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Detailed knowledge about biodiversity distribution is critical for monitoring the biological effects of global change processes. Biodiversity knowledge gaps hamper the monitoring of conservation trends and they are especially evident in the desert biome. Mauritania constitutes a remarkable example on how remoteness and regional insecurity affect current knowledge gaps. Mammals remain one of the least studied groups in this country, without a concerted species checklist, the mapping of regions concentrating mammal diversity, or a national assessment of their conservation status. This work assessed the diversity, distribution, and conservation of land mammals in Mauritania. A total of 6,718 published and original observations were assembled in a spatial database and used to update the occurrence status, distribution area, and conservation status. The updated taxonomic list comprises 107 species, including 93 extant, 12 Regionally Extinct, and 2 Extinct in the Wild. Mapping of species distributions allowed locating concentrations of extant mammal species richness in coastal areas, along the Senegal River valley, and in mountain plateaus. Recent regional extinction of large-sized Artiodactyla and Carnivora has been very high (11% extinct species). From the extant mammals, 11% are threatened, including flagship species (e.g., Addax nasomaculatus and Panthera pardus ). Species richness is poorly represented by the current protected areas. Despite the strong advances made, 23% of species categorise as Data Deficient. Persisting systematics and distribution uncertainties require further research. Field surveys in currently unexplored areas (northern and south-eastern regions) are urgently needed to increase knowledge about threatened mammals. The long-term conservation of land mammals in Mauritania is embedded in a complex web of socioeconomic and environmental factors that call for collaborative action and investment in sustainable human development. The current work sets the baseline for the future development of detailed research studies and to address the general challenges faced by mammals and biodiversity in the country.

Por todo o mundo, os ecossistemas estão ameaçados pelo desenvolvimento humano insustentável. Os desertos, em particular, enfrentam uma das maiores taxas de perda de espécies e de habitats. Contudo, continuam a ser negligenciados pela sociedade global. E apesar de providenciarem uma quantidade considerável de serviços de ecossistemas que beneficiam as pessoas, estão entre os ecossistemas menos estudados e financiados para conservação. Alternativas sustentáveis são urgentemente necessárias para conservar alguns dos últimos biomas selvagens e fornecer às comunidades locais os meios que elas precisam para prosperar no longo termo.O ecoturismo (um dos principais serviços de ecossistema culturais para a Humanidade) tem sido defendido como uma solução potencial para a conservação dos desertos, já que é capaz de preservar espécies carismáticas e não carismáticas enquanto melhora as condições socioeconómicas locais. Como um dos setores do turismo que mais cresce a nível global, o ecoturismo pode ser a resposta para o desenvolvimento local sustentável. Inclusive, tem sido reconhecido pelas Nações Unidas como crucial para a diminuição da pobreza e preservação de vida selvagem em regiões remotas do planeta. Contudo, o seu desenvolvimento em ecossistemas desérticos continua pouco estudado. De entre as maiores regiões áridas do mundo, o Sahara-Sahel é o deserto mais negligenciado. Apesar de ser rico em património natural e cultural que sustenta o desenvolvimento de atividades de ecoturismo, os conflitos regionais e atividades insustentáveis em áreas malgovernadas têm diminuído a capacidade dos países do Sahara e do Sahel se desenvolverem apropriadamente. O ecoturismo poderá ajudar a resolver os conflitos locais enquanto melhora as condições socioeconómicas dos locais e beneficia a conservação de espécies ameaçadas. Porém, a investigação no SaharaSahel está ainda a dar os seus primeiros passos.Nesta Tese, estruturei e realizei uma das primeiras avaliações para o desenvolvimento sustentável do Sahara-Sahel. O principal objetivo desta Tese é compreender o papel de espécies-bandeira para a conservação e para o ecoturismo e como é que o ecoturismo pode ser uma solução sustentável para a conservação dos desertos e da melhoria dos modos de vida locais. Especificamente procuro: 1) perceber que espécies podem ser usadas como bandeira para campanhas de conservação e de marketing e que áreas concentram maior número destas espécies-bandeira, 2) entender quais são as áreas mais adequadas para o desenvolvimento do ecoturismo nos principais pontos de água na Mauritânia (escala local) e nos 18 países do Sahara-Sahel (escala subcontinental), 3) avaliar o desempenho dos países em preservar e promover os serviços de ecossistema culturais, e 4) compreender os impactos das alterações climáticas nos principais pontos de interesse turístico no Sahara-Sahel.Para poder dar resposta a estes objetivos de investigação, primeiro revi a literatura ligada à investigação em ecoturismo nos desertos, identifiquei o património natural e cultural dos desertos que pode ser usado para promover o ecoturismo, os constrangimentos ao desenvolvimento de atividades de ecoturismo, e apresentei os principais impactos das atividades ecoturísticas nas componentes ecológicas, económicas e socioculturais. Isto originou a introdução da Tese.Para o primeiro objetivo, desenvolvi um novo método para identificar espécies-bandeira em regiões remotas onde o conhecimento é escasso, usando métodos de ordenação e de agrupamento que até à data não tinham sido aplicados na literatura.

