Biogeographia – The Journal of Integrative Biogeography

Areas of endemism are the basic units for the analysis of historical biogeography, in addition to representing areas of conservation importance. An area of endemism is understood to be the congruence of the distribution areas of two or more species, which are considered primary biogeographic homologies resulting from a presumed common biogeographic history of the taxa that are shared by these areas. The objective of this work was to establish biogeographic patterns in Paraguay through the analysis and identification of areas of endemism. The analyses are based on a matrix composed of 8,117 records of 300 species, including 100 species of Plantae, 50 species of Insecta, 50 species of Amphibia, 50 species of Reptilia, and 50 species of Aves. The analyses performed included an endemicity analysis with cells of 0.3, 0.4, and 0.5 degrees of latitude and longitude. Using the endemicity analysis method, 129 areas of endemism were identified, which were summarized in 13 consensus areas, 2 in the Chaco and 11 in the Eastern Region. By comparing the areas of endemism found, we can identify and propose three hot spot priority areas for conservation based on the endemic richness of the biota.

We present here a first comprehensive database on the diversity of proseriate flatworms (Platyhelminthes: Rhabditophora: Proseriata) on Western Mediterranean microtidal, wave dominated beaches. We sampled 116 stations in two years, through Spain (22 beaches, including Balearic Islands), France (25 beaches, including Corsica), Italy (63 beaches, including Sardinia, Sicily, and Lampedusa), and Tunisia (6 beaches). In each beach, we sampled at three depths, corresponding to the swash, shoal, and subtidal zones. For each sample, we obtained environmental data. The research yielded a total of 152 species, of which 93 were new to science. For each of the species found, we coded and described 16 functional traits. We discuss the functional meaning of the selected traits, as well as on diversity patterns and emerging biogeographic signals across the investigated regions. We particularly focused on the most widespread and dominant species in our dataset, concentrating on their putative adaptations to high energy environments; as well as the high number (58) of the species only found once. Finally, we discussed the coverage of our sampling by estimating the diversity at each investigated region and comparing it to the actual diversity. All information provided is available through the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) and the Open Science Framework (OSF) following the Darwin Core Standard.

Human activities have led to a substantial loss of biodiversity, with terrestrial ecosystems experiencing over a 20% average reduction. Conservation priorities are crucial, but data on species, threats, and protection are limited, especially in tropical countries like India. Open biodiversity data, facilitated by platforms like the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), are a powerful tool for addressing these challenges. This paper describes two datasets (for a total of more than 50,000 plant occurrences), primarily from the Western Ghats, a UNESCO World Heritage site and biodiversity hotspot. The two datasets could play a pivotal role in supporting conservation policies, since they provide valuable insights into the unique biodiversity of the Western Ghats.