Abstract:
The ongoing destruction of habitats in the tropics accelerates the current rate of
species extinction. Range-restricted species are exceptionally vulnerable, yet we have
insufficient knowledge about their protection. Species’ current distributions, range
sizes, and protection gaps are crucial to determining conservation priorities. Here,
we identified priority range-restricted bird species and their conservation hotspots in
the Northern Andes. We employed maps of the Area of Habitat (AOH), that better
reflect their current distributions than existing maps. AOH provides unprecedented
resolution and maps a species in the detail essential for practical conservation actions.
We estimated protection within each species’ AOH and for the cumulative distribution
of all 335 forest-dependent range-restricted birds across the Northern Andes. For the
latter, we also calculated protection across the elevational gradient. We estimated how
much additional protection community lands (Indigenous and Afro-Latin American
lands) would contribute if they were conservation-focused. AOHs ranged from 8 to
141,000 km2
. We identified four conservation priorities based on cumulative species
richness: the number of AOHs stacked per unit area. These priorities are high-resolution
mapped representations of Endemic Bird Areas for the Tropical Andes that we consider
critically important. Protected areas cover only 31% of the cumulative AOH, but
community lands could add 19% more protection. Sixty-two per cent of the 335 species
have ranges smaller than their published estimates, yet IUCN designates only 23% of
these as Threatened. We identified 50 species as top conservation priorities. Most of
these concentrate in areas of low protection near community lands and at middle
elevations where, on average, only 34% of the land is protected. We highlight the
importance of collaborative efforts among stakeholders: governments should support
private and community-based conservation practices to protect the region with the
most range-restricted birds worldwide.
