Widespread extinction is a predicted ecological consequence of global warming. Extinction risk under climate change scenarios is a function of distribution breadth. Focusing on trees and birds of the eastern United States, we used joint climate and environment models to examine fit and climate change vulnerability as a function of distribution breadth. We found that extinction vulnerability inc...

A positive correlation between human population density and species richness has been recorded across the tropics. Here I investigate whether this correlation holds true for Europe. Analyses reveal a positive correlation between human population density and plant (rho = 0.505), mammal (rho = 0.471) and reptile and amphibian (rho = 0.556) species richness. The results are largely concordant with...

The species-area relationship (SAR), i.e. the increase in species number with area, has been repeatedly used to predict species extinction, at both local and global scales, with habitat reduction. He and Hubbell (Nature, 2011; 473, 368e371), however, argued that the function that relates species loss with decreasing habitat area cannot be simply obtained reversing the species-area accumulation ...

The endemic and rare Solanum vespertilio and S. lidii from the Canary Islands are notable in being andromonoecious, self compatible, highly heterandrous (with short >reward= anthers and one very long >pollination= anther), and bearing strongly zygomorphic corollas. Solanum vespertilio flowers are also tetramerous, and some display enantiostyly. Given their island distribution, uncommon for sola...

Biodiversity loss due to climate change is one of the most critical current environmental problems. Global warming causing substantial species-range shifts and local extirpations, especially for species with restricted distribution ranges. Studies impact on ranges suitability have become a fundamental tool evaluating conservation strategies. However, important limitation these approaches that o...

Predictions of how different facets of biodiversity decline with habitat loss are broadly needed, yet challenging. Here we provide theory and a global empirical evaluation to address this challenge. We show that extinction estimates based on endemics-area and backward species-area relationships are complementary, and the crucial difference comprises the geometry of area loss. Across three taxa ...

An increased susceptibility to disease is one hypothesis explaining how inbreeding hastens extinction in island endemics and threatened species. Experimental studies show that disease resistance declines as inbreeding increases, but data from in situ wildlife systems are scarce. Genetic diversity increases with island size across the entire range of an extremely inbred Galápagos endemic bird, p...

A new dwarf alestid from the vicinity of Inga on the lower Congo River, Bas Congo Province, Democratic Republic of Congo is described. Assignment of the new taxon to the poorly defined genus, Micralestes, is discussed and justified on the basis of available morphological character data. With the recognition of Micralestes schelly sp. nov., a total of six Micralestes are now known to inhabit the...

Our study conducted spatial analysis to examine how temperature and other environmental factors might affect dengue fever distributions, and to forecast areas with potential risk for dengue fever endemics with predicted climatic change in Taiwan. Geographic information system (GIS) was used to demonstrate the spatial patterns of all studied variables across 356 townships. Relationships between ...

UNLABELLED PREMISE OF THE STUDY Firmiana consists of 12-16 species, many of which are narrow endemics. Expressed sequence tag (EST)-simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers were developed and characterized for size polymorphism in four Firmiana species. • METHODS AND RESULTS A total of 102 EST-SSR primer pairs were designed based on the transcriptome sequences of F. danxiaensis; these were the...