Find research datasets worth reusing

opencc-by-4.0Feb 2018View details →

Fig. 11 in New Records and Range Extensions of Some Marine Sponges (Porifera: Demospongiae and Homoscleromorpha) from the Andaman Islands, India; Part of the Indo-Burma Biodiversity Hotspot.

Fig. 11. Geographical extension of Oceanapia fistulosa (Bowerbank, 1873).

opencc-by-4.0Feb 2018View details →

Fig. 5 in New Records and Range Extensions of Some Marine Sponges (Porifera: Demospongiae and Homoscleromorpha) from the Andaman Islands, India; Part of the Indo-Burma Biodiversity Hotspot.

Fig. 5. Geographical extension of Cliothosa aurivilli (Lindgren, 1897)

opencc-by-4.0Aug 2021View details →

Figure 15 in Revision of the family Metarbelidae (Lepidoptera) of the Oriental Region. V. Genus Marcopoloia Yakovlev & Zolotuhin gen. nov. from the Taiwan Island and Indo-Burma biodiversity hotspot

Figure 15. Distributional map of Marcopoloia.

opencc-by-4.0May 2021View details →

Figure 8 in Revision of the family Metarbelidae (Lepidoptera) of the Oriental Region. II. Two monotypic genera - Ghatarbela gen. nov. and Micrarbela gen. nov. - from the Western Ghats and Sri Lanka biodiversity hotspot

Figure 8. Distributional map of Ghatarbela and Micrarbela species.

opencc-by-4.0Sep 2024View details →

Data from: Effects of land use change and elevation on endemic shrub frogs in a biodiversity hotspot

This project contains data and codes from a study investigating the effects of land use change and elevation on endemic shrub frogs in the northern Western Ghats, India.  Species Coverage: Though the focal species in the study are Pseudophilautus amboli and Raorchestes bombayensis, the raw data also contain the following species. Duttaphrynus melanostictus, Euphlyctis sp, Hoplobatrachus tigerinus, Hydrophylax bahuvistara, Indirana chiravasi, Indirana sp, Microhyla nilphamariensis, Minervarya cepfi, Minervarya gomantaki, Minervarya sp, Nyctibatrachus petraeus, Polypedates maculatus, Pseudophilautus amboli, Ramanella variegata, Raorchestes bombayensis, Rhacophorus malabaricus, Sphaerotheca dobsonii, Uperodon mormorata, Xanthophryne tigerina Geographic Coverage: Dodamarg and Sawantwadi Taluks of the Sindhudurg District, Maharashtra State, India. (15°40’–16°0’N; 73°51’–74°9’E) Temporal Coverage: June, July, August, September (2022). Field data was collected by Himanshu Lad and Ninad Gosavi. More details about the data can be obtained from Himanshu Lad and Rohit Naniwadekar from the Nature Conservation Foundation (www.ncf-india.org).

opencc-zeroJul 2021View details →

Uncovering the vertebrate scavenger guild composition and functioning in the Cerrado biodiversity hotspot

Scavenging is widespread among vertebrates, being very important for maintaining certain ecosystem functions. Despite this, the scavenger communities remain poorly known in some biomes, especially in the Neotropics. Our main objective was to describe for the first time the scavenger community and identify the factors affecting scavenging efficiency in the Brazilian Cerrado. We analyzed the effects of vegetation cover, time of carcass placement and carcass weight, on scavenger species richness, individual abundances, carcass detection and consumption times, and carcass consumption rate. We monitored 11 large and 45 small carcasses using automatic cameras. We documented a total of 19 vertebrate scavenging species, four species of vultures and 15 facultative scavengers. We found that carcass size was the most important factor affecting the scavenger assemblage and consumption patterns. Large carcasses were dominated by vultures, whereas small carcasses were consumed mainly by facultative scavengers. We also found differences between large and small carcasses in all carcass consumption variables except for detection time. However, we did not find an effect of vegetation cover or time of carcass placement on scavenging patterns. The negligible role of mammals and non-raptor birds in large carcasses is also noteworthy, probably due to the consumption and foraging efficiency of the vultures, and the more frugivorous habits of the mesocarnivores. Our results show a highly diverse and efficient scavenging vertebrate community in the Brazilian Cerrado, and the need to preserve them in the face of the significant habitat transformations suffered by this biodiversity hotspot.

opencc-zeroDec 2015View details →

FIG. 4 in Biodiversity in mountain groundwater: the Mercantour National Park (France) as a European hotspot

FIG. 4. — Continuation.

