Sites for priority biodiversity conservation in the Caribbean Islands Biodiversity Hotspot

Abstract

Abstract:The Caribbean Islands Biodiversity Hotspot is exceptionally important for global biodiversity conservation due to high levels of species endemism and threat. A total of 755 Caribbean plant and vertebrate species are considered globally threatened, making it one of the top Biodiversity Hotspots in terms of threat levels. In 2009, Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) were identified for the Caribbean Islands through a regionallevel analysis of accessible data and literature, followed by extensive national-level stakeholder consultation. By applying the Vulnerability criterion, a total of 284 Key Biodiversity Areas were defined and mapped as holding 409 (54%) of the region's threatened species. Of these, 144 (or 51%) overlapped partially or completely with protected areas. Cockpit Country, followed by Litchfield Mountain -Matheson's Run, Blue Mountains (all Jamaica) and Massif de la Hotte (Haiti) were found to support exceptionally high numbers of globally threatened taxa, with more than 40 such species at each site. Key Biodiversity Areas, building from Important Bird Areas, provide a valuable framework against which to review the adequacy of existing national protectedarea systems and also to prioritize which species and sites require the most urgent conservation attention.

Por el camino verde: Long-term tropical socioecosystem dynamics and the Anthropocene as seen from Puerto Rico

“…efforts are sponsored as a priority (Anadón-Irizarry et al, 2012). In Puerto Rico, governmental agencies and NGOs have worked toward creating nature reserves and stimulating nature conservation projects in an attempt to ensure the preservation of biodiversity.…”

“…On the one hand, a discursive line emphasizes island vulnerability: how the delicate balance of biodiversity can be easily disrupted by human presence (Fitzpatrick and Keegan, 2007). On the other hand, modern ecosystems and ecological communities on inhabited islands are taken as the example of rich biodiversity (Anadón-Irizarry et al, 2012), without taking into consideration the long-term role of human activity (see Butzer, 1996 for discussion). For ecological studies, deep-time might mean 50-80 years (see, for example, Gao et al, 2011), even though we know that human activity on most oceanic islands goes much further than that.…”

The identification of sites of biodiversity conservation significance: progress with the application of a global standards

“…Sites that hold significant populations of one or more Critically Endangered, Endangered or Vulnerable species may be selected as KBAs. For example, Hellshire Hills in Jamaica qualifies as a KBA because of the presence of three threatened species: one mammal and two birds (Anadón-Irizarry et al 2012).…”

Resurgence of Harrisia portoricensis (Cactaceae) on Desecheo Island after the removal of invasive vertebrates: management implications

“…Insular flora face threats from invasive herbivores and omnivores that decrease plant diversity, alter plant community structure, accelerate soil erosion, and aid seed dispersal of exotic plants (Sussman & Tattersall 1981, Walter & Gillett 1998, Simberloff & Von Holle 1999, Rojas-Sandoval et al 2014). The Caribbean is home to approximately 11 000 plant species, of which 72% are endemic to the region (Anadón-Irizarry et al 2012). Within these, the Cactaceae family is one of the most vulnerable and ecologically important in the Carib-bean (Fleming & Valiente-Banuet 2002), containing a large number of endangered and threatened species (Walter & Gillett 1998, Ortega-Baes & Godínez-Álvarez 2006.…”