Many taxa, especially invertebrates, remain biogeographically highly understudied and even baseline assessments are missing in many areas. A new study attempts to examine patterns of species diversity and inventory completeness for the hawkmoths of Africa.
A database of distributional records of Sphingidae (hawkmoths) was analysed, and by computing rarefaction curves total species richness was estimated across 200 km grid squares across the continent. Patterns of interpolated richness identified the Cameroon coastal mountains as one of three centres of species diversity. Variables describing vegetation type emerged as important predictors of estimated total richness, and variables capturing heat, energy availability and topographic heterogeneity also showed a strong positive relationship. The authors conclude that sampling effort was highly biased and suggest their study highlights regions where future sampling efforts should
be directed.
Ballesteros-Mejia L, Kitching IJ, Jetz W,
Nagel P, Beck J (2013) Mapping the biodiversity of tropical insects: species
richness and inventory completeness of African sphingid moths. Global Ecology and
Biogeography 22(5): 586-595.
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