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.绝大多数保护决策均在国家尺度或更精细的空间尺度下制定。在此类决策尺度下提供有效信息，对指导保护实践至关重要。巴西是全球生物多样性超级大国之一，因此该国的保护决策对全球生物多样性的存续有着不成比例的重大影响。本研究针对鸟类、哺乳类与两栖类三类陆生脊椎动物，探究了巴西境内生物多样性与保护状况的地理分布模式，涵盖特有物种、狭布物种与受威胁物种的相关情况。为明确数据集可能存在的局限性，本研究还探讨了采集地点的空间偏差可能如何影响人们所观测到的生物多样性分布模式。整体物种丰富度最高的区域为亚马孙雨林与大西洋森林，而大西洋森林则是该国特有物种与狭布物种的主要分布区域。全球受威胁物种的分布未呈现出统一的模式。鸟类的分布模式与整体物种丰富度相似，大西洋森林内的受威胁物种聚集度更高；而哺乳类的分布模式则更为宽泛，全国范围内均有分布，且在亚马孙雨林内聚集度较高。被列为受威胁物种的两栖动物数量较少，且大多分布于大西洋森林区域。数据缺乏（data deficient）的哺乳类物种遍布全国，主要集中在亚马孙雨林与大西洋森林东南部区域；而巴西境内不存在数据缺乏的鸟类物种。与之形成对比的是，近三分之一的两栖动物物种属于数据缺乏类别，它们广泛分布于全国范围内，但在极东南部区域聚集度较高。不过，物种采集地点数据的空间偏差，可能会对人们所观测到的生物多样性分布模式造成影响。采样密度较低的区域与诸多数据缺乏的物种一样，都需要开展更多的生物学研究。除亚马孙雨林外，巴西所有其他生物群系的全面保护面积占比均不足3%。但令人欣慰的是，保护覆盖率与更高的生物多样性水平确实存在相关性，这一相关性同样体现在受威胁物种与狭布物种的聚集程度上。本研究结果表明，巴西亟需扩大正式保护区域的覆盖范围，尤其应聚焦大西洋森林区域，并重点建设全面保护地。