Global patterns of freshwater species diversity, threat and endemism.

ABSTRACT:

Aim

Global-scale studies are required to identify broad-scale patterns in the distributions of species, to evaluate the processes that determine diversity and to determine how similar or different these patterns and processes are among different groups of freshwater species. Broad-scale patterns of spatial variation in species distribution are central to many fundamental questions in macroecology and conservation biology. We aimed to evaluate how congruent three commonly used metrics of diversity were among taxa for six groups of freshwater species.

Location

Global.

Methods

We compiled geographical range data on 7083 freshwater species of mammals, amphibians, reptiles, fishes, crabs and crayfish to evaluate how species richness, richness of threatened species and ende

SUBMITTER: Collen B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4579866 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature