title: Delimiting priority areas for the conservation of endemic and threatened Neotropical birds using a niche-based gap analysis.
abstract: Knowledge of spatiotemporal distribution of biodiversity is still very incomplete in the tropics. This is one of the major problems preventing the assessment and effectiveness of conservation actions. Mega-diverse tropical regions are being exposed to fast and profound environmental changes, and the amount of resources available to describe the distribution of species is generally limited. Thus, the tropics is losing species at unprecedented rates, without a proper assessment of its biodiversity. Species distribution models (SDMs) can be used to fill such biogeographic gaps within a species' range and, when allied with systematic conservation planning (e.g. analyses of representativeness, gap analysis), help transcend such data shortage and support practical conservation actions. Within the Neotropics, eastern Amazon and northern Cerrado present a high variety of environments and are some of the most interesting ecotonal areas within South America, but are also among the most threatened biogeographic provinces in the world. Here, we test the effectiveness of the current system of Protected Areas (PAs), in protecting 24 threatened and endemic bird species using SDMs. We found that taxa with wider distributions are potentially as protected as taxa with smaller ranges, and larger PAs were more efficient than smaller PAs, while protecting these bird species. Nonetheless, Cerrado PAs are mostly misallocated. We suggest six priority areas for conservation of Neotropical birds. Finally, we highlight the importance of indigenous lands in the conservation of Neotropical biodiversity, and recommend the development of community management plans to conserve the biological resources of the region.
authors.affiliation: Programa de Pós-Graduação em Zoologia, Universidade Federal do Pará / Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi, Av. Perimetral 1901, Belém, Brazil.
authors.forename: Dorinny Lisboa
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1615-5827
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: de Carvalho
authors.affiliation: Programa de Pós-Graduação em Zoologia, Universidade Federal do Pará / Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi, Av. Perimetral 1901, Belém, Brazil.|Research Center in Biodiversity and Genetic Resources/InBIO Associate Laboratory, Campus Agrário de Vairão, Vairão, Portugal.
authors.forename: Tiago
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sousa-Neves
authors.affiliation: Programa de Pós-Graduação em Zoologia, Universidade Federal do Pará / Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi, Av. Perimetral 1901, Belém, Brazil.
authors.forename: Pablo Vieira
authors.initials: PV
authors.lastname: Cerqueira
authors.affiliation: Eudocimus Consultoria Ambiental, R. 31, n° 28b, Bequimão, São Luís, Maranhão, Brazil.
authors.forename: Gustavo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gonsioroski
authors.affiliation: Programa de Pós-Graduação em Zoologia, Universidade Federal do Pará / Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi, Av. Perimetral 1901, Belém, Brazil.|Research Center in Biodiversity and Genetic Resources/InBIO Associate Laboratory, Campus Agrário de Vairão, Vairão, Portugal.
authors.forename: Sofia Marques
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Silva
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Biologia, Instituto Federal Goiano, Rodovia Geraldo Silva Nascimento, Urutaí, Goiás, Brazil.
authors.forename: Daniel Paiva
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Silva
authors.affiliation: Programa de Pós-Graduação em Zoologia, Universidade Federal do Pará / Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi, Av. Perimetral 1901, Belém, Brazil.
authors.forename: Marcos Pérsio Dantas
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Santos
mesh_terms: D063147:Animal Distribution; D000818:Animals; D001717:Birds / Q000502:physiology*; D056727:Endangered Species; D058735:Environmental Policy; D013020:South America; D014329:Tropical Climate