Conservation Priorities in a Biodiversity Hotspot: Analysis of Narrow Endemic Plant Species in New Caledonia

Abstract

New Caledonia is a global biodiversity hotspot facing extreme environmental degradation. Given the urgent need for conservation prioritisation, we have made a first-pass quantitative assessment of the distribution of Narrow Endemic Species (NES) in the flora to identify species and sites that are potentially important for conservation action. We assessed the distributional status of all angiosperm and gymnosperm species using data from taxonomic descriptions and herbarium samples. We characterised species as being NES if they occurred in 3 or fewer locations. In total, 635 of the 2930 assessed species were classed as NES, of which only 150 have been subjected to the IUCN conservation assessment. As the distributional patterns of un-assessed species from one or two locations correspond well with assessed species which have been classified as Critically Endangered or Endangered respectively, we suggest that our distributional data can be used to prioritise species for IUCN assessment. We also used the distributional data to produce a map of “Hotspots of Plant Narrow Endemism” (HPNE). Combined, we used these data to evaluate the coincidence of NES with mining activities (a major source of threat on New Caledonia) and also areas of conservation protection. This is to identify species and locations in most urgent need of further conservation assessment and subsequent action. Finally, we grouped the NES based on the environments they occurred in and modelled the habitat distribution of these groups with a Maximum Entropy Species Distribution Model (MaxEnt). The NES were separable into three different groups based primarily on geological differences. The distribution of the habitat types for each group coincide partially with the HPNE described above and also indicates some areas which have high habitat suitability but few recorded NES. Some of these areas may represent under-sampled hotspots of narrow endemism and are priorities for further field work.

Cladistic classification of Mecyclothorax Sharp (Coleoptera, Carabidae, Moriomorphini) and taxonomic revision of the New Caledonian subgenus Phacothorax Jeannel

“…Yet the more common species in each instance span these elevational transects, and the rarest-being known from only one specimen or a single collecting series-are restricted to a single elevation, meaning that we have a long way to go to determine how diversity is distributed elevationally at the richer sites in New Caledonia. Four of the most diverse sites-all except Me Maoya-are known to be hotspots housing many narrowly endemic plant species (Wulff et al 2013), supporting the integration of invertebrate data into the comparatively more advanced conservation priority schemes based on New Caledonian plant species. Of the four sites held in common with Wulff et al's (2013) plant conservation prioritization protocol, Mt.…”

Global Distribution and Ecology of Hyperaccumulator Plants

“…Furthermore, anthropogenic and environmental factors threaten the habitats of many hyperaccumulator plants. These include: ongoing mineral exploration and mining activities, reworking of ancient mine spoils, land reclamation and improvement for agricultural production, urbanization and development of brownfield sites, natural fire events, and probably climate change (Whiting et al 2004;Baker et al 2010;Wulff et al 2013). Urgent conservation and management steps are clearly needed in areas under threat, in order to ensure the persistence of the valuable phytotechnological resource.…”

“…4 for an example) and Turkey. Substantial additions to the list are being made from ongoing work in New Caledonia (Jaffré et al 2013), Brazil, Indonesia (Halmahera and some of the smaller islands), Sabah (Malaysia) , and the Philippines (Fernando et al 2013).…”

Genetics and Conservation of Plant Species of Extremely Narrow Geographic Range

“…In the literature, there are many examples of ENEs, although these have not been formally named as such in the original publications. For example, it has been mentioned that some species of the complex Stylidium caricifolium show <0.5 km in their total range [7], and 10.55% of 2930 assessed species of New Caledonia are distributed along distances of <10 km and occupy one locality [8]. In addition, most of the ENEs have counted only a few dozen individuals as their total population size [6,8].…”

“…For example, it has been mentioned that some species of the complex Stylidium caricifolium show <0.5 km in their total range [7], and 10.55% of 2930 assessed species of New Caledonia are distributed along distances of <10 km and occupy one locality [8]. In addition, most of the ENEs have counted only a few dozen individuals as their total population size [6,8]. So, an additional conservation concern for most of the ENEs is related to their extremely small population size, which potentially increases their extinction risk in their natural habitats [4].…”