Co-occurrence of linguistic and biological diversity in biodiversity hotspots and high biodiversity wilderness areas.

ABSTRACT: As the world grows less biologically diverse, it is becoming less linguistically and culturally diverse as well. Biologists estimate annual loss of species at 1,000 times or more greater than historic rates, and linguists predict that 50-90% of the world's languages will disappear by the end of this century. Prior studies indicate similarities in the geographic arrangement of biological and linguistic diversity, although conclusions have often been constrained by use of data with limited spatial precision. Here we use greatly improved datasets to explore the co-occurrence of linguistic and biological diversity in regions containing many of the Earth's remaining species: biodiversity hotspots and high biodiversity wilderness areas. Results indicate that these regions often contain considera

SUBMITTER: Gorenflo LJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3361428 | biostudies-literature | 2012 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature