Explore the vast range of titles available.

Aim: Biodiversity studies typically use species, or more recently phylogenetic diversity (PD), as their analysis unit and produce a single map of observed diversity. However, observed biodiversity is not necessarily an indicator of significant biodiversity and therefore should not be used alone. By applying a small number of additional metrics to PD, with associated statistical tests, we can determine whether more or less of the phylogeny occurs in an area, whether branch lengths in an area are longer or shorter, and whether more long or short-branched endemism occurs in an area, than expected under a null model. Location: Australian continent. Methods: We used a phylogeny sampling 90% of Australia's angiosperm genera, and 3.4 million georeferenced plant specimens downloaded from Australia's Virtual Herbarium (AVH), to calculate PD, relative phylogenetic diversity (RPD) and relative phylogenetic endemism (RPE). Categorical analysis of neo- and palaeo-endemism (CANAPE) and randomization tests were performed to determine statistical significance. Results: We identify several combinations of significant PD and endemism across the continent that are not seen using observed diversity patterns alone. Joint interpretation of these combinations complements the previous interpretations of Australia's plant evolutionary history. Of conservation concern, only 42% of the significant endemism cells found here overlap with existing nature reserves. Main conclusions: These spatial phylogenetic methods are feasible to apply to a whole flora at the continental scale. Observed richness or PD is inadequate to fully understand the patterns of biodiversity. The combination of statistical tests applied here can be used to better explain biodiversity patterns and the evolutionary and ecological processes that have created them. The spatial phylogenetic methods used in this paper can be also be used to identify conservation priorities at any geographical scale or taxonomic level.

Aim: To explore the performance of phylogenetic diversity metrics and of the novel categorical analysis of neo- and palaeo-endemism (CANAPE) using a dataset of Australian native Asteraceae and in particular to compare the results at two taxonomic ranks: genus and species. Location: Australia. Methods: We used specimen data from Australia's Virtual Herbarium to produce species and genus distribution models with Maxent, and reconstructed a genus-level phylogeny. Spatial analyses were conducted at a 100 km × 100 km scale. Randomization tests were employed to identify cells with significantly high or low values of phylogenetic diversity (PD), and CANAPE was used to identify significant hotspots of neo- and palaeo-endemism. Results: Significantly high PD values were found scattered along the northern and north-eastern coast, whereas significantly low PD values characterized the arid interior. CANAPE signalled hotspots of neo-endemism in the mountainous south-east of Australia and hotspots of palaeo-endemism in the tropical north. Patterns were similar between genus-and species-level analyses, although the latter inferred more cells with significant values. Main conclusions: PD and CANAPE generally provided results for Australian Asteraceae consistent with expectations based on previous studies. This is further evidence for their utility in formulating and testing hypotheses about phylogenetic and biogeographical processes. The strength of the results is, however, partly dependent on the taxonomic scale of the analysis, a fact that has to be taken into account in the design and interpretation of future studies.

Buehler reports that Komodo dragons (Varanus komodoensis), the world's largest extant lizard, may be imposing predators, but the species faces an uncertain future. New research suggests that the already vulnerable Indonesian relic risks losing much of its habitat to climate change. Islands are hotbeds of evolution and local endemism, explains Tim Jessop (Deakin University; Geelong, Australia), but also hotbeds of extinction.

AIM: The Red Sea is characterised by a unique fauna and historical periods of desiccation, hypersalinity and intermittent isolation. The origin and contemporary composition of reef‐associated taxa in this region can illuminate biogeographical principles about vicariance and the establishment (or local extirpation) of existing species. Here we aim to: (1) outline the distribution of shallow water fauna between the Red Sea and adjacent regions, (2) explore mechanisms for maintaining these distributions and (3) propose hypotheses to test these mechanisms. LOCATION: Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, Arabian Sea, Arabian Gulf and Indian Ocean. METHODS: Updated checklists for scleractinian corals, fishes and non‐coral invertebrates were used to determine species richness in the Red Sea and the rest of the Arabian Peninsula and assess levels of endemism. Fine‐scale diversity and abundance of reef fishes within the Red Sea were explored using ecological survey data. RESULTS: Within the Red Sea, we recorded 346 zooxanthellate and azooxanthellate scleractinian coral species of which 19 are endemic (5.5%). Currently 635 species of polychaetes, 211 echinoderms and 79 ascidians have been documented, with endemism rates of 12.6%, 8.1% and 16.5% respectively. A preliminary compilation of 231 species of crustaceans and 137 species of molluscs include 10.0% and 6.6% endemism respectively. We documented 1071 shallow fish species, with 12.9% endemic in the entire Red Sea and 14.1% endemic in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. Based on ecological survey data of endemic fishes, there were no major changes in species richness or abundance across 1100 km of Saudi Arabian coastline. MAIN CONCLUSIONS: The Red Sea biota appears resilient to major environmental fluctuations and is characterized by high rates of endemism with variable degrees of incursion into the Gulf of Aden. The nearby Omani and Arabian Gulfs also have variable environments and high levels of endemism, but these are not consistently distinct across taxa. The presence of physical barriers does not appear to explain species distributions, which are more likely determined by ecological plasticity and genetic diversity.

