Abstract

SUAREZ-CASTRO, Andrés F. et al. Spatial information gaps in continental terrestrial mammal richness from Colombia. Caldasia [online]. 2021, vol.43, n.2, pp.247-260.  Epub Apr 07, 2022. ISSN 0366-5232.  https://doi.org/10.15446/caldasia.v43n2.85443.

Despite recent advances in the compilation of primary biodiversity data, biases in the quality and the accessibility of the information difficult the inference of biodiversity spatial patterns. We present the first systematic analysis on the spatial distribution of terrestrial wild mammal records for continental Colombia. By using multiple databases, we identified the geopolitical areas and ecoregions from the country with the biggest information gaps at the order level regarding the number of species recorded vs the number of expected species. In addition, we carried out a complementarity analysis to establish priority sampling areas that maximize the recording of mammal species in the country. Most orders (70 %) show representativeness lower than 50 % in at least 40 % of the departments y 60 % of the studied ecoregions. Also, we found that the temporal coverage in grids of 50 * 50 km tends to below, with an average lower than four sampled years from 1950 to 2019. The complementary analysis shows several areas where sampling would maximize the record of new species at the national level. These areas include tropical forests of the Amazonian region in the limits between Caqueta and Amazonas, the Guyana region, as well as savanna ecosystems from Vichada, Casanare, and Arauca. We advocate for the definition of sampling prioritization schemes for both isolated and relatively unknown areas, as well as areas under high human pressure that could suffer from species losses in the short term.

Keywords : Biodiversity databases; GBIF; inventories; sampling completeness; spatial prioritization.

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