Available at http://planet.uwc.ac.za/nisl/Eco_people/Presentations/

BIODIVERSITY HOTSPOTS

Simone Neethling

Department of Biodiversity and Conservation Biology

University of the Western Cape

2413432@uwc.ac.za

IntroductionIntroduction

Observed and predicted loss of biodiversity over the years = sixth extinction

Loss of biodiversity permanent14

Conservation biology therefore very important Identification of areas under sever threat of

permanent loss “Hotspots” origin

Evolution of the term: HotspotEvolution of the term: Hotspot Norman Myers-first to develop concept15

Geographical regions that deserved conservation priority

High numbers of endemic (rare) species in relatively small areas

First 10 hotspots were identified-all tropical rainforest, plants were indicators for diversity15

Myers then added a further 8 hotspots (Mediterranean-type ecosystems added)14

High species number or high degree of endemism or under huge threat or combination of factors15

Evolution of the term:Hotspot (Cont.)Evolution of the term:Hotspot (Cont.) A consequent analysis resulted in 25 hotspots14

A minimum number of plant species was required to be analyzed

Two criteria:endemism and degree of threat Not just “pristine” vegetation included-fragmented

vegetation included Mammal, bird, reptile and amphibian endemism and

diversity patterns also analyzed Hotspots covered much more diverse terrestrial

ecosystems A further 9 hotspots has been added but is currently

still being peer-reviewed7

The 34 Terrestrial HotspotsThe 34 Terrestrial Hotspots

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The 34 Terrestrial Hotspots (Cont.)The 34 Terrestrial Hotspots (Cont.)1) Atlantic Forest

2) California Floristic Province

3) Cape Floristic Province

4) Caribbean Islands

5) Caucasus

6) Brazilian Cerrado

7) Central Chile

8) Coastal Forests of Eastern Africa

9) East Melanesian Islands

10) Eastern African Afromantane

11) Guinean Forests of West Africa

12) Himalayas

13) Horn of Africa

14) Indo-Burma

15) Irano-Anatolia

16) Japan

17) Madagascar and Indian Ocean Islands

18) Madrean Pine-Oak Woodlands

19) Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany

20) Mediterranean Basin

21) Mesoamerica

22) Mountains of Central Asia

23) Hengduan Mountains of Southwest China

24) New Caledonia

25) New Zealand

26) Philippines

27) Polynesia-Micronesia

28) Southwest Australia

29) Succulent Karoo

30) Sundaland

31) Tropical Andes

32) Tumbès-Chocò-Magdalena

33) Wallacea

34) Western Ghats and Sri Lanka

The 11 Marine HotspotsThe 11 Marine Hotspots

Major limitation to present hotspot analysis Lack of marine realm-purely terrestrial based Study of marine ecosystems based on coral

reefs16

Hotspots located entirely within tropics19

Study presented not yet comprehensive16

Research is still on going16 Although many marine hotspots extend from

terrestrial hotspots=extension

The 11 Marine Hotspots (Cont.)The 11 Marine Hotspots (Cont.)

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The 11 Marine Hotspots (Cont.)The 11 Marine Hotspots (Cont.)

1) Philippines2) Sundaland Islands3) Wallacea4) Gulf of Guinea 5) Southern Mascarene Islands6) Eastern South Africa7) North Indian Ocean8) Southern Japan, Taiwan and Southern China9) Cape Verde Islands10) Western Caribbean11) Red Sea and Gulf of Aden

Tropical RegionsTropical Regions

More specifically tropical forests-renowned for housing the most biologically diverse ecosystems11

Occurs between the Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn

Share characteristics:climate, precipitation, canopy structure, complex symbiotic relationships

Stable climate9

Canopy-provides array of niches8

Holds up to 50% of planet’s species10

Tropical Regions-High DiversityTropical Regions-High Diversity

“Latitudinal gradient in species diversity”-increases from poles to equator 18

Hypotheses:energy/climate based hypotheses and historical/evolutionary base hypotheses18

Energy/climate-species based–energy and climate stability hypothesis18

Historical/evolutionary based-historical perturbation and effective evolutionary rate hypothesis18

These hypotheses do however have critiques and need further research to be fully accepted6

