Cumulative Habitat Loss Increases Conservation Threats On Endemic Species Of Terrestrial Vertebrates In Mexico

Habitat loss is the main threat to biodiversity conservation worldwide, deteriorating areas with remnant suitable habitat and thus reducing species distribution ranges, and increasing the risk of local and regional population extirpations. We used ecological niche models projected as species potential distributions of endemic terrestrial vertebrates and quantified spatiotemporal cumulative habitat loss trajectories projected in species extant distributions, using land use and land cover vegetation maps (LULC) time series (1985, 1993, 2002, 2007, 2011, and 2014). Of a total of 996 species, only 311 species produced robust species potential distribution models. Significant differences in habitat loss in species extant distributions were observed from 1985 to 2002, which coincided with high national habitat loss rates. No significant differences were observed in the following LULC time series. According to the IUCN Red List, only 78 of our species are at risk. However, IUCN's criterion A only considers habitat loss in species extant distributions over the last 10 years, but if we consider the cumulative habitat loss from 1985 to 2014, 227 species lost >30% of their distribution. Thus, we suggest that the impact of cumulative habitat loss in species distributions should be considered when determining conservation threats. Furthermore, we analyzed the impact at each of Mexico's ecoregions, and found that habitat loss in species extant distributions appeared to be related to geographic locations of species distribution ranges rather than to the distribution area per se. Thus, we consider that assessing extinction risks at a local level is critical for future biodiversity conservation.