Amazonian biodiversity: assessing conservation priorities with taxonomic data

Data from 3991 records of museum collections representing 421 species of pl ants, arthropods, amphibians, fish, and primates were analyzed with GIS to identify areas of high species diversity and endemism in Amazonia. Of the 4 72 1 x 1 degrees grid cells in Amazonia, only nine cells are included in th e highest species diversity category (43-67 total species) and nine in the highest endemic species diversity category (4-13 endemic species). Over one quarter of the grid cells have no museum records of any of the organisms i n our study. Little correspondence exists between the centers of species di versity identified by our collections-based data and those areas recommende d for conservation in an earlier qualitative study of Amazonian biodiversit y. Museum collections can play a vital role in identifying species-rich are as for potential conservation in Amazonia, but a concerted and structured e ffort to increase the number and distribution of collections is needed to t ake maximum advantage of the information they contain.