PARENT SESSION
Thursday, August 10, 8:00-11:30 am
COS 87 - Conservation ecology I: reserve selection, design, and management
L-13, Lobby Level, Cook Convention Center
Presiders: R Winfree and J Griffith

Using species versus phylogeographic lineages in biodiversity and conservation analyses: a case study of California herpetofauna.

Rissler, Leslie ^{*,1, 2}, Hijmans, Robert¹, Graham, Catherine^{1, 3}, Moritz, Craig¹, Wake, David¹, ¹ University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA² University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL³ SUNY Stony Brook, Stony Brook, NY

ABSTRACT- Many phylogeographic studies have revealed strongly diverged lineages within species that are masked by a lack of congruent morphological differentiation. To assess the extent to which the genetic component of diversity affects conservation assessments, we compared spatial patterns of endemism and conservation value for 22 species of Californian amphibians and reptiles versus the 75 phylogeographic lineages that they contain. We used bioclimatic niche modeling with environmental layers to generate 5-km spatial resolution maps of predicted distribution for each species and lineage. We found concentrations of lineage breaks across the Central Valley, San Francisco Bay, Sierra Nevada, and the Tehachapi and Trinity Ranges. Subdivision of the ranges of species into phylogeographic units revealed novel areas of endemism. Several areas of very high conservation value for lineages were not evident in the species-level analysis. These observations illustrate the importance of considering multiple levels of biodiversity in conservation assessments.

Key words: phylogeography, niche modeling, amphibians and reptiles