Figure 1 in Butterfly fauna (Lepidoptera, Papilionoidea) in a heterogeneous area between two biodiversity hotspots in Minas Gerais, Brazil

Figure 1. Location of the study site, the 'Serra do Rola-Moça' State Park (PESRM), in Minas Gerais state, Brazil.

Figure 5 in Butterfly fauna (Lepidoptera, Papilionoidea) in a heterogeneous area between two biodiversity hotspots in Minas Gerais, Brazil

Figure 5. Non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) of the butterfly species composition in sampling sites of Cerrado domain, Atlantic Rainforest and Forest-Cerrado transition areas, in the 'Serra do Rola-Moça' State Park, Minas Gerais state, Brazil.

Figure 4 in Butterfly fauna (Lepidoptera, Papilionoidea) in a heterogeneous area between two biodiversity hotspots in Minas Gerais, Brazil

Figure 4. Sample coverage of species richness in rainy and dry seasons, in the 'Serra do Rola-Moça' State Park, Minas Gerais state, Brazil.

Figure 2 in Butterfly fauna (Lepidoptera, Papilionoidea) in a heterogeneous area between two biodiversity hotspots in Minas Gerais, Brazil

Figure 2. Sample coverage of species richness in rainy season, in the'Serra do Rola-Moça' State Park, Minas Gerais state, Brazil.

Figure 3 in Butterfly fauna (Lepidoptera, Papilionoidea) in a heterogeneous area between two biodiversity hotspots in Minas Gerais, Brazil

Figure 3. Sample coverage of species richness in dry season, in the 'Serra do Rola-Moça' State Park, Minas Gerais state, Brazil.

opencc-by-4.0Aug 2021View details →

Reptiles of the Iron Quadrangle: a species richness survey in one of the most human exploited biodiversity hotspots of the world - species vouchers

The material present here is the supplementary Material of the paper: Reptiles of the Iron Quadrangle: a species richness survey in one of the most human exploited biodiversity hotspots of the world, published in Cuadernos de Herpetologia (2021).  *Abstract: Currently, more than 10,700 species of reptiles are known to occur worldwide, of these 842 occur in Brazil. The Iron Quadrangle (IQ) is an important region in southeastern Brazil, in the state of Minas Gerais, due to the intense iron mining activity, its rich and unique biodiversity. However, data available for the reptile fauna are scattered in the literature which make the diversity of this group in the IQ remains poorly known. Here we aimed to characterize the reptile fauna of the IQ, representing the first inventory for the area. We found 128 reptile species occurring in the IQ, which corresponds to 49.23% of the reptile fauna for the state of Minas Gerais, and 15.20% of the Brazilian reptile biodiversity. Among these, three species are included in at least one national or international red-list category, four have their type-locality inside the limits of the IQ, seven had not been previously documented for the area, and four have their range extensions to be included in the IQ.

opencc-zeroOct 2021View details →

Large wild herbivores slow down the rapid decline of plant diversity in a tropical forest biodiversity hotspot

1. The UN declaration of the Decade of Ecosystem Restoration 2021-2030 emphasizes the need for effective measures to restore ecosystems and safeguard biodiversity. Large herbivores regulate many ecosystem processes and functions, yet their potential as a nature-based solution to buffer against long-term temporal declines in biodiversity associated to global change and restore diversity in secondary forests remains unknown. 2. By means of an exclusion experiment, we tested experimentally the buffering effects of large wild herbivores to avert against long-term biodiversity collapse in old-growth and secondary tropical forests in the Atlantic Forest of Brazil where sapling abundance and species richness declined circa 20% over the course of 10 years. The experiment comprised 50 large herbivore exclosure-open control plot pairs (25 at the old-growth forest and 25 at the secondary forest), where 2m2 were monitored in every plot during a 10-year period. 3. Large herbivores were able to decelerate diversity declines and compositional change in the species-rich old-growth forest, but only decelerated compositional change in the secondary forest. In contrast, declines in species richness and abundance were unaffected by large herbivores on either forest. 4. The buffering effects of large herbivores were strongly non-linear and contingent on the initial level of diversity at the patch scale: highly diverse communities suffered the strongest collapse in the absence of large herbivores. Thus, larger buffering effects of large herbivores on the old growth forest are the logical consequence of large herbivores buffering the many high diversity plant communities found in this forest. Conversely, as the secondary forest held fewer high diversity patches, buffering effects on the secondary forest were weak. 5. Synthesis and applications: Our study indicates that large herbivores have moderate yet critical effects on slowing down community change and diversity loss of highly diverse plant communities, thus suggesting that the conservation of (and potentially trophic rewilding with) large herbivores is a fundamental nature-based solution for averting the global collapse of the strongholds of biodiversity. Its buffering effects on biodiversity loss operate at very small spatial scales, are likely contingent on successional stage, and most effective in old-growth or high diversity secondary forests.

