Effect of primate protection on threatened and endemic vertebrates, plants, ecosystem services, and future climate refugia.

ABSTRACT: Primates, 69% of which are threatened with extinction, are the third most specious order of mammals. We used primates as model taxa to examine the umbrella effects of primates on ecosystem services and the protection of other vertebrates and seed plants in Yunnan Province, China. We identified areas of conservation priority for 16 primate species and determined which other threatened and endemic terrestrial vertebrates and seed plants would be protected through a program targeting primate conservation. Areas of high primate species richness were spatially correlated with the distribution of 601 species of threatened and endemic vertebrates and 4010 seed plants. Primate species richness was positively correlated with carbon sequestration and enhanced water and soil conservation and coincide

SUBMITTER: Yang Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12451498 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature