Conservation is ultimately about safeguarding biodiversity by arresting and reversing the impacts of threatening processes. Although data on the distributions of species are increasingly well resolved, the spatial distributions of threats to species are poorly understood. We mapped the distributions of eight major threats to Australia's threatened plants, vertebrates, and invertebrates using the geographic ranges of species affected by particular threats as surrogates for their spatial occurrence. Our results indicate that simply quantifying the proportion of species affected by particular threatening processes does not adequately capture the variation in the spatial extent, prevalence, or predominance of threats to species. Conservation planning is an inherently spatial process; therefore, explicitly considering the spatial dimension of threats could significantly enhance our ability to direct efforts to areas where the greatest conservation outcomes can be delivered.
How to translate text using browser tools
1 April 2011
The Spatial Distribution of Threats to Species in Australia
Megan C. Evans,
James E. M. Watson,
Richard A. Fuller,
Oscar Venter,
Simon C. Bennett,
Peter R. Marsack,
Hugh P. Possingham
ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE
It is not available for individual sale.
This article is only available to subscribers.
It is not available for individual sale.
It is not available for individual sale.
BioScience
Vol. 61 • No. 4
April 2011
Vol. 61 • No. 4
April 2011
Australia
biodiversity
conservation
endangered species
threatening processes
