The spatial distribution of diversity between disparate taxa: Spatial correspondence between mammals and ants across South Florida, USA

Gap Analysis takes a proactive landscape-level approach to conserving nativ e species by identifying nodes of high biological diversity. It uses verteb rate species richness as an index of overall biological diversity. However, it remains unknown whether or not the spatial distribution of vertebrate d iversity corresponds with the diversity of other taxa. We tested whether la ndscape-level diversity patterns corresponded between a vertebrate and an i nvertebrate taxon, mammals and ants, across the southern half of the Florid a peninsula, USA. Composite digital maps with a 30-m spatial resolution wer e produced for each taxon. Spatial correspondence between the taxa was dete rmined by normalizing and then subtracting the composite maps. There were l arge areas of spatial correspondence - indicating that richness between mam mals and ants was similar over much of southern Florida. However, spatial c orrespondence occurred where the richness of both taxa was low or moderate, and areas with the highest species richness (highest 20%) for each taxon, the explicit focus of Gap Analyses, corresponded over only 8752 ha. Gap Ana lysis provides a much needed assessment of landscape-level diversity patter ns and proactive reserve design, but it must be explicit that the results a re applicable for vertebrate diversity, which does not necessarily correspo nd with diversity patterns of other taxa. The two taxa investigated differ by orders of magnitude in the scale that they perceive their environment, a nd it is likely that diversity hotspots vary as the scale of investigation - and the taxa mapped - vary.