Detailed knowledge about biodiversity distribution is critical for monitoring the biological effects of global change processes. Biodiversity knowledge gaps hamper the monitoring of conservation trends and they are especially evident in the desert biome. Mauritania constitutes a remarkable example on how remoteness and regional insecurity affect current knowledge gaps. Mammals remain one of the least studied groups in this country, without a concerted species checklist, the mapping of regions concentrating mammal diversity, or a national assessment of their conservation status. This work assessed the diversity, distribution, and conservation of land mammals in Mauritania. A total of 6,718 published and original observations were assembled in a spatial database and used to update the occurrence status, distribution area, and conservation status. The updated taxonomic list comprises 107 species, including 93 extant, 12 Regionally Extinct, and 2 Extinct in the Wild. Mapping of species distributions allowed locating concentrations of extant mammal species richness in coastal areas, along the Senegal River valley, and in mountain plateaus. Recent regional extinction of large-sized Artiodactyla and Carnivora has been very high (11% extinct species). From the extant mammals, 11% are threatened, including flagship species (e.g., Addax nasomaculatus and Panthera pardus). Species richness is poorly represented by the current protected areas. Despite the strong advances made, 23% of species categorise as Data Deficient. Persisting systematics and distribution uncertainties require further research. Field surveys in currently unexplored areas (northern and south-eastern regions) are urgently needed to increase knowledge about threatened mammals. The long-term conservation of land mammals in Mauritania is embedded in a complex web of socioeconomic and environmental factors that call for collaborative action and investment in sustainable human development. The current work sets the baseline for the future development of detailed research studies and to address the general challenges faced by mammals and biodiversity in the country.

Ecotourism is a very widely used term, although it lacks an agreed definition. Many research is being made in this area regardless almost of them investigate the social benefits to local communities or the impacts of ecotourism projects in protected areas. Very few combine biological, ecological and cultural data.National Parks and other protected areas show high potential for the development of ecotourism projects, but they actually face huge damages caused by human pressure. So, ecotourism needs new approaches that combine both ecological and anthropogenic variables, allowing scattering tourists among the year, lessening the negative impacts caused by the recreational activities.Here it was proposed a novel approach that helps entities to manage activities in sensitive habitats in protected areas and enable to stimulate environmental awareness in tourists.Eight criteria were evaluated in order to achieve the ecotourism potential value of five trails, namely: species richness; number of habitats; medium value of habitats; number of natural marks; number of anthropogenic marks; landscape diversity; vertebrate conservation status and plant range distribution; and number of endemisms. Those were evaluated by season (except ‘number of habitats’, ‘medium value of habitats’ and ‘landscape diversity’) in order to realize spatial and temporal differences of the potential of those trails for the development of ecotourism activities. Ecotourism potential value was calculated in two different ways in order to understand if weighing criteria differently influence the final results.Ecotourism potential value was higher in all seasons for two of the studied trails – Trail 1 and Trail 5 – especially in spring. Although the first is explainable due to the highest number of species recorded, natural marks and anthropogenic marks; and due to the landscape diversity and vertebrate conservation status-plant range distribution highest values, the second is explained mostly by the great number of habitats it comprises and the respective medium value of habitats, as well as the most valuable anthropogenic marks recorded.It was also verified that when we opt for an approach where we weigh more some criteria than others, ecotourism potential value of trails by season may vary from the results obtained when we weighed all criteria the same.By accomplish a spatial and temporal evaluation, it could be possible to answer where and when recreational activities should take place, scattering them through the year, lessening the negative impacts of the mass tourism in summer. Also this study provided relevant information that helps to manage ecotourism activities in protected areas, achieving one of the main goals of ecotourism: sustainability. Yet, it contributes to update information on local biodiversity data, which in turn may protect more efficiently species under threat or still less known. Moreover, this kind of evaluation can be applied in further ecotourism studies.