Areas of endemism: An improved optimality criterion

The grid-based method to identify areas of endemism proposed by Szumik et al. (Syst. Biol. 51:806-816, 2002) is extended. The improvements include the ability to assign scores of endemicity to sets of disjoint areas, and to have each species contribute more to the score of endemicity of an area, or less, according to how well its distribution matches the area. The modified method also allows for partially overlapping areas; an area partially overlapping with another one of higher score is retained when the set of lower score has a minimum proportion of species endemic to it. Algorithms to evaluate areas of endemism under this criterion are discussed, and implemented in a computer program (NDM; available at www.zmuc.dk/public/phylogeny). The new algorithms allow evaluation of much larger data sets.