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Title: How would you construct a map of the biodiversity hotspots for Canada? What info Post by: colleen on Feb 4, 2012 How would you construct a map of the biodiversity hotspots for Canada? What information would you need for this to be accurate? How would you choose which taxa to include in constructing the map? Why does North America have very few biodiversity hotspots on global maps?
Title: Re: How would you construct a map of the biodiversity hotspots for Canada? What info Post by: robertling on Feb 5, 2012 The framework used by Myer et al. (2000) for global hotspots could also be applied to Canada. Information on the distribution and abundance of plant, mammal, bird, amphibian and reptile species across the country would be required. North America has few biodiversity hotspots because its abiotic conditions (i.e. climate) are suitable for a smaller range of species. In addition, since North America was largely covered by glaciers during the Pleistocene, when extinction rates were high, most extant flora and fauna have recently recolonized from southern regions, rather than representing ancient, endemic species.
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