Biodiversity Basics

Background Reading

CBFA chapter(s): 2, 16.1

Lecture Slides

2. Biodiversity Basics (class)

Discussion

Figuring out what to preserve

Pereira, M J Ramos, C Fonseca, and L M S Aguiar. 2018. “Loss of Multiple Dimensions of Bat Diversity under Land-Use Intensification in the Brazilian Cerrado,” 8.

Bat species captured in Carlos Botelho State Park, São Paulo state, Brazil: (4) Lampronycteris brachyotis; (5) Micronycteris microtis; (6) Micronycteris schmidtorum; (7) Desmodus rotundus; (8) Diphylla ecaudata; (9) Mimon bennettii; (10) Trachops cirrhosus; (11) Anoura caudifer; (12) Anoura geoffroyi; (13) Glossophaga soricina; (14) Carollia perspicillata; (15) Glyphonycteris sylvestris.

Example of Brazilian bats. Image from Claudio et al 2020. CC BY 4.0 https://zoologia.pensoft.net/.

Prioritizing phylogenetic diversity captures functional diversity unreliablyAn ongoing conservation question is if we can maintain functional diversity by optimizing for preservation of phylogenetic diversity. Here, Mazel et al. show that functional diversity increases with phylogenetic diversity in some clades but not others, and thus could be a risky conservation strategy.

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