What drives at-risk species richness? Environmental factors are more influential than anthropogenic factors or biological traits

Howard, C.; Flather, C.H.; Stephens, P.A.

Abstract

Species at risk of extinction are not uniformly distributed in space. Concentrations of threatened species may occur where threatening processes are intense, in refuges from those processes, or in areas of high species diversity. However, there have been few attempts to identify the processes that explain the distribution of at‐risk species. Here, we identified the relative importance of biological traits, environmental factors, and anthropogenic stressors in driving the spatial patterns of both total and at‐risk species richness of North American mammals and birds. Environmental factors are the predominant drivers of both total and at‐risk species richness. Strikingly, the directions of variable relationships differ substantially between models of total and at‐risk species richness. Understanding how environmental gradients differentially drive variation in total and at‐risk species richness can inform conservation action. Moreover, our approach can predict shifts in at‐risk species concentrations in response to projected environmental change and anthropogenic stressors.

Citation

Howard, C., Flather, C., & Stephens, P. (2019). What drives at-risk species richness? Environmental factors are more influential than anthropogenic factors or biological traits. Conservation Letters, 12(2), Article e12624. https://doi.org/10.1111/conl.12624

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Nov 25, 2018
• Online Publication Date: Dec 13, 2018
• Publication Date: Mar 31, 2019
• Deposit Date: Nov 26, 2018
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 17, 2019
• Journal: Conservation Letters
• Electronic ISSN: 1755-263X
• Publisher: Society for Conservation Biology
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 12
• Issue: 2
• Article Number: e12624
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/conl.12624
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1313027