title: Mapping evolutionary process: a multi-taxa approach to conservation prioritization.
abstract: Human-induced land use changes are causing extensive habitat fragmentation. As a result, many species are not able to shift their ranges in response to climate change and will likely need to adapt in situ to changing climate conditions. Consequently, a prudent strategy to maintain the ability of populations to adapt is to focus conservation efforts on areas where levels of intraspecific variation are high. By doing so, the potential for an evolutionary response to environmental change is maximized. Here, we use modeling approaches in conjunction with environmental variables to model species distributions and patterns of genetic and morphological variation in seven Ecuadorian amphibian, bird, and mammal species. We then used reserve selection software to prioritize areas for conservation based on intraspecific variation or species-level diversity. Reserves selected using species richness and complementarity showed little overlap with those based on genetic and morphological variation. Priority areas for intraspecific variation were mainly located along the slopes of the Andes and were largely concordant among species, but were not well represented in existing reserves. Our results imply that in order to maximize representation of intraspecific variation in reserves, genetic and morphological variation should be included in conservation prioritization.
authors.affiliation: Center for Tropical Research, Institute of the Environment, University of California Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Henri A
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Thomassen
authors.affiliation: Center for Tropical Research, Institute of the Environment, University of California Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Trevon
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Fuller
authors.affiliation: Center for Tropical Research, Institute of the Environment, University of California Los Angeles, CA, USA ; Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, University of California Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Wolfgang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Buermann
authors.affiliation: Center for Tropical Research, Institute of the Environment, University of California Los Angeles, CA, USA ; Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Borja
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Milá
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Boston University Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Charles M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Kieswetter
authors.affiliation: Yasuni Research Station, Escuela de Ciencias Biológicas, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador Quito, Ecuador.
authors.forename: Pablo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Jarrín-V
authors.affiliation: Museum of Comparative Zoology and Center for the Environment, Harvard University Cambridge, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Susan E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Cameron
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California Los Angeles, CA, USA ; Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
authors.forename: Eliza
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Mason
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Rena
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Schweizer
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Jasmin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Schlunegger
authors.affiliation: Center for Tropical Research, Institute of the Environment, University of California Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Janice
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.affiliation: Department of Geography and the Environment, University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Ophelia
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Unidad de Biodiversidad y Geografía Aplicada CONDESAN, Quito, Ecuador.
authors.forename: Manuel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Peralvo
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Boston University Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Christopher J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Schneider
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology and Evolution, Stony Brook University New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Catherine H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Graham
authors.affiliation: Center for Tropical Research, Institute of the Environment, University of California Los Angeles, CA, USA ; Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: John P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Pollinger
authors.affiliation: Center for Tropical Research, Institute of the Environment, University of California Los Angeles, CA, USA ; Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology Pasadena, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Sassan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Saatchi
authors.affiliation: Center for Tropical Research, Institute of the Environment, University of California Los Angeles, CA, USA ; Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Robert K
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Wayne
authors.affiliation: Center for Tropical Research, Institute of the Environment, University of California Los Angeles, CA, USA ; Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Thomas B
authors.initials: TB
authors.lastname: Smith
keywords: Andes; Ecuador; conservation prioritization; ecological modeling; evolutionary process; generalized dissimilarity modeling; landscape genetics; species distribution