Utility and limitations of species richness metrics for conservation planning

    Authors

    E. Fleishman; R. F. Noss;B. R. Noon

    Comments

    Authors: contact us about adding a copy of your work at STARS@ucf.edu

    Abbreviated Journal Title

    Ecol. Indic.

    Keywords

    biodiversity; conservation planning; hotspots; scale dependence; species; richness; CAPE FLORISTIC REGION; PRESENCE-ABSENCE DATA; BIOTIC INTEGRITY; BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY; BIODIVERSITY HOTSPOTS; TAMARIX-RAMOSISSIMA; GEOGRAPHIC APPROACH; FISH COMMUNITIES; NATURE-RESERVES; GAP ANALYSIS; Biodiversity Conservation; Environmental Sciences

    Abstract

    The appropriateness of species richness as an ecological indicator or decision variable for setting conservation and management priorities depends on many assumptions. Most critical is that current levels of species richness allow prediction of future contributions of various locations to biodiversity conservation and ecological function. Also important is the assumption that estimates of species richness can be compared among locations. Challenges arise because estimates of species richness are affected by area, scale and intensity of sampling, taxonomic grouping, estimation methods, and the dynamic nature of species richness. Nonetheless, species richness can contribute to prioritizing locations for biodiversity conservation provided it is not used in isolation-additional metrics, such as species composition, endemism, functional significance, and the severity of threats, are also required. The spatial domain of measurement also must be documented and justified. A multicriteria decision process is more likely to realize comprehensive conservation goals than prioritization of locations based on species richness alone. (C) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

    Journal Title

    Ecological Indicators

    Volume

    6

    Issue/Number

    3

    Publication Date

    1-1-2006

    Document Type

    Review

    Language

    English

    First Page

    543

    Last Page

    553

    WOS Identifier

    WOS:000238315800007

    ISSN

    1470-160X

    Share

    COinS