Anticipating where are unknown aquatic insects in Europe to improve biodiversity conservation

• Authors: SANCHEZ-CAMPANA Carlota; MURRIA Cesc; HERMOSO Virgilio; SANCHEZ-FERNANDEZ David; TIERNO de Figueroa J Manuel; GONZALEZ Marcos; MILLAN Andres; MOUBAYED Joel; IVKOVIC Marija; MURANYI David; GRAF Wolfram; DERKA Tomas; MEY Wolfram; SIPAHILER Fuesun; PAŘIL Petr; POLÁŠKOVÁ Vendula; BONADA Nuria
• Year of publication: 2023
• Type: Article in Periodical
• Magazine / Source: Diversity and Distributions
• MU Faculty or unit: Faculty of Science
• Web: https://doi.org/10.1111/ddi.13714
• Doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ddi.13714
• Keywords: aquatic ecosystems; biodiversity loss; conservation priorities; protected areas; species distribution; vulnerability
• Description: Aim: Understanding biodiversity patterns is crucial for prioritizing future conservation efforts and reducing the current rates of biodiversity loss. However, a large proportion of species remain undescribed (i.e. unknown biodiversity), hindering our ability to conduct this task. This phenomenon, known as the 'Linnean shortfall', is especially relevant in highly diverse, yet endangered, taxonomic groups, such as insects. Here we explore the distributions of recently described freshwater insect species in Europe to (1) infer the potential location of unknown biodiversity hotspots and (2) determine the variables that can anticipate the distribution of unknown biodiversity.

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