Species richness, hotspots, and the scale dependence of range maps in ecology and conservation

Most studies examining continental-to-global patterns of species richness rely on the overlaying of extent-of-occurrence range maps. Because a species does not occur at all locations within its geographic range, range-map-derived data represent actual distributional patterns only at some relatively coarse and undefined resolution. With the increasing availability of high-resolution climate and land-cover data, broad-scale studies are increasingly likely to estimate richness at high resolutions. Because of the scale dependence of most ecological phenomena, a significant mismatch between the presumed and actual scale of ecological data may arise. This may affect conclusions regarding basic drivers of diversity…

• NS
  National Science Foundation

  Awards: 0648733, 0072909, DEB-0072909
• UO
  University of California, Santa Barbara