BIOGEOGRAPHY OF RECENTLY EXTINCT MARINE SPECIES - IMPLICATIONS FOR CONSERVATION

At least fifteen marine and coastal animal species have become extinct since the end of the Pleistocene. Analyses of the number of marine bi ogeographical provinces occupied by these species show that contrary t o the prevailing view that extinction is usually associated with a sma ll range, at least five species (33%) bad large ranges encompassing pa rts of tuo or more provinces. At least eight species occurred in areas that served as geographical refuges for taxa during the Pliocene and early Pleistocene. These refuges, in which primary planktonic producti vity is generally very high, include the northwestern Atlantic and Nor th Pacific. Extinctions in the northwestern Atlantic (four species) ma y be partly responsible for the subsequent success of human-introduced species in subtidal and open-coast intertidal habitats. Regions of hi gh productivity deserve priority among marine areas to be protected fr om overexploitation and habitat destruction.