title: Drivers of extinction: the case of Azorean beetles.
abstract: Oceanic islands host a disproportionately high fraction of endangered or recently extinct endemic species. We report on species extinctions among endemic Azorean beetles following 97% habitat loss since AD 1440. We infer extinctions from historical and contemporary records and examine the influence of three predictors: geographical range, habitat specialization and body size. Of 55 endemic beetle species investigated (out of 63), seven can be considered extinct. Single-island endemics (SIEs) were more prone to extinction than multi-island endemics. Within SIEs restricted to native habitat, larger species were more extinction-prone. We thus show a hierarchical path to extinction in Azorean beetles: species with small geographical range face extinction first, with the larger bodied ones being the most threatened. Our study provides a clear warning of the impact of habitat loss on island endemic biotas.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology and Taxonomy, Faculty of Biology, University of Athens, Athens, Greece CE3C-Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes/Azorean Biodiversity Group-Universidade dos Açores, Angra do Heroísmo, Açores, Portugal s.terzopoulou9@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Sofia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Terzopoulou
authors.affiliation: CE3C-Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes/Azorean Biodiversity Group-Universidade dos Açores, Angra do Heroísmo, Açores, Portugal.
authors.forename: François
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rigal
authors.affiliation: Conservation Biogeography and Macroecology Programme, School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK Center for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: Robert J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Whittaker
authors.affiliation: CE3C-Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes/Azorean Biodiversity Group-Universidade dos Açores, Angra do Heroísmo, Açores, Portugal.
authors.forename: Paulo A V
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Borges
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology and Taxonomy, Faculty of Biology, University of Athens, Athens, Greece CE3C-Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes/Azorean Biodiversity Group-Universidade dos Açores, Angra do Heroísmo, Açores, Portugal Conservation Biogeography and Macroecology Programme, School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
authors.forename: Kostas A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Triantis
mesh_terms: D063147:Animal Distribution; D000818:Animals; D001394:Azores; D049628:Body Size; D001517:Coleoptera / Q000502:physiology*; D017753:Ecosystem; D053476:Extinction, Biological
keywords: Azores; body size; endemic beetles; extinction; habitat destruction; oceanic islands