Underlying and proximate drivers of biodiversity changes in Mesoamerican biosphere reserves.

ABSTRACT: Protected areas are of paramount relevance to conserving wildlife and ecosystem contributions to people. Yet, their conservation success is increasingly threatened by human activities including habitat loss, climate change, pollution, and species overexploitation. Thus, understanding the underlying and proximate drivers of anthropogenic threats is urgently needed to improve protected areas' effectiveness, especially in the biodiversity-rich tropics. We addressed this issue by analyzing expert-provided data on long-term biodiversity change (last three decades) over 14 biosphere reserves from the Mesoamerican Biodiversity Hotspot. Using multivariate analyses and structural equation modeling, we tested the influence of major socioeconomic drivers (demographic, economic, and political factors)

SUBMITTER: Auliz-Ortiz DM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10861858 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature