Knowledge of mammalian diversity is still surprisingly disparate, both regionally and taxonomically. Here, we present a comprehensive assessment of the conservation status and distribution of the world's mammals. Data, compiled by 1700+ experts, cover all 5487 species, including marine mammals. Global macroecological patterns are very different for land and marine species but suggest common mechanisms driving diversity and endemism across systems. Compared with land species, threat levels are higher among marine mammals, driven by different processes (accidental mortality and pollution, rather than habitat loss), and are spatially distinct (peaking in northern oceans, rather than in Southeast Asia). Marine mammals are also disproportionately poorly known. These data are made freely available to support further scientific developments and conservation action.

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Beta-diversity, the change in species composition between places, is a critical but poorly understood component of biological diversity. Patterns of beta-diversity provide information central to many ecological and evolutionary questions, as well as to conservation planning. Yet beta-diversity is rarely studied across large extents, and the degree of similarity of patterns among taxa at such scales remains untested. To our knowledge, this is the first broad-scale analysis of cross-taxon congruence in beta-diversity, and introduces a new method to map beta-diversity continuously across regions. Congruence between amphibian, bird, and mammal beta-diversity in the Western Hemisphere varies with both geographic location and spatial extent. We demonstrate that areas of high beta-diversity for the three taxa largely coincide, but areas of low beta-diversity exhibit little overlap. These findings suggest that similar processes lead to high levels of differentiation in amphibian, bird, and mammal assemblages, while the ecological and biogeographic factors influencing homogeneity in vertebrate assemblages vary. Knowledge of beta-diversity congruence can help formulate hypotheses about the mechanisms governing regional diversity patterns and should inform conservation, especially as threat from global climate change increases.

Wildlife populations in small, isolated reserves face genetic and demographic threats to their survival. To increase the probability of long-term persistence, biologists promote metapopulation management, in which breeding subpopulations are protected as source pools. Animals that disperse from the source pools increase the probability of persistence of the metapopulation across the greater landscape. We used a geographic information system (GIS)-based, cost-distance model to design a conservation landscape along the Himalayan foothills for managing a metapopulation of Asia's largest predator, the tiger (Panthera tigris). The model is based on data from 30 years of field research on tigers, recent satellite imagery, and a decade of buffer-zone restoration in this region. We used the model to (1) identify potential dispersal corridors for tigers; (2) identify strategic transit refuges; and (3) make recommendations for off-reserve land management and restoration to enhance the potential of corridors for tigers. This tool can aid the design of conservation landscapes for other endangered, wide-ranging species in human-dominated environments. Diseño de un Paisaje de Conservación para Tigres en Ambientes Dominados por HumanosResumen: La supervivencia de poblaciones de vida silvestre en reservas pequeñas y aisladas enfrenta amenazas genéticas y demográficas. Para incrementar la probabilidad de persistencia a largo plazo, los biólogos promueven el manejo metapoblacional, en el que las subpoblaciones reproductivas son protegidas como fuentes. Los animales que se dispersan desde la fuente incrementan la probabilidad de persistencia de la metapoblación en el paisaje extendido. Utilizamos un modelo de costo-distancia, basado en SIG, para diseñar un paisaje de conservación en las estribaciones de los Himalaya para manejar una metapoblación del mayor depredador de Asia, el tigre (Panthera tigris). El modelo se basa en datos de 30 años de investigaciones de campo, imágenes de satélite recientes y una década de restauración de la zona de amortiguamiento en esta región. Utilizamos el modelo para (1) identificar potenciales corredores de dispersión para tigres; (2) identificar refugios de tránsito estratégicos y (3) hacer recomendaciones para el manejo y la restauración de tierras afuera de la reserva para promover el potencial de los corredores para tigres. Esta herramienta puede auxiliar en el diseño de paisajes de conservación para otras especies en peligro y de amplio rango de distribución en ambientes dominados por humanos.

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Wikramanayake et al. Ecoregions in Ascendance 239 * This analysis uses World Conservation Monitoring Centre and Asian Bureau for Conservation (1997 ) protected areas and does not include those designated as proposed.

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