TY - JOUR

T1 - Potential biodiversity map of bird species (Passeriformes)

T2 - Analyses of ecological niche, environmental characterization and identification of priority conservation areas in southern Patagonia

AU - Micaela Rosas, Yamina

AU - Peri, Pablo L.

AU - Benítez, Julieta

AU - Vanessa Lencinas, María

AU - Politi, Natalia

AU - Martínez Pastur, Guillermo

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2023 The Author(s)

PY - 2023

Y1 - 2023

N2 - Different methodologies try to identify priority conservation areas (PCA) to improve habitat conservation and decrease human pressures over bird species at coarse-scale. Map of potential biodiversity (PB) can identify PCA (high PB values) at different scale levels by considering ecological requirements and distributions through potential habitat suitability (PHS) models. The aim was to elaborate a map of PB of bird species based on PHS models to spatially identify PCA in Santa Cruz, Argentina. Moreover, we want to analysis species’ ecology requirements, and evaluate PB values and spatially identify PCA through two scale levels. We computed 47 models using Environmental Niche Factor Analysis (ENFA) on Biomapper software. Each model was visualized and combined to get a unique map of PB. We analyzed ecological requirements by specialization and marginality and PHS maps. Moreover, considering natural environments (regional level) and forest types’ cover (forest landscape level), we evaluated PB values using ANOVAs and identified PCA under different human pressures, using human footprint (HPF) map. Bird species related to Nothofagus forests were most specialist and exhibited a narrower potential distribution than grassland species. At regional level, Magellanic grass steppes displayed the highest PB values, where most of the PCA had high HPF values. At forest landscape level, ecotone N. antarctica forests had the highest PB values, where PCA with low HFP values were outside current protected networking. We conclude that combining PHS models and the map of PB allowed us to improve bird distribution studies and to assist biodiversity conservation strategies under human pressures.

AB - Different methodologies try to identify priority conservation areas (PCA) to improve habitat conservation and decrease human pressures over bird species at coarse-scale. Map of potential biodiversity (PB) can identify PCA (high PB values) at different scale levels by considering ecological requirements and distributions through potential habitat suitability (PHS) models. The aim was to elaborate a map of PB of bird species based on PHS models to spatially identify PCA in Santa Cruz, Argentina. Moreover, we want to analysis species’ ecology requirements, and evaluate PB values and spatially identify PCA through two scale levels. We computed 47 models using Environmental Niche Factor Analysis (ENFA) on Biomapper software. Each model was visualized and combined to get a unique map of PB. We analyzed ecological requirements by specialization and marginality and PHS maps. Moreover, considering natural environments (regional level) and forest types’ cover (forest landscape level), we evaluated PB values using ANOVAs and identified PCA under different human pressures, using human footprint (HPF) map. Bird species related to Nothofagus forests were most specialist and exhibited a narrower potential distribution than grassland species. At regional level, Magellanic grass steppes displayed the highest PB values, where most of the PCA had high HPF values. At forest landscape level, ecotone N. antarctica forests had the highest PB values, where PCA with low HFP values were outside current protected networking. We conclude that combining PHS models and the map of PB allowed us to improve bird distribution studies and to assist biodiversity conservation strategies under human pressures.

KW - Habitat suitability

KW - Hotspot of conservation

KW - Landscape scales

KW - Passeriformes

KW - Threatened areas

U2 - 10.1016/j.jnc.2023.126413

DO - 10.1016/j.jnc.2023.126413

M3 - Journal article

AN - SCOPUS:85154553648

VL - 73

JO - Journal for Nature Conservation

JF - Journal for Nature Conservation

SN - 1617-1381

M1 - 126413

ER -