Spatial conservation planning framework for assessing conservation opportunities in the Atlantic Forest of Brazil.

ABSTRACT: Historic rates of habitat change and growing exploitation of natural resources threaten avian biodiversity in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, a global biodiversity hotspot. We implemented a twostage framework for conservation planning in the Atlantic Forest. First, we used ecological niche modeling to predict the distributions of 23 endemic bird species using 19 climatic metrics and 12 spectral and radar remote sensing metrics. Second, we utilized the principle of complementarity to prioritize new sites to augment the Atlantic Forest's existing reserves. The best predictors of bird distributions were precipitation metrics (the seasonality of rainfall) and radar remote sensing metrics (QSCAT). The existing protected areas do not include 10% of the habitat of each of the 23 endemic species. W

SUBMITTER: Giorgi AP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5308085 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature