Peer Review #2 of "The pitfalls of short-range endemism: high vulnerability to ecological and landscape traps (v0.1)"

Abstract

Ecological traps attract biota to low-quality habitats. Landscape traps are zones caught in a vortex of spiraling degradation. Here, we demonstrate how short-range endemic traits may make such taxa vulnerable to ecological and landscape traps. Three short-range endemic species of mygalomorph spider were used in this study: Idiommata blackwalli, Australia, has lower prey diversity and abundance than undisturbed habitats and therefore may act as an ecological trap for this species. Furthermore, as a homogenising force, veldt grass can spread to form a landscape trap in naturally heterogeneous ecosystems.Selection of specialised microhabitats of short-range endemics may explain high extinction rates in old, stable landscapes undergoing (human-induced) rapid change.PeerJ reviewing PDF |