HOTSPOTS · Understanding and conserving Earth biodiversity hotspots

Final Activity Report Summary - HOTSPOTS (Understanding and conserving earth biodiversity hotspots)

The Earth's biodiversity is threatened by human activities, yet the sustainable use of biodiversity is fundamental to the future development of humanity. Because financial and human resources for nature conservation are limited, it is appropriate to focus efforts on the richest and most threatened reservoirs of biodiversity - known as biodiversity hotspots. The dynamics of biodiversity in these hotspots and the ecological impacts of predicted biodiversity loss has been the subject of research of the European HOTSPOTS consortium. Applying field, molecular and bioinformatics approaches to flagship plants and animals, HOTSPOTS has trained a new generation of multidisciplinary biologists in state-of-the-art methods of evolution, ecology, and conservation. HOTSPOTS has made use of new opportunities for combining ecological and DNA sequences on a very large scale for an unprecedented study of biodiversity hotspots. DNA diversity has been surveyed in several hotspots, using selected lineages from diverse taxonomic groups. Sequence data, fingerprints and DNA barcodes have been used to construct phylogenetic trees (i.e. branching diagrams of evolutionary relationships), calculate genetic diversity indices and build population networks. Phylogenetic trees have been used to compare the causes of diversity across different regions and different taxa. Comparisons of age and genetic composition of lineages, rates of diversification, phylogeographic reconstruction and population history have helped to establish the principal differences in the tempo and mode of diversification in hotspots versus other areas. HOTSPOTS research has also made predictive analyses of extinction processes by combining data on the genetics and ecology of species. Rather than concentrate on climatic distribution and its anticipated change alone, predictive models have been developed which consider evolutionary and ecological differences between groups. Results have indicated the importance of hotspots relative to other areas and fed into predictions about specific extinction risk, wider effects on entire ecosystems and conservation strategies. HOTSPOTS project outputs have ranged from documenting the state of biodiversity at genetic and eco-community levels, uncovering mechanisms for the historical development of the most species-rich areas of the world to evaluating alternative conservation strategies. Fifty high-profile publications have been written to demonstrate European excellence in science. Raw data, such as DNA sequence information and species' databases, are available via links from the HOTSPOTS e-atlas website with the aim to maximise their use and impact for long-term research, training and conservation.

Data: CORDIS, © European Union