Abstract
Mapping biodiversity richness and understanding its spatial structure are essential for effective conservation planning. It is particularly important to examine how organism communities are organized at spatial scales to accurately propose new protected areas. Historically, the establishment of protected areas has often been done empirically, frequently chosen to minimize impact on local human populations. With the significant increase of protected areas aimed at achieving the 30x30 conservation targets and government initiatives, the identification of new priority areas for protection is relying more on more on scientific approaches. These approaches can be based on GIS data, current knowledge of species distribution and ecosystem spatialization (ecoregions), as well as ecological niche modeling for both present and future scenarios.
The IUCN has made significant progress in compiling distribution data for a wide range of vertebrate species in Southeast Asia, although further efforts are still needed. Using this data for mammals and fish, we analyzed the spatial organization of continental communities for these two groups in order to produce new maps following a hierarchisation of endemic surrounding signal. Our approach allowed us to prioritize areas of endemic importance and develop a conservation strategy that spans from the international to the regional scale. We found that the biogeography and major endemic units for fish and mammals were not always aligning with currently accepted biodiversity hotspots. Notably, regions like Borneo require greater attention due to their unique and complex patterns of endemism and exceptionally high biodiversity.