opencc-zeroNov 2022View details →

Hotspots of (sub)alpine plants in the Irano-Anatolian Global Biodiversity Hotspot are insufficiently protected

Aim: The mountainous regions in SW Asia harbours a high number of endemic species, many of which are restricted to the high-elevation zone. The (sub)alpine habitats of the region are under particular threat due to global change, but their biodiversity hotspots and conservation status have not been investigated so far. Location: Subalpine-alpine habitats of SW Asia Methods: Distribution data of all (sub)alpine vascular plant species of the region was compiled, resulting in 19,680 localities from 1672 (sub)alpine species, the majority of them being restricted to the region (76%). Six quantitative indices of species diversity were used on the basis of 0.5°×0.5° grid cells to identify (sub)alpine hotspots. Hotspots whose surface area in the (sub)alpine zone was covered by nature reserves maximally by 10% were defined as conservation gaps. Results: A high proportion (80%) of the endemic species of the study area is range-restricted and narrowly distributed. The results of all six indices were highly correlated. Using the top 5%, 10% and 20% richest cells supported by any index, 32, 53 and 98 cells, respectively, were identified as Hotspots. Almost 60% of these Hotspots at all three levels were identified as unprotected (i.e., constituted Conservation Gaps). Generally, only 22%, 18% and 16%, respectively, of the alpine surface area of the identified Hotspots were covered by nature reserves for the top 5%, 10% and 20% richest cells, respectively. Main conclusions: Although the rate of protection in (sub)alpine Hotspots exceeds that of the entire region it is still insufficient, because these Hotspots are much richer in endemic and in range-restricted species, but at the same time are under high pressure of global change. Therefore, the establishment of new nature reserves with high conservation efficiency in (sub)alpine habitats with a particular focus on the identified Hotspots is strongly recommended.

opencc-zeroJan 2023View details →

Data for: Improving estimates of land protection costs in a tropical biodiversity hotspot

Accurate estimates of the cost of land protection are useful for understanding where biodiversity conservation goals can be achieved at the lowest cost to society. However, because good cost maps are rare in tropical countries, conservation planning studies often ignore cost or rely on untested proxies, such as agricultural rent or land use intensity. Here, we show how analysts can estimate land protection costs using original data of public land acquisitions, global predictor datasets, and simple machine-learning models. For the Colombian Andes, a global biodiversity hotspot, we find that the principal driver of land protection cost is urban proximity, not agricultural rent. We derive cost estimates that predict public land protection costs more accurately than available cost proxies and identify new protection priorities for 143 threatened bird species. A more systematic collection of cost records of land protection will help inform public decisions on national and global biodiversity protection priorities.

opencc-zeroMar 2023View details →

Data from: High vascular plant species richness in the Usumacinta River Basin: a comprehensive floristic checklist for a natural region in the Mesoamerican biodiversity hotspot

