Amathole Mountains, with spiders (Araneae; 324 species from 51 families) and harvestmen (Opiliones; 41 species from four families) the richest groups. The region is exceptionally rich in harvestmen and pseudoscorpions (Pseudoscorpiones; 24 species from 11 families), and might be considered a hotspot of biodiversity and endemism for these taxa. Conclusion: As the sampling was concentrated around Hogsback, and most other areas remain undersampled, further efforts should be made to sample all representative biotopes more comprehensively in the mountain range. This will improve understanding of the distribution and endemism of the arachnid fauna and assess the conservation significance of the region from a national perspective.

Clinical Presentation of American Tegumentary Leishmaniasis in a Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis Endemic Hotspot: A 35-Year History.

American tegumentary leishmaniasis (ATL) is a neglected tropical disease affecting the skin and mucosa. American tegumentary leishmaniasis due to Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis is endemic in Argentina, where the Department of Oran is a hyperendemic focus. All cases of ATL with laboratory confirmation evaluated at a referral center in Oran city between 1985 and 2019 were analyzed retrospectively. Information from cases included clinical form, lesion size and number, time of evolution, and anatomical location; sex, age, and geographic origin were also studied. The temporal distribution of cases was analyzed. A total of 3,573 cases were included in the analysis. The ratio of males to females was 3:1 and the median age was 33 years old. Eighty-seven percent of cases were from Oran city and its surroundings, highlighting the hyperendemic nature of the area. Regarding clinical forms, 92.5% of cases were cutaneous and 7.5% were mucosal, with a median evolution time until clinical evaluation of 30 days and 7 months, respectively. Single cutaneous lesions were more frequent, localized mainly on the exposed areas in the upper and lower limbs. Secondary events were observed and described in 140 (4%) cases, with a median interval of 3.8 years for the appearance of recurrent mucosal disease in previously cutaneous forms. This is the largest case series of ATL due to L. (V.) braziliensis. The most classic presentation is of adult males with single cutaneous ulcers in exposed body areas, with < 10% of cases with mucosal complications. This comprehensive clinical characterization serves as a basis for future studies of the care and control of this neglected tropical disease.

Re-emergence of Lassa fever in Nigeria: A new challenge for public health authorities.

The Lassa virus is an RNA virus belonging to the Arenaviridae family. It is responsible for Lassa fever, an acute viral zoonosis of the severe hemorrhagic fever type with manifestations of fever, muscle pain, sore throat, nausea, vomiting, and chest and abdominal pain. Lassa fever is endemic in West Africa, where the first case was reported in 1969 in Lassa, a town in Nigeria, more than 50 years ago, and it is estimated that nearly 5000 deaths occur in West Africa each year. Nigeria is one of the endemic hotspots and has experienced numerous recurrent outbreaks of Lassa fever due to the increased multiplication of the host reservoir, Mastomys natalensis. For the Lassa epidemics in 2022 and January 2023 alone, Nigeria accounts for a quarter of the annual deaths from this disease. Poor lifestyle and hygiene, difficulty in diagnosis due to nonspecific symptomatology, lack of effective treatment based on clinical evidence, an ineffective human immunization program combined with a health system that is not adapted or equipped to control and prevent recurrent deadly epidemics, and an outdated regional disease surveillance system in West Africa are some of the challenges that must be overcome to rapidly and effectively eradicate this disease, whose area of spread is constantly expanding as a result of the movement of populations in the context of economic and socio-cultural activities.

What you hear may not be what you see: Potential of citizen science methods to use bats as riverine forest quality indicators

AbstractMediterranean habitats will be one of the Eurasian ecosystems more strongly affected by Climate Change, especially their riverine systems. Monitoring these ecosystems, which are endemism hotspots and extremely sensitive to changes in rain regimes and extreme weather events like droughts, is of crucial importance. Decades of citizen science projects have proven their utility in highlighting ecological shifts and conservation action priority areas. The Bat Monitoring Programme (www.batmonitoring.org), for instance, has already been used to develop ecological indicators to evaluate the evolution and conservation status of Mediterranean ecosystems. However, using bats as ecological indicators for aquatic ecosystems has resulted in contradicting results, making its application a little controversial. In the present study, we compared two citizen science protocols (visual counting vs. passive acoustic monitoring) used in the Bat Monitoring Programme to test the utility of trawling bats as indicators of Mediterranean riverine habitat quality at both local and landscape scales. By doing so, we aimed to build a specific ecological indicator to determine habitat quality through visual and acoustic counts. Although both protocols presented similar positive significant responses to riverine forest quality, visual counts are suggested as the best sampling approach due to their simplicity and potential within citizen science projects. Moreover, for the first time, we defined threshold values of trawling bat activity to assign different levels of habitat quality to the sampled rivers. We applied them in NE Iberia to exemplify the benefits of using them in a Mediterranean region and discussed the potential, pros and cons of these two citizen science methodologies to establish a pan‐European river biomonitoring programme using trawling bats.

Spatial patterns and drivers of native plant diversity in Hainan, China

AbstractHainan Island has the most extensive and well‐preserved tropical forests in China. With rapid economic development of Hainan, biodiversity is increasingly at risk. Determining the spatial patterns of plant diversity in Hainan and explaining the drivers behind plant diversity are important considerations in assessing and maximizing the effectiveness of national parks, such as the newly designated Hainan Rainforest National Park. We assessed phylogenetic diversity patterns, and species richness using 106,252 georeferenced specimen records and a molecular phylogeny of 3,792 native plant species. Based on phylogenetic range‐weighted turnover metrics, we divided Hainan flora into four major floristic units. The Grade of Membership model was used to further verify the four units, and to understand their boundaries and the internal structure of each floristic unit. Finally, the best combination model was used to explore the driving mechanisms underlying the division. Our results reveal that central Hainan is the most important hotspot for plant endemism and diversity, followed by the southern area. Environmental energy is the main factor determining the spatial patterns of native plant diversity on the island, and accessibility has the greatest impact on native plant diversity among social factors. We explore patterns of spatial phylogenetics and biogeography to identify potential priorities for management and conservation drivers of plant diversity patterns across Hainan, to provide the basis for the effective protection of native plant diversity and the improvement of national parks of Hainan Island.

Hotspot and conservation gap analysis of endemic vascular plants in the Altai Mountain Country based on a new global conservation assessment

The Altai Mountains of Central and North Asia are biologically rich and comprise a wide range of ecosystems and phytogeographical regions. According to the latest checklist, a total of 321 endemic vascular plant species, including 217 endemic and 104 subendemic taxa, have been recognized in the Altai Mountain Country (AMC). In this study, we conducted species risk assessment, distribution evaluation and conservation gap analysis for the endemic vascular flora of the AMC. The conservation status of 217 endemic species was assessed at the global level using the ConR package. As a result, 197 species were evaluated as potentially threatened, of which 101 are critically endangered (CR), 72 species are endangered (EN), and 24 species are vulnerable (VU). The remaining 20 species were evaluated as not threatened. Furthermore, the AMC was divided into 350 grid cells, with a grid cell size of 50 × 50 km2, for the spatial assessments of the endemic vascular plants. A total of 2657 unique georeferenced occurrences of endemic species were found and analyzed with three endemism indices, species richness (SR), weighted endemism (WE), and corrected weighted endemism (CWE), to quantify geographic patterns and centers of endemism across the whole AMC. The results showed that the endemic species are spread across 186 grid cells and distributed unevenly within the AMC. According to the conservation gap analysis, the main hotspots of endemism (i.e., SR and WE indices) were found at high elevations in the Russian Altai, while the CWE points to the Kazakh Altai as a hotspot, and many such hotspots are currently afforded no formal protections.

Are Mediterranean Island Mountains Hotspots of Taxonomic and Phylogenetic Biodiversity? The Case of the Endemic Flora of the Balearic Islands.

