Defining conservation areas through diversity parameters and museum specimens: a case study for craneflies

Abstract

Abstract The perils of climate change turn the definition of conservation areas into an urgent task. With finite financial resources, we must choose efficiently what and where to prioritize. Here, we discuss the benefits of using three parameters - species richness, functional and phylogenetic diversity - to subsidize the proposal of conservation areas complementary to those already existing in Southern South America and New Zealand. The parameters were defined using museum specimens and available taxonomic registers for three genera of craneflies: Aphrophila, Zelandomyia, and Amphineurus (Rhamphoneurus). We found additional priority conservation areas for New Zealand and Southern South America based on maximized species richness, phylogenetic and functional diversity of Aphrophila, Amphineurus (Rhamphoneurus), and Zelandomyia. We plotted the new areas into maps presenting the current conservation areas to compare them. We advocate utilizing all available information on biodiversity for conservation initiatives, including data stored in museums. New Zealand and Southern South America are examples of how dealing with multiple parameters, including criteria that take evolutionary history and species ecology into account, may lead to reliable proposals of priority conservation areas.