Deficiencias en la categorización y necesidades de investigación en especies amenazadas: un análisis de los vertebrados y plantas del departamento de Loreto, Perú / Categorization deficiencies and research needs in threatened species: An analysis of the vertebrates and plants of the department of Loreto, Peru

Resumen Para tomar decisiones en conservación o manejo de especies silvestres es prioritario conocer su estado de conservación, siendo el método de la IUCN el más utilizado para categorizar especies según su nivel de amenaza, tanto a nivel global como a nivel nacional. En este artículo realizamos un análisis de las especies de plantas y vertebrados amenazadas y de aquellas con datos insuficientes del departamento de Loreto, el más grande y uno de los más biodiversos del Perú, con el fin de identificar las principales amenazas que soportan, identificar los vacíos de información y comparar la congruencia entre la lista nacional y la global. Uniendo ambas listas, en Loreto se ha registrado 226 especies consideradas amenazadas. Existen grandes diferencias entre la lista nacional y la global, principalmente para plantas y peces. La principal amenaza registrada es la pérdida de hábitat, que afecta a la mayor parte de las especies de vertebrados terrestres amenazados. Existen grandes vacíos de información sobre tamaño y tendencia poblacional en todos los grupos taxonómicos, y de distribución en las plantas amenazadas. Entre las especies con datos insuficientes, los vacíos principales se dan en los aspectos de distribución y población, pero también en amenazas, ecología y taxonomía. Nuestros resultados resaltan la necesidad de actualizar la lista de plantas amenazadas del Perú, así como crear una lista de peces amenazados y realizar investigación sobre distribución, población, amenazas y taxonomía de las especies con datos insuficientes y de las especies amenazadas con vacíos de información.

Abstract In order to make decisions on the conservation or management of wild species, it is a priority to know their conservation status. For this purpose, the most widely used method is IUCN's categorization of species according to the level of threat they face, both globally and nationally. In this article we conducted an analysis of threatened plant and vertebrate species, and of data deficient species in the department of Loreto, the largest and one of the most biodiverse in Peru, to identify the main threats they face, identify information gaps, and compare the national and global lists. According to both lists combined, 226 species considered threatened have been recorded in Loreto. Large differences exist between the national and global lists, mainly for plants and fish. The main threat recorded is habitat loss, which affects most of the threatened terrestrial vertebrate species. Large gaps persist in information on population size and trends for all taxonomic groups, and on distribution for threatened plants. Among the data deficient species, the main gaps are in distribution and population aspects, but also in threats, ecology, and taxonomy. Our results highlight the need to update the list of threatened plants of Peru, as well as to create a list of threatened fish species and to conduct research on the distribution, population, threats, and taxonomy of species with deficient data and threatened species with information gaps.

Using metapopulation theory for practical conservation of mangrove endemic birds.

As a landscape becomes increasingly fragmented through habitat loss, the individual patches become smaller and more isolated and thus less likely to sustain a local population. Metapopulation theory is appropriate for analyzing fragmented landscapes because it combines empirical landscape features with species-specific information to produce direct information on population extinction risks. This approach contrasts with descriptions of habitat fragments, which provide only indirect information on risk. Combining a spatially explicit metapopulation model with empirical data on endemic species' ranges and maps of habitat cover, we calculated the metapopulation capacity-a measure of a landscape's ability to sustain a metapopulation. Mangroves provide an ideal model landscape because they are of conservation concern and their patch boundaries are easily delineated. For 2000-20015, we calculated global metapopulation capacity for 99 metapopulations of 32 different bird species endemic to mangroves. Northern Australia and Southeast Asia had the highest richness of mangrove endemic birds. The Caribbean, Pacific coast of Central America, Madagascar, Borneo, and isolated patches in Southeast Asia in Myanmar and Malaysia had the highest metapopulation losses. Regions with the highest loss of habitat area were not necessarily those with the highest loss of metapopulation capacity. Often, it was not a matter of how much, but how the habitat was lost. Our method can be used by managers to evaluate and prioritize a landscape for metapopulation persistence.