Aim: To explore global patterns of riverine fish endemism by applying an island biogeography framework to river drainage basins and highlight evolutionary mechanisms producing two kinds of endemism: neo-endemism, arising from within-drainage cladogenetic speciation, and palaeo-endemism, arising from species range contraction or anagenetic speciation. Location: World-wide. Methods: We use a uniquely comprehensive data set of riverine fish species distributions to map global fish endemism patterns. We then use the relationships between (1) total species richness and proportions of endemic species and (2) total species richness and a measure of in situ (i.e. within-drainage basin) probability of speciation by cladogenesis, to identify the two distinct forms of endemism. After separating drainage basins into two different sets according to dominance of one of these two forms, we apply a model averaging procedure to highlight, for both datasets, the environmental and historical variables that better explain endemism patterns. We finally analyse the effect of biotic components related to dispersal ability on the percentages of both kinds of endemism among lineages. Results: Our results indicate that the two types of endemism are distributed differently across space and taxonomic lineages: (1) neo-endemism, positively related to the overall richness of the drainage basin, is essentially linked to in situ cladogenetic speciation and is positively related to drainage basin area, negatively related to climate variability since glacial periods and negatively related to all proxies of dispersal ability; and (2) palaeo-endemism, not directly contributing to drainage basin richness, is a pure process of extinction through range contraction and/or isolation through time and is mostly related to geographic isolation, glacial history and positively related to marine-derived origin of families. Main conclusions: The non-random spatial and taxonomic distribution of neo-endemism and palaeo-endemism sharply reflects the role of evolutionary processes and provides a way to identify areas of high conservation interest based on their high present and future diversification potential.

Over the past three decades, many small-scale floristic studies of white-sand forests across the Amazon basin have been published. Nonetheless, a basin-wide description of both taxonomic and phylogenetic alpha and beta diversity at regional scales has never been achieved. We present a complete floristic analysis of white-sand forests across the Amazon basin including both taxonomic and phylogenetic diversity. We found strong regional differences in the signal of phylogenetic community structure with both overall and regional Net Relatedness Index and Nearest Taxon Index values found to be significantly positive leading to a pattern of phylogenetic clustering. Additionally, we found high taxonomic dissimilarity but low phylogenetic dissimilarity in pairwise community comparisons. These results suggest that recent diversification has played an important role in the assembly of white-sand forests causing geographic neo-endemism patterns at the regional scale.

In the Brazilian Eastern Amazon, an area with high biological endemism, oil palm plantations rapidly expand, presenting ongoing challenges to prevent deforestation and biodiversity loss. This study was developed in the Belém Endemism Area and assessed the impacts of oil palm expansion on biological and social aspects. The biological impact analysis compared biodiversity in seven taxonomic groups between forests and oil palm plantations. It revealed a decline in diversity for aquatic insects (Hemiptera), amphibians, reptiles, birds, and plants, while fish and Odonata insect diversity increased in plantations. On the social front, local communities’ perceptions of socioeconomic and environmental changes due to oil palm expansion were examined. Smallholders and hired workers had a lesser negative perceptions than people with no relation with the oil palm value chain, regarding socioeconomic factors (e.g., contributions to the local economy and job opportunities), as well as environmental aspects (e.g., water availability and air and water quality). Our study highlights biological and social factors in the context of oil palm expansion that should be considered to ensure more sustainable development in this ecologically unique and threatened region. Certified companies are encouraged to achieve zero deforestation rates and implement social programs that integrate all local communities into the value chain, aiming for coexistence between oil palm cultivation and biological conservation in the Amazon.

