Geographic analysis of conservation priority:: endemic birds and mammals in Veracruz, Mexico

Regional conservation priorities can be set based on combinations of modeling individual endemic species' distributions, evaluating regional concentrations of species richness, and using complementarity of areas by maximizing inclusion of species in the overall system. The method is illustrated for 19 species of mammals and birds endemic to northeastern Mexico. Individual species' distributions were modeled using a simple parallelepiped approach, and conservation priorities identified using a heuristic complementarity algorithm. The optimized reserve system identified by this approach performed 33-58% better than existing protected areas in inclusion of the endemic species, and adjustments to the existing system are proposed. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.