Hotspots feel the heat

They might have lots of species, but not necessarily evolutionary potential

some like it hot Seventy-seven percent of terrestrial vertebrate species are found in areas declared as biodiversity hotspots, which occupy just 2.3% of the Earth’s surface. Unfortunately, as a recently published study shows, the sheer number of species isn’t the end of the story. Phylogenetic diversity — the measure of how different species assemblages are — is arguably more important, because greater differences offer more evolutionary potential. Earlier claims that biodiversity hotspots are also centers of high phylogenetic diversity were welcome, but according to Ohio State University biologists Miles Spathelf and Tom Waite they were overstated. Reanalysis of the same data shows that Madagascar, with its unique lemurs and weird mongooses, skewed the results beyond belief. Taking the fabled island out of the equation left hotspots no more likely (in fact even less likely) to harbor primate and carnivore phylogenetic diversity than anywhere else. Source: Spathelf M & Waite TA (2007) Will hotspots conserve extra primate and carnivore evolutionary history? Diversity and Distributions DOI: 10.1111/j.1472-4642.2007.00386.x