How global extinctions impact regional biodiversity in mammals

Shan Huang, T. Jonathan Davies, John L. Gittleman*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

23 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Phylogenetic diversity (PD) represents the evolutionary history of a species assemblage and is a valuable measure of biodiversity because it captures not only species richness but potentially also genetic and functional diversity. Preserving PD could be critical for maintaining the functional integrity of the world's ecosystems, and species extinction will have a large impact on ecosystems in areas where the ecosystem cost per species extinction is high. Here, we show that impacts from global extinctions are linked to spatial location. Using a phylogeny of all mammals, we compare regional losses of PD against a model of random extinction. At regional scales, losses differ dramatically: several biodiversity hotspots in southern Asia and Amazonia will lose an unexpectedly large proportion of PD. Global analyses may therefore underestimate the impacts of extinction on ecosystem processes and function because they occur at finer spatial scales within the context of natural biogeography.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)222-225
Number of pages4
JournalBiology Letters
Volume8
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 23 Apr 2012

Keywords

  • Biodiversity
  • Extinction
  • Mammals
  • Phylogenetic diversity
  • Threatened species

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Agricultural and Biological Sciences (miscellaneous)
  • General Agricultural and Biological Sciences

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'How global extinctions impact regional biodiversity in mammals'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this