The Mediterranean islands are exceptionally rich in endemism, most of which is narrowly distributed. Conservation measures, such as protected areas, have been prioritised, mainly on the basis of species richness and endemism, but phylogenetic information should also be taken into account. In this study, we calculated several taxonomic and phylogenetic metrics at a high resolution for the endemic flora of the Balearic Islands (154 taxa), in order to identify (i) the spatial patterns and environmental factors that explain this endemism, (ii) hotspots of species and phylogenetic endemism, and (iii) gaps in the protected areas. The taxonomic and phylogenetic metrics showed different distribution patterns, but the mountainous areas of Mallorca, and some coastal areas of the Balearic Islands, have the highest values. These values were positively related to elevation, precipitation, temperature, and slope, and negatively related to the distance from the coast, aspect, and the temperature of the wettest quarter. We identified top grid hotspots where all the metrics had the highest values, and we also identified nano-hotspots within these hotspots, in some of the highest peaks of Mallorca, where most of these metrics' maximum values coincided. This approach allowed us to identify some gaps in the conservation priority areas, and to highlight the need to review their boundaries and definition.

Fine-scale genomic tracking of Ross River virus using nanopore sequencing

BackgroundRoss River virus (RRV) is Australia’s most common and widespread mosquito-transmitted arbovirus and is of significant public health concern. With increasing anthropogenic impacts on wildlife and mosquito populations, it is important that we understand how RRV circulates in its endemic hotspots to determine where public health efforts should be directed. Current surveillance methods are effective in locating the virus but do not provide data on the circulation of the virus and its strains within the environment. This study examined the ability to identify single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within the variable E2/E3 region by generating full-length haplotypes from a range of mosquito trap-derived samples.MethodsA novel tiled primer amplification workflow for amplifying RRV was developed with analysis using Oxford Nanopore Technology’s MinION and a custom ARTIC/InterARTIC bioinformatic protocol. By creating a range of amplicons across the whole genome, fine-scale SNP analysis was enabled by specifically targeting the variable region that was amplified as a single fragment and established haplotypes that informed spatial-temporal variation of RRV in the study site in Victoria.ResultsA bioinformatic and laboratory pipeline was successfully designed and implemented on mosquito whole trap homogenates. Resulting data showed that genotyping could be conducted in real time and that whole trap consensus of the viruses (with major SNPs) could be determined in a timely manner. Minor variants were successfully detected from the variable E2/E3 region of RRV, which allowed haplotype determination within complex mosquito homogenate samples.ConclusionsThe novel bioinformatic and wet laboratory methods developed here will enable fast detection and characterisation of RRV isolates. The concepts presented in this body of work are transferable to other viruses that exist as quasispecies in samples. The ability to detect minor SNPs, and thus haplotype strains, is critically important for understanding the epidemiology of viruses their natural environment.Graphical

Dominant attitudes and values toward wildlife and the environment in coastal Alabama

AbstractSurveys assessing attitudes and values about the environment can help predict human behavior toward wildlife and develop effective conservation goals alongside local communities. Coastal Alabama, in the southeastern United States, is a hotspot for biodiversity and endemism and needs protection. Land and wildlife management practices in Alabama have moved from indigenous‐led, which is more in harmony with the environment, to larger‐scale exploitative uses for agriculture and plantations. We therefore predicted that a large proportion of the population has a dominant view of the environment in which land and wildlife are primarily for human benefit. To test this hypothesis, we surveyed over 1300 residents in Mobile and Baldwin counties—the two southernmost counties in Alabama—to assess attitudes toward local vertebrate wildlife, knowledge of the region's biodiversity, and whether individuals value protected areas where they live and/or work. As hunting is generally considered a dominant behavior, we used self‐identified hunters versus non‐hunters to examine the relationship between humans and the environment. Overall, hunters would kill or kill to eat more often than non‐hunters, and would kill even when it is not for food. Furthermore, regardless of hunting status, most participants in our survey would kill a snake, indicating that targeted environmental education is needed for this group. Both hunters and non‐hunters, independently of demographic differences including education and income levels, were not familiar with the especially rich biodiversity of the area and would not be willing to invest money to protect it. Our results indicate that targeted education about the unique and rich biodiversity of southern Alabama compared to the rest of the United States is needed to support successful environmental management, conservation actions, and local participation.