Other hypotheses do exist18

This latitudinal gradient is also observed in the marine realm 17

High Concentration of Hotspots in High Concentration of Hotspots in Equatorial RegionsEquatorial Regions

High diversity compared to temperate and polar regions-latitudinal gradient hypothesis 18

High degree of endemism in tropical regions 12

Restricted to relatively small land areas 12

Most tropical regions are under sever threat-mainly due to social and economical issues 12

Severe habitat loss and destruction 12

Tropical forests once covered 12% of Earth's surface-now reduced to a mere 5% (maybe even less) 10

Vanishing at disturbingly high rates 11

Therefore most of world’s hotspots found within tropical regions 12

Distribution of Endemic (rare) Terrestrial Distribution of Endemic (rare) Terrestrial Species and Freshwater Fish-PlantsSpecies and Freshwater Fish-Plants

Tropical Andes Hotspot contains 15 000 endemic plant species 7

Sundaland Hotspot also contains 15 000 endemic plant species 7

Together these hotspots harbour nearly 14% of all vascular plants found on the planet 7

Cape Floral Kingdom contains the world’d greatest concentration of nontropical endemic plant species 1

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Distribution of Endemic (rare) Terrestrial Distribution of Endemic (rare) Terrestrial Species and Freshwater Fish-MammalsSpecies and Freshwater Fish-Mammals

Sundaland hotspot contains the highest number of endemic mammals-172 species, 17 genera 7

Madagascar and Indian Ocean Islands hotspot houses 144 endemic mammals species- world's leader in endemic primates houses 5 endemic lemur families 7

Wallacea hotspot – 127 endemic mammal species 7

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Distribution of Endemic (rare) Terrestrial Distribution of Endemic (rare) Terrestrial Species and Freshwater Fish-BirdsSpecies and Freshwater Fish-Birds

Tropical Andes hotspot harbours 579 endemic bird species 7

This hotspot contains all or parts of 21 different Endemic Bird Areas 7

This high degree of endemism does not compare to any other area in the world 7

Wallacea hotspot –262 endemic bird species which is astonishing because of its relatively small land 1

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Distribution of Endemic (rare) Terrestrial Distribution of Endemic (rare) Terrestrial Species and Freshwater Fish-ReptilesSpecies and Freshwater Fish-Reptiles

Caribbean Islands hosts the the largest number of endemic reptiles-469 species 7

Two examples of entirely endemic genera (both snakes) include: Tropidophis sp.(all 26 species endemic) and Alsophis sp.(all 13 species endemic) 7

The Madagascar and Indian Ocean Islands harbours 367 reptile species and is a major centre of chameleon diversity7

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Distribution of Endemic (rare) Terrestrial Distribution of Endemic (rare) Terrestrial Species and Freshwater Fish-Amphibians Species and Freshwater Fish-Amphibians

and Freshwater Fishand Freshwater Fish

The Tropical Andes hotspot is the most significant area in the world concerning amphibian diversity as it hosts 980 species of which 670 are endemic 7

The Mesoamerica hotspot contains 358 endemic amphibian species 7

The Eastern Afromontane hotspot, where the Great Rift lakes reside, is home to 617 endemic freshwater fish 7

The Indo-Burma hotspot houses 553 endemic freshwater fish species, 30 endemic genera and 1 endemic family 7

ThreatsThreats Social and economic threats=habitat loss

and degradation 12

Major cause-exponential human population growth 12

Increase in foreign debt loads 12

Decrease funds available for conservation 12

Poverty 5

Over hunting and illegal pet trade 12

Threats (Cont.)Threats (Cont.) Human impact overwhelming 7,2,3

Pollution Introduction of invasive alien species Unsustainable use and management of

biodiversity (commercial exploitation) Climate change-global warming Global warming most probably the most

enveloping threat as it has the ability to affect areas out of range of humans 13

Future predictions state that hotspots could lose between 39-43% of biodiversity 13

Lack of efficient practical protection14

Threats (Cont.)Threats (Cont.) Marine hotspots have specific threats 19

Destructive fishing methods Over exploitation of fish stocks (unsustainable

use) Pollution from urban and agricultural runoff Pollution from sediment logging Live fish trade Oil spills from tankers Coastal and agricultural development

