Ecology Conservation Strategies Questioned

British ecologists say conservation strategies focused on maximizing species richness might be missing the evolutionary potential of an area.

Felix Forest and colleagues from the Royal Botanic Gardens studied the biodiversity and evolutionary relationships of plants growing in the Cape of South Africa. A gradient of species richness exists across that area, with the western part home to around twice the density of plant species found in the eastern region.

The researchers focused on evolutionary potential — areas containing flora that, on average, are more distantly related to each other than flora in areas of low evolutionary potential. The scientists also found species counts do not always correlate with evolutionary potential; the more species-rich west has lower evolutionary potential than the east.

The researchers say their findings challenge long-lasting ideas about biodiversity assessments and patterns of species richness and have important implications for conservation strategies.

The study is reported in the journal Nature.