Searching for a silver bullet: Measuring biodiversity to inform species conservation
Wednesday, October 17, 2012 - 11:01
in Biology & Nature
(Phys.org)—Ecologists in the University of Georgia Odum School of Ecology have found that evolutionary diversity can be an effective method for identifying hotspots of mammal biodiversity. In a paper published Oct. 17 in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, they report that evolutionary diversity can be an effective proxy for both the sheer number of species as well as their characteristics and ecological roles. Their findings could help conservation organizations better protect threatened species across the globe.