The mountain top flora and vegetation of the remote Ovahimba Highlands in the Kaokoveld Centre of Endemism: a reconnaissance

The Kaokoveld Centre of Endemism is a hotspot of biodiversity and endemism, largely underexplored while new species are continually described. A reconnaissance survey of flora and vegetation was undertaken on three remote mountain tops of the western Great Escarpment: Cafema and Tchamalindi in Angola’s Iona National Park, and Middelberg in the Otjihipa Range of Namibia, providing the first floristic account for Serra Cafema. Vegetation cover and woody vegetation structure were assessed, and botanic surveys were performed. Previously collected occurrence data allowed to determine Kaokoveld endemics. Commiphora woodlands were found on the mountains despite the semi-desert on the surrounding plains. Woodlands were interspersed with montane savanna and on Cafema with sclerophyll dwarf shrubs. Our study provides the first assessments of species richness in the Ovahimba Highlands with the highest for Serra Cafema: 56 species per 1000 m2 compared to 47 species per 1000 m2 for the other mountains. Species composition, especially Cafema, is very different from the surrounding lowlands, making a case for a satellite population of Afromontane vegetation. The distribution of sixteen species was expanded from Namibia to Angola. Of the 285 taxa, 12% were Kaokoveld endemics, of which 65% woody species, both relatively high compared to Afromontane vegetation in Eastern Africa. Only a fraction of the flora could be recorded and more surveys after good rainfall are required, especially considering the threats of climate change and overgrazing. The mountain flora deserves priority conservation efforts to protect endemic plants and old taxa that survived in these refuge sites.

Meeting in Liguria: Hybridisation between Apennine endemic Euphorbia barrelieri and western Mediterranean E. nicaeensis led to the allopolyploid origin of E. ligustica

The Mediterranean Basin is renowned for its extremely rich biota and is considered as one of the 25 Global Biodiversity Hotspots, but its diversity is not homogeneously distributed. Outstanding in the number of (endemic) species are the Ligurian Alps (Italy). At the foot of the Ligurian Alps, little above the Mediterranean Sea, a disjunct occurrence of Italian endemic Euphorbia barrelieri was reported. Using an array of integrative methods ranging from cytogenetic (chromosome number and relative genome size estimation), over phylogenetic approaches (plastid, ITS and RAD sequencing) to multivariate morphometrics we disentangled the origin of these populations that were shown to be tetraploid. We performed phylogenetic analyses of the nuclear ITS and plastid regions of a broad taxonomic sampling of Euphorbia sect. Pithyusa to identify possible species involved in the origin of the tetraploid populations and then applied various analyses of RADseq data to identify the putative parental species. Our results have shown that the Ligurian populations of E. barrelieri are of allotetraploid origin that involved E. barrelieri and western Mediterranean E. nicaeensis as parental species. We thus describe a new species, E. ligustica, and hypothesise that its adaptation to similar environments in which E. barrelieri occurs, triggered development of similar morphology, whereas its genetic composition appears to be closer to that of E. nicaeensis. Our study emphasises the importance of polyploidisation for plant diversification, highlights the value of the Ligurian Alps as a hotspot of biodiversity and endemism and underlines the importance of integrative taxonomic approaches in uncovering cryptic diversity.

