Global diversity hotspots and conservation priorities for sharks.

ABSTRACT: Sharks are one of the most threatened groups of marine animals, as high exploitation rates coupled with low resilience to fishing pressure have resulted in population declines worldwide. Designing conservation strategies for this group depends on basic knowledge of the geographic distribution and diversity of known species. So far, this information has been fragmented and incomplete. Here, we have synthesized the first global shark diversity pattern from a new database of published sources, including all 507 species described at present, and have identified hotspots of shark species richness, functional diversity and endemicity from these data. We have evaluated the congruence of these diversity measures and demonstrate their potential use in setting priority areas for shark conservation.

SUBMITTER: Lucifora LO 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3088674 | biostudies-literature | 2011 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature