The role of rarity as a surrogate of marine fish species representation

Because the distribution of most of the species is poorly known, conservationists use surrogates to help maximize the representation level of all species. Historically, species richness has been used to calculate the importance of priority areas for conservation, but several studies revealed sites with high species richness often fail to determine the smallest number of sites that will protect the highest number of species. Rarity, however, has played a prominent role in safeguarding planning units. While the performance of rarity has been previously assessed in terrestrial systems, we tested the hypothesis that rarity of a site can be used as a measure of the importance of a site to a conservation network in marine ecosystems. We used the presence data (at a 1-degree resolution) to calculate five rarity indices of fish diversity at a global extent and compared the results to those obtained by using species richness and site complementarity. Our objectives were to: (1) determine if rarity indices can be used as surrogates of fish biodiversity by representing the highest number of species in the smallest number of sites; and (2) determine if the effectiveness of these indices to represent fish biodiversity is impacted by the metric used to define rarity. Results indicate that rarity could be an effective surrogate for marine fishes, as most results showed a mean of 100% effectiveness. In the context of marine biodiversity conservation, results show that rarity indices could be considered affordable and feasible surrogates of species representation, with the most significant benefit to those areas of the world that are in most need to access alternative tools. Results also open a new area of collaboration between biogeography and marine conservation biology since planners can use biogeographical patterns of rarity to enhance the performance of the current protected area network.

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Linking Habitat and Associated Abiotic Conditions to Predict Fish Hotspots Distribution Areas within La Paz Bay: Evaluating Marine Conservation Areas

Diversity ◽

10.3390/d13050212 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (5) ◽

pp. 212

Author(s):

Francisco Javier Urcádiz-Cázares ◽

Víctor Hugo Cruz-Escalona ◽

Mark S. Peterson ◽

Rosalía Aguilar-Medrano ◽

Emigdio Marín-Enríquez ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Gulf Of California ◽

Management Plan ◽

Marine Conservation ◽

Fish Diversity ◽

Rocky Shores ◽

Conservation Areas ◽

Niche Modelling ◽

La Paz ◽

Abiotic Conditions ◽

Presence Data

Hotspots are priority marine or terrestrial areas with high biodiversity where delineation is essential for conservation, but equally important is their linkage to the environmental policies of the overall region. In this study, fish diversity presences were linked to abiotic conditions and different habitat types to reveal multi-species and hotspots models predicted by ecological niche modelling methods within the Bay of La Paz, Mexico (south of Gulf of California). The abiotically suitable areas for 217 fish species were identified based on historical (1975–2020) presence data sets and a set of environmental layers related to distances from mangroves and rocky shores habitats, marine substrate, and bottom geomorphology conditions. Hotspot model distribution was delineated from a multi-species model identifying areas with ≥60 species per hectare and was compared to the marine conservation areas such Balandra Protected Natural Area (BPNA), illustrating how these models can be applied to improve the local regulatory framework. The results indicate that (1) there is a need for the BPNA to be enlarged to capture more of the delineated hotspot areas, and thus an update to the management plan will be required, (2) new conservation areas either adjacent or outside of the established BPNA should be established, or (3) Ramsar sites or other priority areas should be subject to legal recognition and a management plan decreed so that these vital habitats and fish diversity can be better protected.

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Ensuring local stakeholder support for marine conservation: establishing a locally-managed marine area network in Aceh

Oryx ◽

10.1017/s0030605312000166 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 46 (4) ◽

pp. 516-524 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

A. Syakur ◽

J. T. Wibowo ◽

F. Firmansyah ◽

I. Azam ◽

M. Linkie

Keyword(s):

Conservation Planning ◽

Task Force ◽

Marine Conservation ◽

Coastal Communities ◽

Marine Biodiversity ◽

Area Network ◽

Governance System ◽

Marine Area ◽

The Government ◽

Marine Areas

AbstractMultidisciplinary approaches to managing seascapes are increasingly being recognized as best practice and therefore prioritized by conservation agencies. For most coastal areas the strengthening of customary marine tenure, rules and regulations should yield even greater biodiversity and livelihood benefits. Here, we present the conservation planning results from a locally-managed marine area programme initiated by the Government of Aceh, Indonesia, which aimed to empower coastal communities to sustainably and equitably manage marine resources with local government. In 2008 the government established a Marine and Fisheries Task Force to identify priority areas for marine biodiversity (through systematic conservation planning) and coastal communities (through participatory planning). In addition to the existing 264,788 ha of marine management units, systematic planning identified another 53,372 ha. However, the subsequent stakeholder participation phase, involving intensive local consultations, further expanded the locally-managed marine area network by 6,725 ha and to a total of 23 locally-managed marine areas. This combined approach had additional benefits because it generated a strong sense of local ownership. For communities it initiated a process for recognizing their customary claimed areas and resolved overlapping boundaries between neighbouring communities, thereby reducing the likelihood of future conflicts over natural resource use. For government, it provided the basis of a robust governance system, with 34 new or revised decrees being completed and an additional USD 1.6 million being allocated for implementation of locally-managed marine areas. This participatory approach should considerably increase the successful delivery of a sustainable and equitable locally-managed marine area network for Aceh, which has wide application for the South-east Asian region and beyond.

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Mesophotic fish communities of the ancient coastline in Western Australia

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0250427 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 16 (4) ◽

pp. e0250427

Author(s):

Leanne M. Currey-Randall ◽

Ronen Galaiduk ◽

Marcus Stowar ◽

Brigit I. Vaughan ◽

Karen J. Miller

Keyword(s):

Species Richness ◽

Western Australia ◽

Fish Assemblages ◽

Spatial Scales ◽

Habitat Type ◽

Fish Communities ◽

Fish Diversity ◽

North West ◽

Fish Biodiversity ◽

Marine Diversity

Marine diversity across the Australian continental shelf is shaped by characteristic benthic habitats which are determined by geomorphic features such as paleoshorelines. In north-western Australia there has been little attention on the fish communities that inhabit an ancient coastline at ~125 m depth (the designated AC125), which is specified as a key ecological feature (KEF) of the region and is thought to comprise hard substrate and support enhanced diversity. We investigated drivers of fish species richness and assemblage composition spanning six degrees of latitude along sections of the ancient coastline, categorised as ‘on’ and ‘off’ the AC125 based on depth, across a range of habitats and seafloor complexity (~60–180 m depth). While some surveyed sections of the AC125 had hard bottom substrate and supported enhanced fish diversity, including over half of the total species observed, species richness and abundance overall were not greater on the AC125 than immediately adjacent to the AC125. Instead, depth, seafloor complexity and habitat type explained patterns in richness and abundance, and structured fish assemblages at both local and broad spatial scales. Fewer fishes were associated with deep sites characterized by negligible complexity and soft-bottom habitats, in contrast to shallower depths that featured benthic biota and pockets of complex substrate. Drivers of abundance of common species were species-specific and primarily related to sampling Areas, depth and substrate. Fishes of the ancient coastline and adjacent habitats are representative of mesophotic fish communities of the region, included species important to fisheries and conservation, and several species were observed deeper than their currently known distribution. This study provides the first assessment of fish biodiversity associated with an ancient coastline feature, improving our understanding of the function it plays in regional spatial patterns in abundance of mesophotic fishes. Management decisions that incorporate the broader variety of depths and habitats surrounding the designated AC125 could enhance the ecological role of this KEF, contributing to effective conservation of fish biodiversity on Australia’s north west shelf.

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Global tropical reef fish richness could decline by around half if corals are lost

Proceedings of The Royal Society B Biological Sciences ◽

10.1098/rspb.2021.0274 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 288 (1953) ◽

pp. 20210274

Author(s):

Giovanni Strona ◽

Kevin D. Lafferty ◽

Simone Fattorini ◽

Pieter S. A. Beck ◽

François Guilhaumon ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Species Richness ◽

Reef Fish ◽

Fish Species ◽

Reef Fishes ◽

Small Scale ◽

Marine Biodiversity ◽

Fish Diversity ◽

Reef Fish Species ◽

Tropical Reef ◽

Mass Mortalities

Reef fishes are a treasured part of marine biodiversity, and also provide needed protein for many millions of people. Although most reef fishes might survive projected increases in ocean temperatures, corals are less tolerant. A few fish species strictly depend on corals for food and shelter, suggesting that coral extinctions could lead to some secondary fish extinctions. However, secondary extinctions could extend far beyond those few coral-dependent species. Furthermore, it is yet unknown how such fish declines might vary around the world. Current coral mass mortalities led us to ask how fish communities would respond to coral loss within and across oceans. We mapped 6964 coral-reef-fish species and 119 coral genera, and then regressed reef-fish species richness against coral generic richness at the 1° scale (after controlling for biogeographic factors that drive species diversification). Consistent with small-scale studies, statistical extrapolations suggested that local fish richness across the globe would be around half its current value in a hypothetical world without coral, leading to more areas with low or intermediate fish species richness and fewer fish diversity hotspots.

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Bats of the El Kala Biosphere Reserve, northeastern Algeria (Chiroptera)

Lynx, new series ◽

10.2478/lynx-2017-0005 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 48 (1) ◽

pp. 79-92

Author(s):

Amrane Farfar ◽

Mohammed Lamine Bendjeddou ◽

Zihad Bouslama ◽

Wassim Metallaoui ◽

Raouf Amara Korba ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Species Richness ◽

Activity Pattern ◽

Biosphere Reserve ◽

Number Of Species ◽

Rhinolophus Hipposideros ◽

Annual Activity ◽

Rhinolophus Euryale ◽

A Site ◽

Northeastern Algeria ◽

Eptesicus Isabellinus

Twelve bats species representing four families (Rhinolophidae, Miniopteridae, Vespertilionidae, and Molossidae) were recorded in sites representing nine different habitats of the El Kala Biosphere Reserve and its vicinity in northeastern Algeria. Myotis emarginatus showed the highest frequency, it was found at five sites, Rhinolophus hipposideros, Eptesicus isabellinus and Miniopterus schreibersii at four sites, while Rhinolophus euryale, R. blasii, Myotis punicus, Pipistrellus kuhlii and Tadarida teniotis in three localities each. Species richness (total number of species within a site) ranged between 1 and 8 (mean 4.33). The annual activity pattern of all species was recorded by one netting session per month per locality in the course of two years.

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Species richness and diversity in shrub savanna using ordinary kriging

Pesquisa Agropecuária Brasileira ◽

10.1590/s0100-204x2016000800008 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 51 (8) ◽

pp. 958-966 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Anderson Pedro Bernardina Batista ◽

José Márcio de Mello ◽

Marcel Régis Raimundo ◽

Henrique Ferraço Scolforo ◽

Aliny Aparecida dos Reis ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Spatial Distribution ◽

Species Richness ◽

Spatial Dependence ◽

Ordinary Kriging ◽

Diversity Index ◽

Spatial Models ◽

Shannon Diversity Index ◽

Shannon Diversity ◽

Species Richness And Diversity ◽

Number Of Species

Abstract: The objective of this work was to analyze the spatial distribution and the behavior of species richness and diversity in a shrub savanna fragment, in 2003 and 2014, using ordinary kriging, in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. In both evaluation years, the measurements were performed in a fragment with 236.85 hectares, in which individual trees were measured and identified across 40 plots (1,000 m2). Species richness was determined by the total number of species in each plot, and diversity by the Shannon diversity index. For the variogram study, spatial models were fitted and selected. Then, ordinary kriging was applied and the spatial distribution of the assessed variables was described. A strong spatial dependence was observed between species richness and diversity by the Shannon diversity index (<25% spatial dependence degree). Areas of low and high species diversity and richness were found in the shrub savanna fragment. Spatial distribution behavior shows relative stability regarding the number of species and the Shannon diversity index in the evaluated years.

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Scavenging in the Anthropocene: Human impact drives vertebrate scavenger species richness at a global scale

10.26686/wgtn.12469334.v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

E Sebastián-González ◽

JM Barbosa ◽

JM Pérez-García ◽

Z Morales-Reyes ◽

F Botella ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Species Richness ◽

Human Impact ◽

Large Scale ◽

Diversity Index ◽

Global Scale ◽

Climatic Conditions ◽

Ecosystem Functions ◽

Number Of Species ◽

Terrestrial Vertebrate ◽

Latitudinal Patterns

© 2019 John Wiley & Sons Ltd Understanding the distribution of biodiversity across the Earth is one of the most challenging questions in biology. Much research has been directed at explaining the species latitudinal pattern showing that communities are richer in tropical areas; however, despite decades of research, a general consensus has not yet emerged. In addition, global biodiversity patterns are being rapidly altered by human activities. Here, we aim to describe large-scale patterns of species richness and diversity in terrestrial vertebrate scavenger (carrion-consuming) assemblages, which provide key ecosystem functions and services. We used a worldwide dataset comprising 43 sites, where vertebrate scavenger assemblages were identified using 2,485 carcasses monitored between 1991 and 2018. First, we evaluated how scavenger richness (number of species) and diversity (Shannon diversity index) varied among seasons (cold vs. warm, wet vs. dry). Then, we studied the potential effects of human impact and a set of macroecological variables related to climatic conditions on the scavenger assemblages. Vertebrate scavenger richness ranged from species-poor to species rich assemblages (4–30 species). Both scavenger richness and diversity also showed some seasonal variation. However, in general, climatic variables did not drive latitudinal patterns, as scavenger richness and diversity were not affected by temperature or rainfall. Rainfall seasonality slightly increased the number of species in the community, but its effect was weak. Instead, the human impact index included in our study was the main predictor of scavenger richness. Scavenger assemblages in highly human-impacted areas sustained the smallest number of scavenger species, suggesting human activity may be overriding other macroecological processes in shaping scavenger communities. Our results highlight the effect of human impact at a global scale. As species-rich assemblages tend to be more functional, we warn about possible reductions in ecosystem functions and the services provided by scavengers in human-dominated landscapes in the Anthropocene.

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Ichthyofauna sampled with tadpoles in northeastern Maranhão state, Brazil

Check List ◽

10.15560/11.1.1550 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

pp. 1550 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Rodrigo Matavelli ◽

Aldenise Martins Campos ◽

João do Vale ◽

Nivaldo Magalhães Piorski ◽

Paulo Dos Santos Pompeu

Keyword(s):

Species Richness ◽

Atlantic Forest ◽

River Basins ◽

Fish Diversity ◽

Estuarine Ecosystems ◽

Lotic Habitats ◽

Freshwater Habitats ◽

High Fish ◽

Study Species

The Neotropic region has high fish diversity associated with freshwater habitats. However, for Maranhão state, most publications on the ichthyofauna concentrate on coastal or estuarine ecosystems. In this study, species of fish were sampled in lentic and lotic habitats in Cerrado areas (Cerradão phytophysiognomy) and in restinga areas (Atlantic Forest phytophysiognomy) in northeastern Maranhão state between January and July 2010. Thirteen species from 10 families and 6 orders were captured. Species richness was highest for the orders Characiformes and Gymnotiformes. Our results are the first records of the ichthyofauna of coastal drainage areas of northeastern Maranhão state, contributing to the understanding of the biodiversity of the Munim and Parnaíba River basins, and suggest the existence of a community that shares elements with those of the Amazon and Caatinga biomes.