Global shortfalls in threat assessments for endemic flora by country

Societal Impact StatementPlants are fundamental to terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems and are key to human livelihoods. To protect plant diversity, systematic approaches to conservation assessment are needed. Many nations have legislation or other policy instruments that seek to protect biodiversity (including plants), and species‐level assessments are essential for identifying the most threatened species that require special and immediate protection measures. Some plants occur in only one place (for instance, a single country) and here we have estimated how many of these ‘endemic’ species have had their threats assessed in each country or close country‐equivalent worldwide. We show that the level of assessment completion is only weakly related to the income of countries or the likely level of threat that species face.Summary The Global Strategy for Plant Conservation ambitiously called for an assessment of the conservation status of all recognised plant taxa by 2020. This target was not met in the short term. Nevertheless, the need for conservation assessments remains urgent as plants go extinct and face increasing threats from human impacts on the biosphere. Here, the completeness of threat assessments for endemic flora in 179 countries or their close equivalents was assessed. To do so, distribution information from the World Checklist of Vascular Plants was combined with assessments collated in the ThreatSearch database. The completeness of assessments was expected to be associated with the objective affluence of countries (measured using inequality‐adjusted Human Development Index (IHDI)) and/or the exposure of their plant species to threats associated with human impacts (measured using Global Human Modification index (GHM)). The number of endemic species per country was also hypothesised to influence the completion of assessments. Overall, 58% of all country‐based endemic species examined have no conservation assessment (127,643 species). Countries' progress toward the completion of threat assessments for endemic plants could not be confidently predicted by IHDI, GHM or the richness of endemic plant flora. The shortfall in threat assessments identified here restricts national regulation of actions which imperil plant species, with particular consequences for endemic plant species subject to local laws. Some nations with high IHDI scores (i.e. wealthier nations) are not systematically assessing extinction risk in their endemic species. Scarce funding should be directed to global hotspots of endemism with few available resources for assessment.

Increased risk of brucellosis misdiagnosis in regions that lose their endemicity.

Over the last decades, the epidemiology of human brucellosis globally has been subjected to significant changes, with the eradication of many existing endemic hot spots. This paper describes three cases with initial misdiagnosis of brucellosis that were managed during 2011-2017 in Republic of North Macedonia, country that until recently has been declared as endemic region. In spite of the fever, constitutional symptoms, focal disease (spondylitis, pneumonia and orchitis) and previous contact with domestic animals, brucellosis was not initially recognized, and patients were inadequately managed. Brucellosis should be part of differential diagnostic considerations in patients exposed to contacts with animals, with osteoarticular symptoms and signs, constitutional manifestations and different organ involvements in endemic regions where its incidence is diminishing.

Habitat use, richness, and abundance of native mice in the highlands of the Talamanca mountain range, Costa Rica

The Costa Rican highlands are considered hotspots of diversity and endemism, but studies on rodents are scarce. We compared the richness and abundance of mice between the montane forest and the paramo at the summit of the Talamanca mountain range. We selected two study sites within the Talamanca mountain range: the Cerro de la Muerte Biological Station and the paramo. The former is a montane forest dominated by oaks, and the latter is dominated by an herbaceous layer, and some scattered bushy patches. We captured mice in two different microhabitats within each montane forest and paramo, so we had four different sampling microhabitats: (1) paramo–bush, (2) paramo–Chusquea, (3) montane forest–bush, and (4) montane forest–Chusquea. Mice were marked to identify recaptures. We captured four mouse species and their abundance varied largely between habitats and among microhabitats (Table 1). The most abundant species, representing 85 % of all mouse captures, was Peromyscus nudipes. Mice were more abundant in the montane forest than in the paramo. Within the montane forest, mice were more abundant in the microhabitat containing bushes. The montane forest has a more complex vegetation structure with more diversity of food resources and shelters than the paramo. As well as at the habitat level, we argue that differences in abundance among microhabitats are directly related with the structure of vegetation. A more complex habitat structure may provide rodents with better conditions.