Uso de la Teoría de Metapoblaciones para la Conservación Práctica de las Aves Endémicas de Manglares Resumen A medida que un paisaje se fragmenta cada vez más debido a la pérdida de hábitat, los parches se vuelven más pequeños y aislados y, por lo tanto, menos propensos a sostener a una población local. La teoría de metapoblaciones es adecuada para analizar paisajes fragmentados porque combina características empíricas del paisaje con información de cada especie para producir información directa sobre los riesgos de extinción de la población. Este enfoque contrasta con las descripciones de los fragmentos de hábitat que solo proporcionan información directa sobre el riesgo. Mediante la combinación de un modelo metapoblacional espacialmente explícito con datos empíricos de los rangos de distribución de especies endémicas y mapas de la cobertura del hábitat, calculamos la capacidad de la metapoblación - una medida de la capacidad del paisaje para sostener una metapoblación. Los manglares proporcionan un paisaje modelo ideal porque son de interés para la conservación y los límites de los parches son delineados fácilmente. Calculamos la capacidad de la metapoblación global para el período 2000-2015 de 99 metapoblaciones de 32 especies de aves endémicas de manglares. El norte de Australia y el sudeste de Asia tuvieron la mayor riqueza de aves endémicas de manglares. El Caribe, la costa del Pacífico de Centroamérica, Madagascar, Borneo y parches aislados en el sudeste de Asia en Myanmar y Malasia tuvieron las mayores pérdidas de metapoblaciones. Las regiones con mayor pérdida hábitat fueron necesariamente aquellas con mayor pérdida de capacidad de la metapoblación. A menudo no era una cuestión de cuánto, sino cómo se perdió el hábitat. Nuestro método se puede utilizar por manejadores para evaluar y priorizar un paisaje para la persistencia de la metapoblación.

Reintroductions of birds and mammals involve evolutionarily distinct species at the regional scale.

Reintroductions offer a powerful tool for reversing the effects of species extirpation and have been increasingly used over recent decades. However, this species-centered conservation approach has been criticized for its strong biases toward charismatic birds and mammals. Here, we investigated whether reintroduced species can be representative of the phylogenetic diversity within these two groups at a continental scale (i.e., Europe, North and Central America). Using null models, we found that reintroduced birds and mammals of the two subcontinents tend to be more evolutionarily distinct than expected by chance, despite strong taxonomic biases leading to low values of phylogenetic diversity. While evolutionary considerations are unlikely to have explicitly driven the allocation of reintroduction efforts, our results illustrate an interest of reintroduction practitioners toward species with fewer close relatives. We discuss how this phylogenetic framework allows us to investigate the contribution of reintroductions to the conservation of biodiversity at multiple geographic scales. We argue that because reintroductions rely on a parochial approach of conservation, it is important to first understand how the motivations and constraints at stake at a local context can induce phylogenetic biases before trying to assess the relevance of the allocation of reintroduction efforts at larger scales.

Maximizing species conservation in continental Ecuador: a case of systematic conservation planning for biodiverse regions.

Ecuador has the largest number of species by area worldwide, but also a low representation of species within its protected areas. Here, we applied systematic conservation planning to identify potential areas for conservation in continental Ecuador, with the aim of increasing the representation of terrestrial species diversity in the protected area network. We selected 809 terrestrial species (amphibians, birds, mammals, and plants), for which distributions were estimated via species distribution models (SDMs), using Maxent. For each species we established conservation goals based on conservation priorities, and estimated new potential protected areas using Marxan conservation planning software. For each selected area, we determined their conservation priority and feasibility of establishment, two important aspects in the decision-making processes. We found that according to our conservation goals, the current protected area network contains large conservation gaps. Potential areas for conservation almost double the surface area of currently protected areas. Most of the newly proposed areas are located in the Coast, a region with large conservation gaps and irreversible changes in land use. The most feasible areas for conservation were found in the Amazon and Andes regions, which encompass more undisturbed habitats, and already harbor most of the current reserves. Our study allows defining a viable strategy for preserving Ecuador's biodiversity, by combining SDMs, GIS-based decision-support software, and priority and feasibility assessments of the selected areas. This approach is useful for complementing protected area networks in countries with great biodiversity, insufficient biological information, and limited resources for conservation.