Herpetofauna inside and outside from a natural protected area: the case of Reserva Estatal de la Biósfera Sierra San Juan, Nayarit, Mexico

Natural Protected Areas (NPAs) includes important species richness, and it is assumed that these are the best areas for biodiversity conservation. There are certain doubts, however, about the effectiveness of the NPAs in developing countries, where economic resources for conservation are scarce and NPAs are not monitored and managed efficiently. In the present study we assessed the species richness, diversity, abundance, and functional guilds of amphibians and reptiles inside and outside of the NPA Reserva Estatal de la Biósfera Sierra San Juan (REBSSJ), Nayarit, Mexico. Our results showed that species numbers of amphibian and reptiles were higher outside than inside the reserve, as well the individual number distributed among species, except for lizard species. Analyses of functional guilds showed that both richness and functional dispersion were greater in amphibians and reptiles outside the reserve. Likewise, outside the reserve we recorded a higher species number with some category of risk at the national level (NOM-059), international level (IUCN), and also by using the Environmental Vulnerability Score (EVS) algorithm. The results suggest that areas outside of the reserve are crucial to the maintenance of regional biodiversity, due to high complementarity with species composition inside of the reserves. These data can be used to implement conservation measures that include a new demarcation of the reserve and the consideration of surrounding areas to include a great number of species

The PREDICTS database: a global database of how local terrestrial biodiversity responds to human impacts

Biodiversity continues to decline in the face of increasing anthropogenic pressures such as habitat destruction, exploitation, pollution and introduction of alien species. Existing global databases of species’ threat status or population time series are dominated by charismatic species. The collation of datasets with broad taxonomic and biogeographic extents, and that support computation of a range of biodiversity indicators, is necessary to enable better understanding of historical declines and to project – and avert – future declines. We describe and assess a new database of more than 1.6 million samples from 78 countries representing over 28,000 species, collated from existing spatial comparisons of local-scale biodiversity exposed to different intensities and types of anthropogenic pressures, from terrestrial sites around the world. The database contains measurements taken in 208 (of 814) ecoregions, 13 (of 14) biomes, 25 (of 35) biodiversity hotspots and 16 (of 17) megadiverse countries. The database contains more than 1% of the total number of all species described, and more than 1% of the described species within many taxonomic groups – including flowering plants, gymnosperms, birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, beetles, lepidopterans and hymenopterans. The dataset, which is still being added to, is therefore already considerably larger and more representative than those used by previous quantitative models of biodiversity trends and responses. The database is being assembled as part of the PREDICTS project (Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems – www.predicts.org.uk). We make site-level summary data available alongside this article. The full database will be publicly available in 2015

Variación Entre Poblaciones en la Supervivencia Mensual y Anual De la Rama Ártica de Baja California, Pseudacris Hypochondriaca curta, en Oasis del Desierto de Baja California Sur, México

Survival is an important component of the demography of an animal. We estimated monthly and annual survival probabilities of three populations of the Baja California Treefrog (Pseudacris hypochondriaca curta) inhabiting desert oases of Baja California Sur, Mexico. We used data from a two-year mark recapture study to estimate survival. Recapture probabilities varied widely among months and there was no clear temporal pattern underlying the fluctuations. Annual survival was 27 and 29% for two populations and 1% for the third population. This implies that the populations, particularly the third one, can persist only if there is steady and high recruitment. With annual survival as low as 1–29%, a lack of recruitment could quickly cause local extinction. Because immigration seems unlikely in these populations due to their isolation from other breeding populations, recruits must be produced locally. Non-native fish, crayfish, and frogs that prey on tadpoles may therefore be a threat for the persistence of the populations.La supervivencia es un componente importante de la demografía de un animal. Estimamos las probabilidades mensuales y anuales de supervivencia de tres poblaciones de la brecha de Baja California (Pseudacris hypochondriaca curta) que habitan oasis del desierto de Baja California Sur, México. Utilizamos datos de un estudio de recaptura de marca de dos años para estimar la supervivencia. Las probabilidades de recaptura variaron ampliamente entre meses y no hubo patrón temporal claro subyacente a las fluctuaciones. La supervivencia anual fue de 27 y 29% para dos poblaciones y 1% para la tercera población. Esto implica que las poblaciones, particularmente la tercera, sólo pueden persistir si hay reclutamiento constante y alto. Con una supervivencia anual tan baja como 1-29%, la falta de reclutamiento podría causar rápidamente la extinción local. Debido a que la inmigración parece poco probable en estas poblaciones debido a su aislamiento de otras poblaciones reproductoras, los reclutas deben ser producidos localmente. Los peces no nativos, cangrejos de río y ranas que se alimentan de renacuajos pueden ser una amenaza para la persistencia de las poblaciones

The database of the PREDICTS (Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems) project

The PREDICTS project—Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems (www.predicts.org.uk)—has collated from published studies a large, reasonably representative database of comparable samples of biodiversity from multiple sites that differ in the nature or intensity of human impacts relating to land use. We have used this evidence base to develop global and regional statistical models of how local biodiversity responds to these measures. We describe and make freely available this 2016 release of the database, containing more than 3.2 million records sampled at over 26,000 locations and representing over 47,000 species. We outline how the database can help in answering a range of questions in ecology and conservation biology. To our knowledge, this is the largest and most geographically and taxonomically representative database of spatial comparisons of biodiversity that has been collated to date; it will be useful to researchers and international efforts wishing to model and understand the global status of biodiversity