Data from: Patterns of vertebrate diversity and protection in Brazil

Most conservation decisions take place at national or finer spatial
scales. Providing useful information at such decision-making scales is
essential for guiding the practice of conservation. Brazil is one of the
world’s megadiverse countries, and consequently decisions about
conservation in the country have a disproportionate impact on the survival
of global biodiversity. For three groups of terrestrial vertebrates
(birds, mammals, and amphibians), we examined geographic patterns of
diversity and protection in Brazil, including that of endemic,
small-ranged, and threatened species. To understand potential limitations
of the data, we also explored how spatial bias in collection localities
may influence the perceived patterns of diversity. The highest overall
species richness is in the Amazon and Atlantic Forests, while the Atlantic
Forest dominates in terms of country endemics and small-ranged species.
Globally threatened species do not present a consistent pattern. Patterns
for birds were similar to overall species richness, with higher
concentrations of threatened species in the Atlantic Forest, while mammals
show a more generalized pattern across the country and a high
concentration in the Amazon. Few amphibians are listed as threatened,
mostly in the Atlantic Forest. Data deficient mammals occur across the
country, concentrating in the Amazon and southeast Atlantic Forest, and
there are no data deficient birds in Brazil. In contrast, nearly a third
of amphibians are data deficient, widespread across the country, but with
a high concentration in the far southeast. Spatial biases in species
locality data, however, possibly influence the perceived patterns of
biodiversity. Regions with low sampling density need more biological
studies, as do the many data deficient species. All biomes except the
Amazon have less than 3% of their area under full protection. Reassuringly
though, rates of protection do correlate with higher biodiversity,
including higher levels of threatened and small-ranged species. Our
results indicate a need for expanded formal protection in Brazil,
especially in the Atlantic forest, and with an emphasis on fully protected
areas.