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A checklist of gilled mushrooms (Basidiomycota: Agaricomycetes) with diversity analysis in Hollongapar Gibbon Wildlife Sanctuary, Assam, India

Journal of Threatened Taxa ◽

10.11609/jott.1770.7.15.8272-8287 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 7 (15) ◽

pp. 8272 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Girish Gogoi ◽

Vipin Parkash

Keyword(s):

Species Richness ◽

Diversity Index ◽

Abundant Species ◽

Shannon Diversity Index ◽

Diversity Analysis ◽

Wildlife Sanctuary ◽

Shannon Diversity ◽

Number Of Species ◽

Simpson Diversity Index ◽

Richness Index

Hollongapar Gibbon Wildlife Sanctuary is comprised of five distinct compartments. A total of 138 species of gilled mushrooms belonging to 48 genera, 23 families, five orders of the class Agaricomycetes, division Basidiomycota, have been collected and analyzed. The order Agaricales was was found with the highest number of species (113), followed by Russulales (14), Polyporales (5), Cantharellales (4) and Boletales (2). The species Coprinellus disseminatus and Megacollybia rodmani have shown the highest (8.26) and the lowest density (0.05), respectively. A total of 24 species, e.g., Termitomyces albuminosus, Marasmius curreyi, Marasmiellus candidus, Leucocoprinus medioflavus, Mycena leaiana, Hygrocybe miniata, Collybia chrysoropha, Gymnopus confluens were common with frequency percentage of 11.9, whereas Megacollybia rodmani with less frequency percentage (2.4) was found only in few quadrates of the sanctuary. The highly abundant species were Termitomyces medius (91.7) and Coprinellus disseminatus (86.8), and less abundant species were Psilocybe wayanadensis (1.0) and Lepiota sp. (1.0) in the study site. The order of the species richness index (R) compartment wise was 2>3>4>5>1. Both the Shannon diversity index and Simpson diversity index of agarics was maximum (1.88, 0.98) in compartment 2, whereas minimum (1.72, 0.95) in compartment 1 and 5, respectively. Moreover, the compartment 2 was found very much similar with compartment 3 and very less similar with compartment 1.<div> </div>

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Effects of Malaise trap spacing on species richness and composition of terrestrial arthropod bulk samples

10.1101/2020.09.30.321430 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

D Steinke ◽

TWA Braukmann ◽

L Manerus ◽

A Woodhouse ◽

V Elbrecht

Keyword(s):

Species Richness ◽

Field Experiments ◽

Collection Efficiency ◽

Malaise Trap ◽

Number Of Factors ◽

Large Numbers ◽

Set Up ◽

Taxonomic Groups ◽

A Site ◽

Malaise Traps

AbstractThe Malaise trap has gained popularity for assessing diverse terrestrial arthropod communities because it collects large samples with modest effort. A number of factors that influence collection efficiency, placement being one of them. For instance, when designing larger biotic surveys using arrays of Malaise traps we need to know the optimal distance between individual traps that maximises observable species richness and community composition. We examined the influence of spacing between Malaise traps by metabarcoding samples from two field experiments at a site in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. For one experiment, we used two trap pairs deployed at weekly increasing distance (3m increments from 3 to 27 m). The second experiment involved a total of 10 traps set up in a row at 3m distance intervals for three consecutive weeks.Results show that community similarity of samples decreases over distance between traps. The amount of species shared between trap pairs shows drops considerably at about 15m trap-to-trap distance. This change can be observed across all major taxonomic groups and for two different habitat types (grassland and forest). Large numbers of OTUs found only once within samples cause rather large dissimilarity between distance pairs even at close proximity. This could be caused by a large number of transient species from adjacent habitat which arrive at the trap through passive transport, as well as capture of rare taxa, which end up in different traps by chance.

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