Marcelo F. Tognelli

Global habitat suitability models of terrestrial mammals

Detailed large-scale information on mammal distribution has often been lacking, hindering conservation efforts. We used the information from the 2009 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species as a baseline for developing habitat suitability models for 5027 out of 5330 known terrestrial mammal species, based on their habitat relationships. We focused on the following environmental variables: land cover, elevation and hydrological features. Models were developed at 300 m resolution and limited to within species known geographical ranges. A subset of the models was validated using points of known species occurrence. We conducted a global, fine-scale analysis of patterns of species richness. The richness of mammal species estimated by the overlap of their suitable habitat is on average one-third less than that estimated by the overlap of their geographical ranges. The highest absolute difference is found in tropical and subtropical regions in South America, Africa and Southeast Asia that are not covered by dense forest. The proportion of suitable habitat within mammal geographical ranges correlates with the IUCN Red List category to which they have been assigned, decreasing monotonically from Least Concern to Endangered. These results demonstrate the importance of fine-resolution distribution data for the development of global conservation strategies for mammals.

An evaluation of methods for modelling distribution of Patagonian insects

Varios estudios han mostrado que el desempeno de los modelos de distribucion puede variar dependiendo de la especie modelizada, el area de estudio o el numero de localidades de presencia utilizadas, sugiriendo que es necesario evaluar cual es la mejor tecnica de modelizacion en cada situacion concreta. En este estudio evaluamos distintas tecnicas de modelizacion para la distribucion de los insectos patagonicos. Hemos aplicado ocho de los metodos mas ampliamente usados (redes neuronales, BIOCLIM, arboles de clasificacion y regresion, DOMAIN, Modelos Aditivos Generalizados, GARP, Modelos Lineares Generalizados y Maxent) a los datos de distribucion de diez especies de insectos patagonicos, comparando su efectividad mediante cinco medidas diferentes. Para evitar el problema de la carencia de datos de ausencia fiables con los que evaluar los modelos, hemos utilizado pseudoausencias seleccionadas al azar fuera de un area poligonal definida por taxonomos expertos. Nuestros analisis muestran diferencias significativas entre los distintos metodos de modelizacion dependiendo de la medida de validacion utilizada. Maxent es el metodo que ofrece mejores resultados para cuatro de las cinco medidas de validacion utilizadas, aunque su precision no difiere de la obtenida con redes neuronales. Cuando se examina la efectividad para cada una de las especies, Maxent resulto tambien uno de los metodos mas fiables, especialmente en el caso de aquellas especies con un pequeno numero de localidades. En conjunto, este estudio identifica cuatro grupos de tecnicas de modelizacion. El de mayor fiabilidad seria el compuesto por Maxent y las redes neuronales, seguido de cerca por DOMAIN. El tercer grupo incluiria GARP, GAM, GLM y CART, mientras que el cuarto estaria formado por BIOCLIM. Aunque estos resultados pueden permitir obtener mejores predicciones de distribucion con capacidad para ser utilizadas en la planificacion de reservas, es necesario ser cauto en su utilizacion debido a la naturaleza provisional de estas simulaciones.

Extinction Risks and the Conservation of Madagascar's Reptiles

Background An understanding of the conservation status of Madagascars endemic reptile species is needed to underpin conservation planning and priority setting in this global biodiversity hotspot, and to complement existing information on the islands mammals, birds and amphibians. We report here on the first systematic assessment of the extinction risk of endemic and native non-marine Malagasy snakes, lizards, turtles and tortoises. Methodology/Principal Findings Species range maps from The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species were analysed to determine patterns in the distribution of threatened reptile species. These data, in addition to information on threats, were used to identify priority areas and actions for conservation. Thirty-nine percent of the data-sufficient Malagasy reptiles in our analyses are threatened with extinction. Areas in the north, west and south-east were identified as having more threatened species than expected and are therefore conservation priorities. Habitat degradation caused by wood harvesting and non-timber crops was the most pervasive threat. The direct removal of reptiles for international trade and human consumption threatened relatively few species, but were the primary threats for tortoises. Nine threatened reptile species are endemic to recently created protected areas. Conclusions/Significance With a few alarming exceptions, the threatened endemic reptiles of Madagascar occur within the national network of protected areas, including some taxa that are only found in new protected areas. Threats to these species, however, operate inside and outside protected area boundaries. This analysis has identified priority sites for reptile conservation and completes the conservation assessment of terrestrial vertebrates in Madagascar which will facilitate conservation planning, monitoring and wise-decision making. In sharp contrast with the amphibians, there is significant reptile diversity and regional endemism in the southern and western regions of Madagascar and this study highlights the importance of these arid regions to conserving the islands biodiversity.