ConservationConservation Priority-identification of regions under severe threat

of extinction which is why hotspots originated Protection of areas through establishment of

reserves, national parks, botanical gardens, heritage sites, wildlife refuges and ect. 7

Incentive measures are essential for conservation 4

Regulations and market based tools are also used 4

Increase in new conservation tools and conservation professionals promote action against biodiversity loss 7

Unique projects- Working for water 7

Ecotourism-mutually beneficial

ReferencesReferences1. Anon. Biodiversity Hotspots [Internet]. [Cited 2007 April 04]

Available from: Biodiversity Hotspots2. Anon. Biodiversity-what is it and why is it being lost? [Internet].

[Cited 2007 April 04] Available from: (http://planet.uwc.ac.za/nisl/Biodiversity/pdf/biodiv_brf_19.pdf

3. Anon. Forests and biodiversity [Internet]. [Cited 2007 April 04] Available from: (http://planet.uwc.ac.za/nisl/Biodiversity/pdf/biodiv_brf_12.pdf

4. Anon. Incentive measures for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity [Internet]. [Cited 2007 April 04] Available from: (http://planet.uwc.ac.za/nisl/Biodiversity/pdf/biodiv_brf_04.pdf

5. Anon. The links between biodiversity and poverty [Internet]. [Cited 2007 April 04] Available from: (http://planet.uwc.ac.za/nisl/Biodiversity/pdf/biodiv_brf_01.pdf

6. Boyero L. Latitudinal Gradients in Biodiversity [Internet]. [Cited 2007 April 04] Available from: www.ecology.info/gradients-biodiversity.htm

References (Cont.)References (Cont.)7. Brooks, T., De Silva, N., Foster, M., Hoffmann, M., Knox, D.,

Langhammer, P., Pilgrim, J., Ratledge, N., Sweeting, A. (eds). Biodiversity hotspots [Internet]. [Cited 2007 April 04] Available from: http://www.biodiversityhotspots.org/xp/Hotspots/

8. Butler RA. Canopy Structure [Internet]. [Cited 2007 April 06] Available from: http://rainforest.mongabay.com/0303

9. Butler RA. Structure and Character [Internet]. [Cited 2007 April 06] Available from: http://rainforest.mongabay.com/0201

10. Butler RA. Tropical Rainforests [Internet]. [Cited 2007 April 06] Available from: http://rainforest.mongabay.com/0101

11. Gentry AH (1992) Tropical forest biodiversity: distributional patterns and their conservational significance. OIKOS 63:19-28

12. Kerr JT and Burkey TV (2002) Endemism, diversity and the threat of tropical moist forest extinctions. Biodiversity and Conservation 11:695-704

13. Malcolm JR, Liu C, Neilson RP, Hansen L and Hannah L (2006) Global Warming and Extinctions of Endemic Species from Biodiversity Hotspots. Conservation Biology 20(2): 538-248

References (Cont.)References (Cont.)14. Mittermeier RA, Myers N, Thomsen JB, da Fonseca GAB and Olivieri S

(1998) Biodiversity Hotspots and Major Tropical Wilderness Areas: Approaches to Setting Conservation Priorities. Conservation Biology 12(3): 516-520

15. Reid WV (1998) Biodiversity hotspots. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 13 (7): 275—280

16. Roberts CM, McClean CJ, Veron JEN, Hawkins JP, Allen GR, McAllister DE, Mittermeier CG, Schueler FW, Spalding M, Wells F, Vynne C and Werner TB (2002) Marine biodiversity hotspots and conservation priorities for tropical reefs. Science 295 (5558): 1280—1284

17. Roy K, Jablonki D, Vaentine JW and Rosenberg G (1998) Marine latitudinal diversity: Tests of casual hypotheses. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci 95:3699-3702

18. Wikipedia Contributors. Latitudinal gradients in species diversity [Internet]. [Cited 2007 April 04] Available from: Wikipedia

19. Zubi T. Major Endangered Reef Regions [Internet]. [Cited 2007 April 04] Available from: http://www.starfish.ch/reef/hotspots.html