AIM: The geological and palaeo‐climatic forces that produced the unique biodiversity in the Red Sea are a subject of vigorous debate. Here, we review evidence for and against the hypotheses that: (1) Red Sea fauna was extirpated during glacial cycles of the Pleistocene and (2) coral reef fauna found refuge within or just outside the Red Sea during low sea level stands when conditions were inhospitable. LOCATION: Red Sea and Western Indian Ocean. METHODS: We review the literature on palaeontological, geological, biological and genetic evidence that allow us to explore competing hypotheses on the origins and maintenance of shallow‐water reef fauna in the Red Sea. RESULTS: Palaeontological (microfossil) evidence indicates that some areas of the central Red Sea were devoid of most plankton during low sea level stands due to hypersaline conditions caused by almost complete isolation from the Indian Ocean. However, two areas may have retained conditions adequate for survival: the Gulf of Aqaba and the southern Red Sea. In addition to isolation within the Red Sea, which separated the northern and southern faunas, a strong barrier may also operate in the region: the cold, nutrient‐rich water upwelling at the boundary of the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea. Biological data are either inconclusive or support these putative barriers and refugia, but no data set, that we know of rejects them. Genetic evidence suggests that many endemic lineages diverged from their Indian Ocean counterparts long before the most recent glaciations and/or are restricted to narrow areas, especially in the northern Red Sea. MAIN CONCLUSIONS: High endemism observed in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden appears to have multiple origins. A cold, nutrient‐rich water barrier separates the Gulf of Aden from the rest of the Arabian Sea, whereas a narrow strait separates the Red Sea from the Gulf of Aden, each providing potential isolating barriers. Additional barriers may arise from environmental gradients, circulation patterns and the constriction at the mouth of the Gulf of Aqaba. Endemics that evolved within the Red Sea basin had to survive glacial cycles in relatively low salinity refugia. It therefore appears that the unique conditions in the Red Sea, in addition to those characteristics of the Arabian Peninsula region as a whole, drive the divergence of populations via a combination of isolation and selection.

Aim We mapped global patterns of tree phylogenetic endemism (PE) to identify hotspots and test hypotheses about possible drivers. Specifically, we tested hypotheses related to current climate, geographical characteristics and historical conditions and assessed their relative importance in shaping PE patterns. Location Global. Time period We used the present distribution of trees, and predictors covering conditions from the mid‐Miocene to present. Major taxa studied All seed‐bearing trees. Methods We compiled distributions for 58,542 tree species across 463 regions worldwide, matched these to a recent phylogeny of seed plants and calculated PE for each region. We used a suite of predictor variables describing current climate (e.g., mean annual temperature), geographical characteristics (e.g., isolation) and historical conditions (e.g., tree cover at the Last Glacial Maximum) in a spatial regression model to explain variation in PE. Results Tree PE was highest on islands, and was higher closer to the equator. All three groups of predictor variables contributed substantially to the PE pattern. Isolation and topographic heterogeneity promoted high PE, as did high current tree cover. Among mainland regions, temperature seasonality was strongly negatively related to PE, while mean annual temperature was positively related to PE on islands. Some relationships differed among the major floristic regions. For example, tree cover at the Last Glacial Maximum was a positive predictor of PE in the Palaeotropics, while tree cover at the Miocene was a negative predictor of PE in the Neotropics. Main conclusions Globally, PE can be explained by a combination of geographical, historical and current factors. Some geographical variables appear to be key predictors of PE. However, the impact of historic and current climate variables differs considerably among the major floristic regions, reflecting their unique histories. Hence, the current distribution of trees is the result of globally relevant geographical drivers and regional climatic histories.

Chromosome numbers and ploidy levels of 24 accessions of 17 species of tribe Panicoideae from Argentina, Cuba, and Brazil are given. Most of the studied species are endemics. The studied taxa are: Axonopus aureus P. Beauv., Dichanthelium aequivaginatum (Swallen) Zuloaga, D. stipiflorum (Renvoize) Zuloaga, D. surrectum (Chase ex Zuloaga & Morrone) Zuloaga, Homolepis isocalycia (G. Mey.) Chase, Paspalum arenarium Schrad., P. blodgettii Chapm., P. capillifolium Nash, P. coryphaeum Trin., P. distortum Chase, P. durifolium Mez, P. lindenianum A. Rich., P. oligostachyum Salzm. ex Steud., P. pumilum Nees, P. scutatum Nees ex Trin., P. strigosum Döll ex Chase, and Plagiantha tenella Renvoize; of these, the chromosome numbers of D. aequivaginatum, D. stipiflorum, D. surrectum (n = 9), Homolepis isocalycia (n = 20), Paspalum capillifolium, P. distortum, P. lindenianum, P. oligostachyum, and P. strigosum (n = 10) are presented for the first time. A new diploid cytotype (n = 10) for Paspalum blodgettii was found.