Description and phylogenetic relationships of two new species of Baripus (Coleoptera: Carabidae: Broscini) and considerations regarding patterns of speciation

ABSTRACT Baripus Dejean is a genus of the family Carabidae restricted to southern South America. Three subgenera are recognized within the genus; one of them, Cardiophthalmus Curtis, is endemic to the Patagonian Steppe. Together with the members of the genus Cnemalobus Guérin-Méneville, these beetles are the largest Carabidae of the Patagonian Steppe. New studies in the northern region of Patagonia, the Payunia, reveal the presence of two new species, Baripus (Cardiophthalmus) nevado, new species, and Baripus (Cardiophthalmus) precordillera, new species, restricted to isolated montane habitats. In this paper, we provide morphological descriptions of the new taxa with illustrations of male and female genitalia. We also conducted a phylogenetic analysis including all known species of Baripus. The cladistic analysis showed that B. (C.) mendozensis, B. (C.) nevado and B. (C.) precordillera constitutes a monophyletic group of species. These three species are allopatric, but B. (C.) mendozensis and B. (C.) nevado ranges are in close proximity. The distribution pattern, together with the phylogenetic pattern, suggests a possible peripatric pattern of speciation. We used a predictive model of species distribution to establish the present, past, and future distribution of B. (C.) mendozensis which is the most widely distributed species. Based on these analyses, we speculate that the current pattern of speciation may be a result of climatic changes during the Pleistocene.

Phylogenetic relationships and biogeographic considerations of four new species of Cnemalobus (Coleoptera: Carabidae) from Patagonia

Four new species of Cnemalobus Guerin-Meneville, 1838 (Carabidae) from the northern steppe of Patagonia and extra-Andean mountains are described in this work. Two of these species, Cnemalobus nevado sp. n. and Cnemalobus diamante sp. n., are from the Payunia (Argentina), the northernmost region of Patagonia. One species, C. somuncura sp. n., is from the vicinity of the Somuncura Plateau. The other species, Cnemalobus troll sp. n., is from the northwestern steppe. Illustrations and keys for these new species are provided. The phylogenetic relationships among the new species were defined using a cladistic analysis for the genus Cnemalobus, based on 56 characters of the external morphology and male and female genitalia. The cladogram showed that C. nevado sp. n. and C. diamante sp. n. comprise a monophyletic group that is the adelphotaxon of an apical clade of species that mainly inhabit mountain habitats in central Chile. Cnemalobus somuncura sp. n. and C. troll sp. n. are also sister species and comprise the apical group of the Patagonian species. Cnemalobus nevado and C. diamante occur in the Payunia, and their distribution is restricted to different mountains and are isolated from each other. Given that these two mountains are 200 km apart, it is not likely that dispersal has occurred in these large and flightless species. The ancestral species might have been broadly distributed, and, as a result of habitat changes, they became isolated into restricted habitats in the upper part of each mountain, where speciation might have occurred. The other two new species, C. somuncura and C. troll, are placed in the group of Patagonian species that inhabit the lowlands or plateaus. Distributional data, together with phylogeny, showed that the sister species of Cnemalobus have an allopatric distribution. Strict sympatry (same locality) occurs in the northwestern region of the Patagonian Steppe. Nevertheless, this strict sympatry may be an artifact of geographical scale. For example, within the same area, some species may inhabit grasslands next to forests, while other species inhabit only steppe areas.

First records of three species of Oxycraspedus Kuschel (Coleóptera: Belidae) in Argentina and use of a predictive model to compare their potential distribution with the range of their host-plant, Araucaria araucana

Se reportan por primera vez en Argentina las tres especies de Oxycraspedus Kuschel (Belidae: Oxycoryninae) y se anaden a su distribucion en Chile. Estos gorgojos son de interes debido a su asociacion con el pehuen Araucaria araucana, una especie de gran interes en temas de conservacion. Los datos sobre su distribucion son valiosos para proteger la biodiversidad en areas de la Patagonia. La distribucion potencial de Oxycraspedus predicha por un modelo a partir de variables bioclimaticas, es coincidente, como se esperaba, con el rango geografico de su planta huesped, la araucaria