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The flora of China is well known for its high diversity and endemism. Identifying centers of endemism and designating conservation priorities are essential goals for biodiversity studies. However, there is no comprehensive study from a rigorous phylogenetic perspective to understand patterns of diversity and endemism and to guide biodiversity conservation in China. We conducted a spatial phylogenetic analysis of the Chinese angiosperm flora at the generic level to identify centers of neo‐ and paleo‐endemism. Our results indicate that: (i) the majority of grid cells in China with significantly high phylogenetic endemism (PE) were located in the mountainous regions; (ii) four of the nine centers of endemism recognized, located in northern and western China, were recognized for the first time; (iii) arid and semiarid regions in Northwest China were commonly linked to significant PE, consistent with other spatial phylogenetic studies worldwide; and (iv) six high‐priority conservation gaps were detected by overlaying the boundaries of China's nature reserves on all significant PE cells. Overall, we conclude that the mountains of southern and northern China contain both paleo‐endemics (ancient relictual lineages) and neo‐endemics (recently diverged lineages). The areas we highlight as conservation priorities are important for broad‐scale planning, especially in the context of evolutionary history preservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

North America is a large continent with extensive climatic, geological, soil, and biological diversity. As biota faces threat from habitat destruction and climate change, making a quantitative assessment of biodiversity becomes critically important. Rapid digitization of plant specimen records and accumulation of DNA sequence data enable a much‐needed broad synthesis of species occurrences with phylogenetic data. In this study, the first such synthesis of a flora from such a large and diverse part of the world is attempted, all seed plants from the North American continent (here defined to include Canada, United States, and Mexico), with a focus on examining phylogenetic diversity and endemism. We collected digitized plant specimen records and chose a coarse grain for analysis, recognizing that this grain is currently necessary for reasonable completeness per sampling unit. We found that raw richness and endemism patterns largely support previous hypotheses of biodiversity hotspots. The application of phylogenetic metrics and a randomization test revealed novel results, including a significant phylogenetic clustering across the continent, a striking east–west geographical difference in the distribution of branch lengths, and the discovery of centers of neo‐ and paleoendemism in Mexico, the southwestern USA, and the southeastern USA. Finally, our examination of phylogenetic beta diversity provides a new approach to compare centers of endemism. We discuss the empirical challenges of working at the continental scale and the need for more sampling across large parts of the continent, for both DNA data for terminal taxa and spatial data for poorly understood regions, to confirm and extend these results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The analysis of regional scale patterns of diversity allows insights into the processes that have shaped modern biodiversity at the macro‐scale. Previous analyses studying biogeographic regionalisation across different high‐level taxa have shown similar trends at a global scale. However, incorporating phylogenetic methods when comparing biogeographic regionalisation between subgroups facilitates identification of mechanisms leading to the biogeographic distribution of specific taxa. We analysed the spatial trends of phylogenetic diversity and phylogenetic endemism of 325 species of New World bats, using updated range maps of the modern distributions. These analyses showed phylogeographic signals that reflect the different evolutionary histories of these families. Zoogeographical zones were detected based on range‐weighted phylogenetic turnover. Values of high phylogenetic diversity and endemism were distributed differently across families, suggesting niche conservatism, but a general latitudinal trend of diversity was evident across taxa. Overall, two main bioregions were shared across New World bat taxa (Nearctic and Neotropical), with two additional subregions (Andean and La Platan). We found strong support for an additional transitional zone in the Pacific coast of South America for Emballonuridae and Molossidae. Differences in regionalisation across families indicate that niche conservatism, in situ diversification and dispersal ability are major drivers for the regionalisation of New World bats, within a dual‐centre of diversification scenario. We also found strong inter‐familial support for an independent Caribbean biogeographic region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New World bats represent over one third of global bat species and encompass the widest adaptive radiation among bats. Modern bat diversity in the Americas resulted from a mixture of migrations and colonisations of different taxa throughout the Cenozoic. Traditionally, these taxa are conceived as either South or North American, based on the location of their centres of diversification. To better understand the spatial and temporal processes behind modern biogeographic patterns of New World bat fauna, we investigated phylogenetic diversity (PD) and endemism (PE) for 325 American bat species using distribution maps and a species‐level phylogenetic supertree of bats. Randomisation tests were used to evaluate the statistical significance of our results, and to derive a categorical analysis of neo‐ and palaeo‐endemism (CANAPE) to deconstruct significant endemism into its different components. PD and PE showed different patterns than those previously reported for New World bats based on traditional measures of diversity. We found multiple centres of significant endemism across the New World for most bat families, extending the hypothesis of dual centres of diversification, previously proposed for Emballonuridae, Phyllostomidae and Mormoopidae, to Molossidae and Vespertilionidae. Our results indicate that Central America and southern North America played important roles in the diversification of New World bats, as did the Andes in the diversification of Vespertilionidae in South America. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Recent floristic efforts in the Pacific Northwest (PNW) have now made it possible to characterize the broad‐scale patterns of fern and lycophyte diversity across this large and geologically‐complex region of western North America. The physiography of the PNW has been developing for over 200 million years, but Pleistocene glaciation‐induced migrations and recolonizations have strongly influenced the assembly of the flora. With the high dispersal potential of fern and lycophyte spores, the distribution patterns of pteridophytes may be representative of habitat suitability more than dispersal constraints. Our objective was to describe the biodiversity of pteridophytes in the PNW, determine the spatial distribution of that biodiversity in terms of phylogenetic diversity, identify centers of regional endemism, explore the correlations between biodiversity and environmental variables, and infer possible influences of past glaciation on the pteridophyte flora. We obtained presence‐only distribution data from two online databases. A phylogenetic tree was constructed using chloroplast DNA sequence data from GenBank. We used the Biodiverse software package to estimate and map phylogenetic diversity and phylogenetic endemism across the PNW, and to identify those regions of the PNW where diversity was higher or lower than expected in comparison to randomization models. Environmental correlates of diversity were identified using principal components analysis with bioclimatic data from WorldClim.org, and we used Maxent to predict habitat suitability for species under past and future climate conditions. We found evidence for the influence of past glaciations and glacial refugia on the patterns of pteridophyte diversity, that moisture availability and cold temperatures are strongly correlated with patterns of genus richness, phylogenetic diversity, and phylogenetic endemism. We infer that the topographic complexity of the region may be driving the assembly of the pteridophyte flora indirectly by influencing climate and precipitation patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim Conservation is often prioritized by identifying regional clusters of threatened or endemic species. Another approach is to assess the evolutionary distinctiveness of groups of taxa using phylodiversity measures. However, quantification of evolutionary history has traditionally not accounted for its uneven geographical distribution due to the variation in species ranges. We assess the efficacy of phylogenetic endemism ( PE) to predict high extinction risk in comparison to estimates of species range restriction (weighted endemism, WE) and phylogenetic diversity ( PD). PE measures the relative range restriction of evolutionary history (lineages), while WE concentrates on the tips of the tree of life, treating all such branches as being of equal length. Location/Methods Using New Zealand's endemic skinks and geckos, we mapped the geographical variation in their extinction risk, PE, WE and PD and measured the extent to which extinction risk exhibited phylogenetic clustering for each group. Correlations between geographical concentrations of high skink and gecko extinction risk with PE, WE and PD were calculated. Results PE was predictive of spatial clusters of high extinction risk for geckos ( r2 = 0.34, P < 0.001) while WE was markedly less so ( r2 = 0.19, P < 0.001). The reverse applied to skinks, with WE most predictive of high risk ( r2 = 0.26, P < 0.001). The phylogenetic signal of extinction risk was significantly conserved for geckos, but was weaker and non-significant for skinks. PE and WE were not predictive of low risk. PD was not predictive of risk. Main conclusions PE and related measures may be predictive of extinction risk when risk is phylogenetically conserved. Mapping the geographical variation in PE could be a useful first assessment of extinction risk for many groups because phylogenies are increasingly available, while full risk status categories are not. These findings might apply to other groups and locations and warrant further investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim Biodiversity studies typically use species, or more recently phylogenetic diversity ( PD), as their analysis unit and produce a single map of observed diversity. However, observed biodiversity is not necessarily an indicator of significant biodiversity and therefore should not be used alone. By applying a small number of additional metrics to PD, with associated statistical tests, we can determine whether more or less of the phylogeny occurs in an area, whether branch lengths in an area are longer or shorter, and whether more long or short-branched endemism occurs in an area, than expected under a null model. Location Australian continent. Methods We used a phylogeny sampling 90% of Australia's angiosperm genera, and 3.4 million georeferenced plant specimens downloaded from Australia's Virtual Herbarium ( AVH), to calculate PD, relative phylogenetic diversity ( RPD) and relative phylogenetic endemism ( RPE). Categorical analysis of neo- and palaeo-endemism ( CANAPE) and randomization tests were performed to determine statistical significance. Results We identify several combinations of significant PD and endemism across the continent that are not seen using observed diversity patterns alone. Joint interpretation of these combinations complements the previous interpretations of Australia's plant evolutionary history. Of conservation concern, only 42% of the significant endemism cells found here overlap with existing nature reserves. Main conclusions These spatial phylogenetic methods are feasible to apply to a whole flora at the continental scale. Observed richness or PD is inadequate to fully understand the patterns of biodiversity. The combination of statistical tests applied here can be used to better explain biodiversity patterns and the evolutionary and ecological processes that have created them. The spatial phylogenetic methods used in this paper can be also be used to identify conservation priorities at any geographical scale or taxonomic level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Identifying geographical areas with the greatest representation of the tree of life is an important goal for the management and conservation of biodiversity. While there are methods available for using a single phylogenetic tree to assess spatial patterns of biodiversity, there has been limited exploration of how separate phylogenies from multiple taxonomic groups can be used jointly to map diversity and endemism. Here, we demonstrate how to apply different phylogenetic approaches to assess biodiversity across multiple taxonomic groups. We map spatial patterns of phylogenetic diversity/endemism to identify concordant areas with the greatest representation of biodiversity across multiple taxa and demonstrate the approach by applying it to the Murray-Darling basin region of southeastern Australia. The areas with significant centers of phylogenetic diversity and endemism were distributed differently for the five taxonomic groups studied (plant genera, fish, tree frogs, acacias, and eucalypts); no strong shared patterns across all five groups emerged. However, congruence was apparent between some groups in some parts of the basin. The northern region of the basin emerges from the analysis as a priority area for future conservation initiatives focused on eucalypts and tree frogs. The southern region is particularly important for conservation of the evolutionary heritage of plants and fishes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a new, broadly applicable measure of the spatial restriction of phylogenetic diversity, termed phylogenetic endemism (PE). PE combines the widely used phylogenetic diversity and weighted endemism measures to identify areas where substantial components of phylogenetic diversity are restricted. Such areas are likely to be of considerable importance for conservation. PE has a number of desirable properties not combined in previous approaches. It assesses endemism consistently, independent of taxonomic status or level, and independent of previously defined political or biological regions. The results can be directly compared between areas because they are based on equivalent spatial units. PE builds on previous phylogenetic analyses of endemism, but provides a more general solution for mapping endemism of lineages. We illustrate the broad applicability of PE using examples of Australian organisms having contrasting life histories: pea-flowered shrubs of the genus Daviesia (Fabaceae) and the Australian species of the Australo-Papuan tree frog radiation within the family Hylidae. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]