Conservation biogeography in the Mexican Mountain Component: bridging conservation and patterns of endemism

Abstract

The Mexican Mountain Component (MMC) includes six biogeographical provinces. In this manuscript, we propose to use endemic taxa as surrogates to prioritize for conservation areas of the MMC. We use the distribution of 24 endemic mammals to prioritize conservation sites in the MMC and to evaluate the current Mexican system of protected natural areas (PNA). We used species distribution models and the software ConsNet 2.0 to prioritize areas for conservation, evaluating two algorithms (the representation maximization problem, and the area minimization problem) and two different representation targets (10 % and 25 %) of the distributional area of endemic taxa. In addition, we considered the effects of including existing PNA and/or excluding areas with altered vegetation. The representation maximization problem including current PNA was ineffective for reaching conservation targets. Meanwhile, all area minimization problems allowed us to prioritize areas reaching the targets of surrogates. In particular, a strategy that considers area minimization problem using a target of 10 % of the distribution of surrogates, including PNA and excluding the altered vegetation, was the most favorable for maintaining the distributional patterns of the endemic mammals. This solution proposes the protection of a total of 37,460 km 2 , covering areas with altitude above 2,400 m located mainly in the Sierra Madre Occidental, the Transmexican Volcanic Belt, and provinces of the Sierra Madre del Sur. A prioritization strategy based on the distribution of endemic mammals as surrogates can help to maintain the distributional patterns of endemism of the Mexican biota.El Componente Mexicano de Montaña (CMM) ocupa los principales sistemas montañosos de México, incluyendo seis provincias biogeográficas. En este manuscrito, proponemos que los taxones endémicos pueden ser utilizados para priorizar áreas de conservación en el CMM. Se priorizaron sitios de conservación con base en la distribución de 24 mamíferos endémicos; seguidamente se evaluó el sistema de áreas naturales protegidas (ANP) de México, a través de la representación de los mamíferos endémicos. Se utilizaron modelos de distribución de especies y el software ConsNet 2.0 para priorizar áreas de conservación, empleando dos algoritmos: el problema de máxima representación y el problema de área mínima. Además, se utilizaron dos metas de representación: 10 % y 25 % del área de distribución de las especies endémicos. Además, se consideraron las ANP existentes y se excluyeron áreas de vegetación alterada para algunos ejercicios. El problema de representación máxima, incluyendo las ANP actuales, fue ineficaz para alcanzar las metas de conservación. Mientras, todos los problemas de área mínima permitieron priorizar áreas que alcanzan las metas de los subrogados. En particular, la estrategia que considera el problema de área mínima con un objetivo del 10 % de la distribución de los subrogados (incluidas las ANP y excluyendo la vegetación alterada) puede ayudar a mantener los patrones de distrib...

The geography of evolutionary divergence in the highly endemic avifauna from the Sierra Madre del Sur, Mexico

“…Situated at the northernmost Neotropics, Mesoamerica possess one of the highest levels of endemism and species diversity, but also one of the most globally threatened biota and high rates of deforestation [20, 21]. The complex geological history of this region, as well as the cyclic changes in vegetation and climate, pose it as a challenging area for biogeographic and evolutionary studies; in addition, constant orogenic processes have promoted a highly broken topography characterized by highland isolated patches of humid montane forest between 600 and 3000 m, which includes both humid pine-oak forest and cloud forest [22–24]. This mosaic-like landscape has been associated to centers of diversification along elevational gradients, in which both a high species richness and endemism have evolved for the last 2 Myr, likely as a result of both environmental and geological complexity, as well as Pleistocene climatic fluctuations [6, 15, 18, 22, 25–29], which is supported by relatively recent intraspecific differentiation processes in several groups of organisms (see [27, 30]), therefore explaining the existence of numerous endemic species in different taxonomic groups, including birds [31–35].…”

Characterizing surrogacy performance in the systematic conservation planning of riverine networks

“…From the biodiversity perspective, the most common interpretation of representativeness refers to how comprehensively the taxon richness is embraced in the conservation area, whereas persistence indicates the long-term existence of taxon diversity in terms of composition, structure, and function. However, since resources for the exploration of biodiversity are limited, many area selection methods rely on a single charismatic taxon for selecting areas for conservation (Abellán, Sánchez-Fernández, Velasco, & Millán, 2005;Hermoso, Linke, Prenda, & Possingham, 2011;Moilanen, Leathwick, & Elith, 2008;Morales, Escalante, Noguera-Urbano, Gámez, & Rodríguez-Tapia, 2016). This approach assumes that the taxon used for the area prioritization is a suitable surrogate (or proxy or indicator) for other biodiversity elements, because different taxa show similar or congruent spatial distribution patterns (Andelman & Fagan, 2000;Caro & O'Doherty, 1999;Rodrigues & Brooks, 2007).…”

The geography of evolutionary divergence in the highly endemic avifauna from the Sierra Madre del Sur, Mexico

“…Situated at the northernmost Neotropics, Mesoamerica possess one of the highest levels of endemism and species diversity, but also one of the most globally threatened biota and high rates of deforestation [18,19]. The complex geological history of this region, as well as the cyclic changes in vegetation and climate, pose it as a challenging area for biogeographic and evolutionary studies; in addition, constant orogenic processes have promoted a highly broken topography characterized for isolated patches of humid montane forest between 600 and 3000 m, which includes both humid pineoak forest and cloud forest [20][21][22]. This mosaic-like landscape has been associated to centers of diversification, in which both a high species richness and endemism have evolved for the last 2 Myr, likely as a result of both environmental and geological complexity, as well as Pleistocene climatic fluctuations [6,15,20,[23][24][25][26][27][28], which is supported by relatively recent intraspecific differentiation processes in several groups of organisms (see [25,29]), therefore explaining the existence of numerous endemic species in different taxonomic groups, including birds [30][31][32][33][34].…”