RT info:eu-repo/semantics/article
T1 Unpaid extinction debts for endemic plants and invertebrates as a legacy of habitat loss on oceanic islands
A1 Otto, Rüdiger
A1 Garzón Machado, Víctor
A1 Arco Aguilar, Marcelino José del
A1 Fernández Lugo, Silvia
A1 Nascimento Reyes, Lea de
A1 Oromí Masoliver, Pedro
A1 Báez Fumero, Marcos
A1 Ibáñez, Miguel
A1 Alonso, María R.
A1 Fernández-Palacios, José María
K1 Canary Islands
K1 conservation
K1 endemic species
K1 extinction debt
K1 habitat loss
K1 relaxation time
K1 species–area relationship
K1 Islas Canarias
K1 conservación
K1 especies endémicas
K1 deuda de extinción
K1 perdida de habitat
K1 relación área-especies
AB Aim: The majority of documented extinctions world-widein the last four centuries areof species endemic to islands. However, the phenomenon of delayed extinctions as aresult of habitat loss has rarely been assessed on oceanic islands. In this study, we testedwhether extinction debt (ED), in general, occurs on islands and for which taxonomicalgroups this phenomenon is most pronounced by assessing ED for multiple endemic taxaand for each of the main altitudinal ecosystems in a well-studiedoceanic archipelago.Location: Canary Islands.Methods: We characterized habitat preferences for all endemic species of severaltaxonomic groups (vascular plants, ground and darkling beetles, flies and land snails).Using generalized linear mixed models and available data about habitat distributions,we tested for all taxa and habitat types to determine whether past habitat area betterexplained current richness of habitat specialists than current habitat area. If so, anextinction debt can be assumed.Results: For all five major habitat types and five taxonomic groups studied, present-dayrichness of habitat specialists fitted better with past than current habitat area, evidencinghabitat-andtaxon-specificextinction debts. This pattern was consistent forboth long-livedvascular plants and short-livedinvertebrates. Single island endemics ineach taxonomic group showed steeper slopes of the species–area relationship (SAR)compared to archipelago endemics indicating higher sensitivity to habitat loss whichmight increase sizes of ED.Conclusion: Despite differences in species’ generation times, plants and invertebratesshowed delayed extinctions after habitat destruction in the Canary Islands. Our SARapproach suggests that a considerable number of Canary Island endemics will eventuallybecome extinct in the future without further habitat loss. The case of the Canaryarchipelago is probably not unique. Hence, we interpret our results as a warning forisland conservationists that the worst of the extinction crisis on oceanic islands mightbe yet to come. Conservation actions should focus on habitat restoration to attenuateor reverse current extinction processes.
PB Wiley
YR 2017
FD 2017
LK http://riull.ull.es/xmlui/handle/915/18454
UL http://riull.ull.es/xmlui/handle/915/18454
LA en
NO Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
DS Repositorio institucional de la Universidad de La Laguna
RD 01-may-2024