Species diversity, hotspot congruence, and conservation of North American damselflies (Odonata: Zygoptera)

The rapid extinction of species is of considerable concern for biodiversity conservation. Identifying the drivers of species diversity and hotspots is beneficial for developing conservation strategies. Studies on insects have mainly focused on terrestrial species and rarely on semiaquatic species. Using 135,208 georeferenced occurrence records of 296 damselflies across North America, their species richness and endemism (represented by weighted endemism) patterns were mapped in a 100 × 100-km grid size, and the effects of environmental variables on species richness and endemism were investigated using generalized linear models and hierarchical partitioning. Subsequently, the top 5% grids with species richness and weighted endemism were separately selected as hotspots and their congruence was evaluated. Finally, species diversity hotspots were identified by integrating two types of hotspot grids, and gap analysis was performed to evaluate their conservation status. Temperature conditions and water availability had the strongest influence on species richness and endemism, respectively. Low congruence among species richness and endemism hotspots was observed. Moreover, four species diversity hotspots were identified, namely, region of the eastern United States and southeastern Canada, southwestern United States, central Mexico, and southernmost North America. Approximately 69.31% of the hotspot grids are not a part of the existing protected areas, presenting a significant conservation gap. The habitats of taxonomic groups should be considered while identifying the most common driving mechanisms of endemism. Strengthening the establishment of protected areas in regions with conservation gaps is urgently needed to promote the conservation of damselflies in North America.

Molecular characterization of Astyanax species (Characiformes: Characidae) from the upper Paraguaçu River basin, a hydrographic system with high endemism

Abstract Molecular tools have been employed to improve the knowledge about freshwater Neotropical fishes. Such approaches supporting studies of groups including species complexes such as Astyanax, one of the most diversified and taxonomically complex genus of the family Characidae. Here, we employed species delimitation analyses in four Astyanax species described for the upper Paraguaçu River basin, a drainage within Northeastern Mata Atlântica freshwater ecoregion with high endemism. We implemented single and multilocus approaches based on two mitochondrial and one nuclear markers. Cytochrome c Oxidase I sequences previously available for Astyanax species were also added to our dataset. The single locus analyses showed A. epiagos, A. rupestris, and A. aff. rupestris as different Molecular Operational Taxonomic Units (MOTUs), while A. brucutu and A. lorien were grouped. However, the multilocus approach distinguished these two species and showed congruence for the remaining single locus results. Astyanax aff. rupestris was separated into two MOTUs using both approaches, highlighting the need for an integrative taxonomic revision including A. aff. rupestris. These findings contribute to a better understanding of the diversity of this fish group in the upper Paraguaçu, identifying hidden diversity and reinforcing the relevance of this hydrographic system as a notable hotspot for ichthyofauna biodiversity endemism.

Climate and Land-Cover Change Impacts and Extinction Risk Assessment of Rare and Threatened Endemic Taxa of Chelmos-Vouraikos National Park (Peloponnese, Greece).

Chelmos-Vouraikos National Park is a floristic diversity and endemism hotspot in Greece and one of the main areas where Greek endemic taxa, preliminary assessed as critically endangered and threatened under the IUCN Criteria A and B, are mainly concentrated. The climate and land-cover change impacts on rare and endemic species distributions is more prominent in regional biodiversity hotspots. The main aims of the current study were: (a) to investigate how climate and land-cover change may alter the distribution of four single mountain endemics and three very rare Peloponnesian endemic taxa of the National Park via a species distribution modelling approach, and (b) to estimate the current and future extinction risk of the aforementioned taxa based on the IUCN Criteria A and B, in order to investigate the need for designing an effective plant micro-reserve network and to support decision making on spatial planning efforts and conservation research for a sustainable, integrated management. Most of the taxa analyzed are expected to continue to be considered as critically endangered based on both Criteria A and B under all land-cover/land-use scenarios, GCM/RCP and time-period combinations, while two, namely Alchemilla aroanica and Silene conglomeratica, are projected to become extinct in most future climate change scenarios. When land-cover/land-use data were included in the analyses, these negative effects were less pronounced. However, Silene conglomeratica, the rarest mountain endemic found in the study area, is still expected to face substantial range decline. Our results highlight the urgent need for the establishment of micro-reserves for these taxa.