Understanding global patterns of genetic diversity is essential for describing, monitoring, and preserving life on Earth. To date, efforts to map macrogenetic patterns have been restricted to vertebrates, which comprise only a small fraction of Earth’s biodiversity. Here, we construct a global map of predicted insect mitochondrial genetic diversity from cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 sequences, derived from open data. We calculate the mitochondrial genetic diversity mean and genetic diversity evenness of insect assemblages across the globe, identify their environmental correlates, and make predictions of mitochondrial genetic diversity levels in unsampled areas based on environmental data. Using a large single-locus genetic dataset of over 2 million globally distributed and georeferenced mtDNA sequences, we find that mitochondrial genetic diversity evenness follows a quadratic latitudinal gradient peaking in the subtropics. Both mitochondrial genetic diversity mean and evenness positively correlate with seasonally hot temperatures, as well as climate stability since the last glacial maximum. Our models explain 27.9% and 24.0% of the observed variation in mitochondrial genetic diversity mean and evenness in insects, respectively, making an important step towards understanding global biodiversity patterns in the most diverse animal taxon.
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Monitoring biodiversity change is key to effective conservation policy. While it is difficult to establish in situ biodiversity monitoring programs at broad geographical scales, remote sensing advances allow for near-real time Earth observations that may help with this goal. We combine periodical and freely available remote sensing information describing temperature and precipitation with curated biological information from several groups of animals and plants in the Brazilian Atlantic rainforest to design an indirect remote sensing framework that monitors potential loss and gain of biodiversity in near-real time. Using data from biological collections and information from repeated field inventories, we demonstrate that this framework has the potential to accurately predict trends of biodiversity change for both taxonomic and phylogenetic diversity. The framework identifies areas of potential diversity loss more accurately than areas of species gain, and performs best when applied to broadly distributed groups of animals and plants.more » « less
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Abstract Aim We combine phylogenetic and point locality data from selected lineages of the Atlantic Forest flora and fauna to compare spatial patterns of biodiversity sustained by the current configuration of forest remnants to a scenario of complete forest preservation. We then ask the question how much biodiversity is likely lost, already? Specifically, we assess how habitat loss likely impacted the climatic spaces occupied by the local species, the inferred composition of local communities and the spatial distribution of phylogenetic diversity and endemism.
Location Atlantic Forest, Brazil.
Methods Using carefully curated point localities, phylogenetic data and parameterized models of species distributions, we generate maps of phylogenetic diversity, phylogenetic endemism and phylogenetic turnover for the entire Atlantic Forest. We map patterns of clade‐specific diversity under complete preservation of forest and then incorporate present‐day deforestation patterns to provide a more realistic scenario.
Results Instead of a singular pattern, three different reoccurring syndromes described the flora and fauna of the Atlantic Forest. These patterns emerged irrespectively of clade age and life history traits. General turnover patterns were highly consistent with previous analyses of species composition and panbiogeographical studies. Deforestation has altered the availability of climatic spaces in the Atlantic Forest, its biological communities and the distribution of evolutionary lineages in space. However, approximately 60% of the pre‐Columbian climatic space persists in forest remnants, and today's biological communities are estimated to be 45% similar to pre‐deforestation times.
Main conclusions The Atlantic Forest has been reduced to 8% of its once largely continuous range. However, the disproportionately large amounts of climate, community and lineage diversity that persist in remnants provide hope and support for conservation efforts that combine species occurrence and phylogenetic data. Inclusion of evolutionary thinking into strategic approaches to restoring Brazilian ecosystems could further conservation effectiveness by incorporating the adaptive potential of local assemblages in the face of further environmental shifts.
