1996/08/01 by Jon Paul Rodrı́guez, Franklin Rojas‐Suàrez · 1 citation
Environmental Science · #Species Distribution and Climate Change #Wildlife Ecology and Conservation #Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies
paper · doi:10.1046/j.1523-1739.1996.10041245.x
openalex publication_date 1996/08/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/11
The geographic distribution of the animals of Venezuela was analyzed as a basis for a series of guidelines to help develop strategies for their conservation. A total of 313 animal taxa is distributed among 24 geographic units, corresponding to the political divisions of the country. Three different criteria were considered in analyzing these data: (1) the number and density of threatened taxa were used to define a ranking system for geographic units; (2) “hotspots” were identified using the distribution of threatened endemics, and (3) a “critical faunas analysis” was used to determine the minimum number of geographic units needed to maximize the number of sampled taxa. The first two criteria emphasize the importance of protecting habitat in the northern portion of the country, where most human intervention has already taken place. But the southern portion of the country is where most of the undisturbed habitat remains. We suggest that the conservation of the animals of Venezuela must follow a mixed strategy, based on two principles: one, aimed mainly at threatened endemics, should focus on the protection of critical habitat north of the Orinoco river, the second, aimed at all threatened animals— particularly high‐risk taxa—should focus on assuring the long‐term persistence of the pristine habitat in the south.