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1. Integrating multiple dimensions of biodiversity to inform global parrot conservation

   https://doi.org/10.32800/abc.2022.45.0189  

   Burgio, K R; Davies, K E; Dreiss, L M; Cisneros, L M; Klingbeil, B T; Presely, S J; van_Rees, C B; Willig, M R (June 2022, Animal Biodiversity and Conservation)

   In addition to changes associated with climate and land use, parrots are threatened by hunting and capture for the pet trade, making them one of the most at risk orders of birds for which conservation action is especially important. Species richness is often used to identify high priority areas for conserving biodiversity. By definition, richness considers all species to be equally different from one another. However, ongoing research emphasizes the importance of incorporating ecological functions (functional diversity) or evolutionary relationships (phylogenetic diversity) to more fully understand patterns of biodiversity, because (1) areas of high species richness do not always represent areas of high functional or phylogenetic diversity, and (2) functional or phylogenetic diversity may better predict ecosystem function and evolutionary potential, which are essential for effective long–term conservation policy and management. We created a framework for identifying areas of high species richness, functional diversity, and phylogenetic diversity within the global distribution of parrots. We combined species richness, functional diversity, and phylogenetic diversity into an Integrated Biodiversity Index (IBI) to identify global biodiversity hotspots for parrots. We found important spatial mismatches between dimensions, demonstrating species richness is not always an effective proxy for other dimensions of parrot biodiversity. The IBI is an integrative and flexible index that can incorporate multiple dimensions of biodiversity, resulting in an intuitive and direct way of assessing comprehensive goals in conservation planning. 

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2. A global biogeographic regionalization for butterflies

   https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2023.0211  

   Gross, Collin P; Wright, April M; Daru, Barnabas H (January 2025, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences)

   The partitioning of global biodiversity into biogeographic regions is critical for understanding the impacts of global-scale ecological and evolutionary processes on species assemblages as well as prioritizing areas for conservation. However, the lack of globally comprehensive data on species distributions precludes fine-scale estimation of biogeographical regionalization for numerous taxa of ecological, economic and conservation interest. Using a recently published phylogeny and novel curated native range maps for over 10 000 species of butterflies around the world, we delineated biogeographic regions for the world’s butterflies using phylogenetic dissimilarity. We uncovered 19 distinct phylogenetically delimited regions (phyloregions) nested within 6 realms. Regional boundaries were predicted by spatial turnover in modern-day temperature and precipitation seasonality, but historical climate change also left a pronounced fingerprint on deeper- (realm-) level boundaries. We use a culturally and ecologically important group of insects to expand our understanding of how historical and contemporary factors drive the distribution of organismal lineages on the Earth. As insects and global biodiversity more generally face unprecedented challenges from anthropogenic factors, our research provides the groundwork for prioritizing regions and taxa for conservation, especially with the goal of preserving the legacies of our biosphere’s evolutionary history. This article is part of the discussion meeting issue ‘Bending the curve towards nature recovery: building on Georgina Mace's legacy for a biodiverse future’. 

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3. A comparative genomics multitool for scientific discovery and conservation

   https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-2876-6  

   Genereux, Diane P.; Serres, Aitor; Armstrong, Joel; Johnson, Jeremy; Marinescu, Voichita D.; Murén, Eva; Juan, David; Bejerano, Gill; Casewell, Nicholas R.; Chemnick, Leona G.; et al (November 2020, Nature)

   null (Ed.)

   The Zoonomia Project is investigating the genomics of shared and specialized traits in eutherian mammals. Here we provide genome assemblies for 131 species, of which all but 9 are previously uncharacterized, and describe a whole-genome alignment of 240 species of considerable phylogenetic diversity, comprising representatives from more than 80% of mammalian families. We find that regions of reduced genetic diversity are more abundant in species at a high risk of extinction, discern signals of evolutionary selection at high resolution and provide insights from individual reference genomes. By prioritizing phylogenetic diversity and making data available quickly and without restriction, the Zoonomia Project aims to support biological discovery, medical research and the conservation of biodiversity. 

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4. Spiranthes bightensis (Orchidaceae), a New and Rare Cryptic Hybrid Species Endemic to the U. S. Mid-Atlantic Coast

   https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.498.3.2  

   Pace, Matthew C. (April 2021, Phytotaxa)

   null (Ed.)

   Recognizing species diversity is challenging in genera that display interspecific similarity and intraspecific variation; hybridization and the evolution of cryptic hybrid species amplifies these challenges. Recent molecular and morphological research focused on the systematics of Spiranthes (Orchidaceae) support hybrid speciation as an important driver of species diversity, particularly within the S. cernua species complex. Working under an integrated history-bound phylogenetic species concept, new molecular and morphometric data provide evidence for a new and rare cryptic hybrid species resulting from the ancient hybridization of S. cernua × S. odorata, here described as S. bightensis. Although S. bightensis is regionally sympatric with S. cernua it does not co-occur with that species, and it is allopatric with respect to S. odorata. Endemic to a narrow region extending from the Delmarva Peninsula to Long Island, New York, this new species occurs in the shadow of the Northeast megalopolis and appears to have undergone a major population decline over the last 200 years. By recognizing this distinct evolutionary lineage as a new species, this research is the first step towards developing conservation protocols for this rare species and highlights the importance of the North American Geologic Coastal Plain for biodiversity conservation and evolution. 

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5. Protecting biodiversity via conservation networks: Taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic considerations

   Willig, M.R.; Presley S.J.; Klingbeil, B.T.; Kosman, E.; Scheiner, S.M. (December 2022, Biological Conservation)

   A key element of conservation action involves the incorporation of sites into networks of protected areas. Historically, most network-creation strategies have been based on considerations of species richness and site complementarity. Nonetheless, phylogenetic or functional biodiversity may be more critical to the maintenance of ecosystem resilience or functioning than is the number of species. Therefore, we explore the efficacy of three strategies (i.e., random, sequential, and simultaneous inclusion of sites into conservation networks of particular sizes) to maximize species richness in a network, and explore associated consequences to aspects of functional and phylogenetic biodiversity. We do so for passerines in Connecticut, bats in Paraguay, and trees in North Carolina, which differ in β, functional, and phylogenetic biodiversity. The efficacy of sequential and simultaneous strategies for conserving species richness are similar at all network sizes and represent improvements over random strategies for each of the three taxa, conserving all species in as few as 35 % of the sites required based on a random strategy. For aspects of functional and phylogenetic biodiversity, metrics converged on the value of the entire biota, even when networks contained as few as five sites, suggesting that richness-based approaches can be effective in guiding conservation action from multiple perspectives. Evaluation of networks intended to conserve biodiversity at spatial extents that include more complex environmental gradients than the examples presented here, or that comprise more heterogenous environments than those represented in our analyses, are needed to more fully explore the generality of our conclusions. 

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