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Torres-Romero, E.J., Olalla-Tarraga, M.A. 2014. Human impact and species richness of terrestrial vertebrate: a review at different macroecological scales. Ecosistemas 23(1):13-20. Doi.: 10.7818/ECOS.2014.23-1.03 Human impact is a fundamental variable in conservation biogeography. To explore its effect on species richness, we reviewed the scientific literature for terrestrial vertebrates (amphibians, reptiles, mammals and birds) on this topic. The search was conducted using literature in English for the period 2000-2013 in the "ISI Web of Knowledge" database and filtering keywords. We analyze the distribution of publications by biogeographical area, the role of grain size, geographical extent, and the sign of the correlation coefficients in the relationships between humans-species richness. We found 30 publications that met our criteria. These are mainly concentrated in the Palearctic. Birds and mammals are the groups with higher availability of publications. Most studies are found at regional and continental level. Finally, the frequency distribution of correlations between human impact and species richness shows that positive correlations dominate at large scales. At a grain size < 1000 km2, we find a dominantly negative correlation, which could be mediated by processes of habitat loss and fragmentation and/or land use changes. These results will serve to orient future studies to be focused on those regions, taxonomic groups and scales that remain underrepresented and of vital interest to understand the responses of biodiversity to global change scenarios. |