Background: Mesoamerica is one of the most important biodiversity hotspots on the planet. Despite significant efforts made over two centuries to contribute to the floristic knowledge of this region, our understanding of its flora is still scattered and uneven. Questions: What is the magnitude of the vascular plant species richness in the Usumacinta River Basin? Study site and dates: Usumacinta River Basin (Guatemala and Mexico), 1838–2018. Methods: We compiled the checklist by systematizing the floristic information acquired from various sources derived from numerous floristic and ecological studies. Results: We recorded 6,977 species, 1,892 genera, and 274 families. The largest numbers of species (5,746) and records (58,859) correspond to the Mexican portion of the Usumacinta River Basin, compared to its Guatemalan counterpart (4,445 species and 19,952 records). The most species-rich families were Orchidaceae (598 species), Fabaceae (512), and Asteraceae (476). The prevalence of these and all other families with significant contributions to the flora varied among three elevation-defined sectors into which the Usumacinta River Basin was subdivided (lower, middle, and upper basin). Conclusions: The Usumacinta River Basin is a strategic region for plant biodiversity conservation as it hosts almost one-third of all vascular plant species known for Mesoamerica and ca. 6 % of the entire flora in the Americas. Further botanical exploration should focus on those areas of the basin for which little or no information is available in order to gain a better appreciation of its flora.

opencc-zeroMar 2023View details →

Elevation and phylogeny shape herbaceous seed dormancy in a biodiversity hotspot of southwest China

Seed dormancy contributes greatly to successful establishment and community stability and shows large variation over a continuous status scale in mountain ecosystems. Although empirical studies have shown that seed dormancy status (SDS) is shaped by elevation and phylogenetic history in mountain ecosystems, few studies have quantified their combined effects on SDS. Here, we collected mature seeds from 51 populations of 11 Impatiens species (Balsaminaceae) along an elevational gradient in the Gaoligong Mountains of southwest China and estimated SDS using mean dormancy percentage of fresh seeds germinated at three constant temperatures (15, 20, and 25 °C). We downloaded 19 bioclimatic variables from WorldClim v.2.1 for each Impatiens population and used internal transcribed spacer (ITS), atpB-rbcL, and trnL-F molecular sequences from the GenBank nucleotide database to construct a phylogenetic tree of the 11 species of Impatiens. Logistic regression model analysis was performed to quantify the effects of phylogeny and environment on SDS. Results identified a significant phylogenetic SDS signal in the Impatiens species. Furthermore, elevation and phylogeny accounted for 63.629% of the total variation in SDS among the Impatiens populations. The best logistic model indicated that temperature was the main factor influencing variation in SDS among the Impatiens species, and model residuals were significantly correlated with phylogeny, but not with elevation. Our results indicated that seed dormancy is phylogenetically conserved, and climate drives elevational patterns of SDS variation in mountain ecosystems. This study provides new insights into the response of seed plant diversity to climate change.

opencc-zeroJul 2023View details →

Effects of land use and climate change on functional and phylogenetic diversity of terrestrial vertebrates in a Himalayan biodiversity hotspot

Aim: Land use and climate change interact to impact functional and phylogenetic diversity globally, but this pattern is largely unknown in the eastern Himalayas. We aim to discern the response of community diversity and structure of terrestrial mammals and birds to anthropogenic land use and climate change in this hitherto understudied landscape. Location: Himalayan biodiversity hotspot, Bhutan Methods: We used camera trap and point-count transect data to estimate taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic diversity while accounting for detectability. We calculated the abundance-weighted standardised effect sizes (ses) of mean pairwise distance and mean nearest taxon distance. The ses metrics were regressed against land use (agriculture and forest) and climate (temperature and precipitation) variables using linear mixed effect models. Results: Community diversity declined with agriculture in both groups. Mammal diversity was higher farther from the settlement but birds remained indifferent. Temperature and precipitation were positively associated with mammal diversity, but birds displayed a mixed response: negative with temperature and positive with precipitation. Agriculture had a strong negative effect on the functional structure of birds but not mammals. The functional and phylogenetic structure declined farther from the settlement for mammals but increased for birds. Except for the functional structure, all other metrics increased with temperature and precipitation for mammals. Except for the positive relationship between functional structure and temperature, other metrics showed a mixed response to climate in birds. Main conclusions: Our findings provide evidence that land use rather than climate has an imminent effect in shaping local and regional patterns of terrestrial vertebrate diversity in a Himalayan biodiversity hotspot. Climate effects, although weak, may reduce functional traits and consequently diminish functional roles. Species that can persist in human-modified environments are clustered within a phylogeny, suggesting possible loss of phylogenetic diversity.