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(Reference retrieved automatically from Web of Science through information on FAPESP grant and its corresponding number as mentioned in the publication by the authors.)

Species distribution modelling as a macroecological tool: a case study using New World amphibians

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Author(s):
Vasconcelos, Tiago S. [1] ; Rodriguez, Miguel A. [2] ; Hawkins, Bradford A. [1]
Total Authors: 3
Affiliation:
[1] Univ Calif Irvine, Dept Ecol & Evolutionary Biol, Irvine, CA 92697 - USA
[2] Univ Alcala de Henares, Dept Ecol, ES-28871 Alcala De Henares - Spain
Total Affiliations: 2
Document type: Journal article
Source: ECOGRAPHY; v. 35, n. 6, p. 539-548, JUN 2012.
Web of Science Citations: 23
Abstract

Although species distribution modelling (SDM) is widely accepted among the scientific community and is increasingly used in ecology, conservation biology and biogeography, methodological limitations generate potential problems for its application in macroecology. Using amphibian species richness in North and South America, we compare species richness patterns derived from SDM maps and expert maps to evaluate if: 1) richness patterns derived from SDM are biased toward climate-based explanations for diversity when compared to expert maps, since SDM methods are typically based on climatic variables; and 2) SDM is a reliable tool for generating richness maps in hyperrich regions where point occurrence data are limited for many species. We found that although three widely used SDM methods overestimated amphibian species richness in grid cells when compared to expert richness maps in both North and South America due to systematic overestimation of range sizes, diversity gradients were reasonably robust at broad scales. Further, climatic variables statistically explained patterns of richness at similar levels among the different richness sources, although climatic relationships were stronger in the much better known North America than in South America. We conclude that in the face of the high deforestation rates coupled with incomplete data on species distributions, especially in the tropics, SDM represents a useful macroecological tool for investigating broad-scale richness patterns and the dynamics between species richness and climate. (AU)

FAPESP's process: 09/17195-3 - Climatic variables and altitude as predictors for number of reproductive modes and anuran species richness in the Atlantic Forest and cerrado Brazilian biomes
Grantee:Tiago da Silveira Vasconcelos
Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research