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Aligning Conservation Priorities Across Taxa in Madagascar with High-Resolution Planning Tools
C. Kremen,1,2*A. Cameron,1,2A. Moilanen,3S. J. Phillips,4C. D. Thomas,5H. Beentje,6J. Dransfield,6B. L. Fisher,7F. Glaw,8T. C. Good,9G. J. Harper,10R. J. Hijmans,11D. C. Lees,12E. Louis, Jr.,13R. A. Nussbaum,14C. J. Raxworthy,15A. Razafimpahanana,2G. E. Schatz,16M. Vences,17D. R. Vieites,18P. C. Wright,19M. L. Zjhra9
Globally, priority areas for biodiversity are relatively wellknown, yet few detailed plans exist to direct conservation actionwithin them, despite urgent need. Madagascar, like other globallyrecognized biodiversity hot spots, has complex spatial patternsof endemism that differ among taxonomic groups, creating challengesfor the selection of within-country priorities. We show, inan analysis of wide taxonomic and geographic breadth and highspatial resolution, that multitaxonomic rather than single-taxonapproaches are critical for identifying areas likely to promotethe persistence of most species. Our conservation prioritization,facilitated by newly available techniques, identifies optimalexpansion sites for the Madagascar government's current goalof tripling the land area under protection. Our findings furthersuggest that high-resolution multitaxonomic approaches to prioritizationmay be necessary to ensure protection for biodiversity in otherglobal hot spots.
1 Department of Environmental Sciences, Policy and Management, 137 Mulford Hall, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-3114, USA. 2 Réseau de la Biodiversité de Madagascar, Wildlife Conservation Society, Villa Ifanomezantsoa, Soavimbahoaka, Boîte Postale 8500, Antananarivo 101, Madagascar. 3 Metapopulation Research Group, Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Post Office Box 65, Viikinkaari 1, FI-00014, University of Helsinki, Finland. 4 AT&T Labs-Research, 180 Park Avenue, Florham Park, NJ07932, USA. 5 Department of Biology (Area 18), University of York, Post Office Box 373, York YO10 5YW, UK. 6 Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond TW9 3AB, Surrey, UK. 7 Department of Entomology, California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, CA 94103, USA. 8 Zoologische Staatssammlung München, Münchhausenstrasse 21, 81247 München, Germany. 9 Department of Biology, Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, GA 30460, USA. 10 Conservation International, Center for Applied Biodiversity Science, 2011 Crystal Drive, Suite 500, Arlington, VA 22202, USA. 11 International Rice Research Institute, Los Baños, Philippines. 12 Department of Entomology, Natural History Museum, London SW7 5BD, UK. 13 Center for Conservation and Research, Henry Doorly Zoo, Omaha, NE 68107, USA. 14 Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1079, USA. 15 American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th Street, New York, NY 10024-5192, USA. 16 Missouri Botanical Garden, Post Office Box 299, St. Louis, MO 63166-0299, USA. 17 Zoological Institute, Technical University of Braunschweig, 38106 Braunschweig, Germany. 18 Museum of Vertebrate Zoology and Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, 3101 Valley Life Sciences Building, Berkeley, CA 94720-3160, USA. 19 Department of Anthropology, State University of New York, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA
These authors contributed equally to this work.
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: ckremen{at}nature.berkeley.edu
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LETTERS
Bernard W. T. Coetzee;, Claire Kremen, Alison Cameron, Andriamandimbisoa Razafimpahanana, Atte Moilanen, Chris D. Thomas, Henk Beentje, John Dransfield, Brian L. Fisher, Frank Glaw, Tatjana C. Good, Grady J. Harper, Robert J. Hijmans, David C. Lees, Edward Louis Jr., Ronald A. Nussbaum, Steven J. Phillips, Christopher J. Raxworthy, George E. Schatz, Miguel Vences, David R. Vieites, Patricia C. Wright, and Michelle L. Zjhra (18 July 2008) Science321 (5887), 340b.
[DOI: 10.1126/science.321.5887.340b] |Full Text »|PDF »
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