Rethinking Global Hotspots for Threatened Terrestrial Vertebrates

Aim

We aimed to delimit hotspots for terrestrial threatened vertebrate species (HTV) through novel macroecological and statistical approaches.

Location

Global.

Time Period

Present day (1979–2024).

Major Taxa Studied

Terrestrial threatened vertebrate species (n = 7188).

Methods

In comparison with previous delimitations of hotspots, we: (i) considered richness and degree of endemism together through a robust statistical framework; (ii) focused on a priority set of species extremely important in terms of conservation, based on IUCN threat status; and (iii) used a fine spatial scale which allowed us to define key sub-areas within classic hotspots. We also assessed the degree of protection and human impact within the proposed HTV.

Results

We propose 20 global hotspots for threatened terrestrial vertebrates. In comparison with classic hotspots, proposed HTV have a significantly more limited distribution, covering ~27% of classic hotspots' area. In addition, a large proportion of HTV (~27%) does not match with classic hotspots. The overlap between HTV and protected areas (PAs) is low (< 11%), and extremely low when only strict protected areas are considered (< 1.5%). Also, a great degree of HTV exhibits high to extreme levels of human modification. On average, the velocity of climate change within HTV has been low, but attention must be given to notable areas presenting medium to high velocities. Interestingly, the geographical locations of highly endemic and rich areas considerably varied across individual vertebrate taxa. Yet, a high proportion of these priority areas for individual taxa are covered by the proposed HTV (74%–89%).

Main Conclusions

Our findings present key areas of the world for threatened terrestrial vertebrate species, many of these at high risk due to an interplay among low levels of protection, extreme levels of human modification and climate change. The proposed HTV are highly relevant in terms of decision-making, serving as a guide for allocating the limited conservation resources.