Priority areas for amphibian conservation in a neotropical megadiverse country: the need for alternative, non place based, conservation

Abstract

Amphibians constitute one of the most threatened species group worldwide. Because they are affected by various threats such as habitat destruction, chytrid fungus, climate change, invasive species and human use, different approaches are needed for their conservation. In this paper we examine patterns of alpha diversity, endemism and threatened species distributions of amphibians in Bolivia. We modeled distribution data using ecological niche modeling implemented with MaxEnt (Maximum Entropy Modeling). In contrast with previous studies, we validated each individual map with specialists. amphibian conservation were defined by overlapping species richness, endemism richness and concentration of threatened species, and then excluding all unsuitable habitats. Our goal was to identify high-priority sites for the conservation of amphibians in Bolivia. We discuss a place-based strategy (identification of priority areas) and the need for further non place-based strategies. We highlight the importance of strengthening two existing protected areas that together host up to 40% of Bolivia's threatened amphibian species, and we propose alternative strategies such as ex situ conservation for those species not covered by the priority areas. Bolivia's General Directorate for Biodiversity and Protected Areas (in Spanish, Dirección General de Biodiversidad y Á reas Protegidas (DGBAP)) and Bolivian experts are jointly using the here presented results to define a national strategy of amphibian conservation for safeguarding this important element of Bolivia's biodiversity.

Predicting priority areas for conservation from historical climate modelling: stingless bees from Atlantic Forest hotspot as a case study

“…Some studies use techniques of ecological modelling to propose priority areas for conservation basing on both current and future scenarios (Embert et al 2011;Giannini et al 2012Giannini et al , 2013Giovannini and Seglie 2014). High richness and abundance levels of target taxa are key predictors for the inference of areas to protect in these studies.…”

Predicting Environmental Suitability for a Rare and Threatened Species (Lao Newt, Laotriton laoensis) Using Validated Species Distribution Models

“…M axent is increasingly being used to identify important areas of conservation for amphibian species [14], [27]. Here, we used M axent to predict the distribution of a poorly known, threatened species.…”

Herpetofauna of the Reserva de la Biósfera Estación Biológica del Beni and the Chimane Reserve Indigenous Territory, Bolivia

“…However, very few studies have investigated these topics in Bolivia, especially in the Amazonian lowland regions. Bolivia is a major biodiversity stronghold that presents unique and exceptional research opportunities for biologists, especially in regard to herpetology [14][15][16][17][18]. The mega-diversity present in Bolivia is attributed to the extensive heterogeneity of factors such as elevation and geography [14,18].…”