Volume 95, August 2013, Pages 41–48
Patterns of lizard species richness within National Parks and Biosphere Reserves across North America's deserts
Highlights
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- Our research addresses the biogeography of indigenous desert lizards of the US and Mexico.
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- We identified 110 lizard species within the conservation lands network in the US and Mexico deserts.
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- 3 “hot spots” of species richness and 2 centers of narrow endemism were identified.
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- Species richness was correlated with topographic diversity and numbers of endemic species.
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- These findings are a framework for future analyses to identify site-specific conservation needs
Abstract
Warm
deserts world-wide provide habitats for rich lizard species
assemblages; North American deserts are no exception, however the desert
regions of the US and Mexico are experiencing increasing habitat
changes from multiple anthropogenic sources. Our objective here was to
document current lizard species richness patterns across the North
American deserts within the existing network of conservation areas. We
identified 110 lizard species occurring across one or more of the 19
sites we analyzed. Three species richness hot spots were identified; a
northern Baja California faunal extension into southern California in
the US, and in Mexico, two sites within the state of Coahuila, as well
as high endemism in the Cape Region of Baja California Sur. Species
richness was associated with sites where desert ecoregions overlap and
with insular isolation. Our uncertainty regarding how species will
respond to the multifaceted aspects of global change is such that large
protected natural areas with complex topography may be the most
effective strategy for protecting desert lizards along with overall
biodiversity. The 19 sites we analyzed represent the cores of a more
robust conservation network that will be needed for the protection of
biodiversity across North American Deserts.
Keywords
- Biodiversity;
- Biogeography;
- Biosphere Reserves;
- Conservation;
- Endemism;
- Global change;
- Mexico;
- National Parks;
- United States
Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
