As threats to biodiversity proliferate, establishment and expansion of protected areas have increasingly been advocated in recent decades. In establishing a network of protected areas, recurrent assessments of the biodiversity conservation actually afforded by these areas is required. Gap analysis has been useful to evaluate the sufficiency and performance of protected areas. We surveyed Reeves’s Pheasant Syrmaticus reevesii populations in 2018–2019 across its distribution range in central China to quantify the distribution of habitat suitable for this species. Our goal was to ascertain the current distribution of Reeves’s Pheasant and then identify the gaps in protecting Reeves’s Pheasant of the existing national nature reserve (NNR) network to provide suggestions for improving the conservation of this important species. The existing NNR network encompassed only 17.0% of the habitat suitable for Reeves’s Pheasant. Based on the current distributions of both suitable habitat and NNRs for Reeves’s Pheasant, we suggest most currently unprotected areas comprised moderately suitable habitat for species and should be prioritized in the future. A multiple species approach using Reeves’s Pheasant as a flagship species should be considered to understand the extent of mismatch between the distributions of protected areas and suitable habitat to improve the management effectiveness of NNRs. This case study provides an example of how the development of a conservation reserve network may be based on species distribution and habitat assessments and is useful to conservation efforts in other regions and for other species.

The Scaly-sided Merganser Mergus squamatus is a globally ‘Endangered’ species breeding in north-east Asia. Limited by information on the geographic distribution of suitable habitat, the conservation management programme has not been comprehensive or spatially explicit for the breeding population. This study combines potentially important environmental variables with extensive data on species occurrence to create the first species distribution model for the breeding Scaly-sided Merganser, followed by a GAP analysis to highlight the unprotected areas containing suitable habitat. The predictive map showing the most suitable breeding habitat for the Scaly-sided Merganser covered broad-leaved deciduous forest distributed in six provincial regions in south-east Russia, north-east China, and North Korea. The conservation GAP, i.e. 90% (38,813 km2) of highly suitable habitat, is mainly concentrated in the Sikhote-Alin and Changbai mountain ranges. This study suggests that prioritizing conservation of unprotected broad-leaved deciduous riverine forests within the above two mountainous regions should be included in international conservation planning, and the remaining suitable patches need to be preserved to allow range expansion in future. This predictive map improves the expert global assessment of breeding Scaly-sided Merganser distribution and provides a basic reference for establishing conservation areas or implementing conservation actions for the breeding Scaly-sided Merganser in north-east Asia.

Brazil has a high diversity of primates, but increasing anthropogenic pressures and climate change could influence forest cover in the country and cause future changes in the distribution of primate populations. Here we aim to assess the long-term suitability of habitats for the conservation of three threatened Brazilian primates (Alouatta belzebul, Sapajus flavius and Sapajus libidinosus) through (1) estimating their current and future distributions using species distribution models, (2) evaluating how much of the areas projected to be suitable is represented within protected areas and priority areas for biodiversity conservation, and (3) assessing the extent of remaining forest cover in areas predicted to be suitable for these species. We found that 88% of the suitable areas are outside protected areas and only 24% are located in areas with forest cover. Although not within protected areas, 27% of the climatically suitable areas are considered priority areas for conservation. Future projections, considering a severe climate change scenario, indicate that A. belzebul, S. flavius and S. libidinosus may lose up to 94, 98 and 54% of their suitable range, respectively. The establishment of primate populations and their long-term survival in these areas are at risk. Mitigation actions such as the implementation of new protected areas, forest restoration and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions will be essential for the conservation of Brazilian primates.

Crop wild relatives (CWR) are valuable resources for crop breeding due to their close genetic relationship to the cultivated plants and their wide genetic variation, allowing the introgression of desirable traits into the crops, such as resistance to plant pests and diseases or adaptability to climate change. Mexico is a centre of agrobiodiversity, including CWR, but climate change, and other factors, are contributing to the loss of important Mexican CWR genetic diversity. The in situ and ex situ conservation status of Mexican priority CWR were assessed through a gap analysis as part of a national CWR conservation strategy for Mexico, to ensure the long-term preservation and improve the availability of these genetic resources. A set of 310 priority CWR taxa, previously identified as part of the national CWR inventory for Mexico, were analysed. Species distribution modelling and ecogeographic diversity analyses were used to detect gaps in in situ and ex situ conservation at taxon and ecogeographic levels. Priority target sites were identified throughout the country for complementary in situ and ex situ conservation of these taxa. The results obtained allow us to make recommendations for immediate conservation actions, thus helping to mitigate the threats to Mexican agrobiodiversity and enhance both national and global food security.

National protected areas (NPAs) often exhibit biodiversity representation bias, do not adequately protect priority conservation areas (PCAs), and fail to meet conservation goals. Protected area (PA) discourse assumes private PAs (PPAs) are more systematically established than NPAs. The Chilean conservation community has proposed an integrated national–private PA network (IPAN) so PPA benefits can remedy NPA shortcomings. However, there has been no recent assessment of Chilean PPA ecoregion representation or data to support the usefulness of spending valuable resources creating an IPAN. Using the most recent Chilean private and national PA data, this study conducted a terrestrial ecoregion gap analysis under two scenarios. Scenario 1 assessed NPAs and nature sanctuaries. Scenario 2 assessed the IPAN. Both scenarios showed representation bias and failure to adequately protect PCAs or meet conservation goals. The IPAN fell short of expectations because PPAs exhibited bias similar to NPAs. The findings refute PA discourse by upending traditional beliefs regarding PPA effectiveness, and they identify a need to more critically assess the benefits of PPAs and IPANs on a country-by-country basis.

Protected areas (PAs) have long been the foundation of conservation strategies to halt biodiversity losses and ecosystem degradation. In the South Caucasus (SC), coverage of PAs increased after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, yet how well biodiversity is represented in them is unknown. We utilized the PA downgrading, downsizing and degazettement (PADDD) conceptual framework and the gap analysis approach to assess how changes in the PAs of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia between 1991 and 2014 have affected the representation of biodiversity. Throughout this period, vegetation formations associated with high mountain ecosystems changed (≥17% representation). Colchic lowland vegetation formations which are only present in Georgia, also changed from unrepresented (0%) to under-represented (from 0% to <17%). The effect of PADDD events on biodiversity representation varied among countries depending on the amount of area gazetted after 1991. There is an inherent bias in the expansion of PAs in the SC. Our findings could be a first step towards changing the status quo by helping conservationists to strategically allocate resources towards ecosystems that are below 17% representation. Yet this will require governments in the SC to shift their views about PAs from being only national efforts to being key pieces of a larger-scale conservation strategy.

Felid species have intrinsic ecological traits that make them particularly susceptible to the threats of habitat loss and fragmentation. We collate current knowledge of the effects of habitat loss and fragmentation on felids, describing trends, investigating the allocation of research effort and identifying knowledge gaps. We searched the scientific literature and categorized articles according to conceptual and methodological approaches. We reviewed 162 articles and observed that scientific knowledge is unevenly distributed among topics and species. Habitat suitability and patch–landscape configuration are the most studied topics. The allocation of research effort is unrelated to variables that describe conservation priorities, such as threat status and habitat availability within a species’ range, but it is related to body size, suggesting that charismatic attributes influence the choice of target species. Countries with less research effort are also those with less economic development, and thus North America and Europe are the centres of knowledge generation of reviewed studies. The responses of sixteen felid species to habitat loss and fragmentation remain unknown. Of these the Andean mountain cat Leopardus jacobita, the Bornean bay cat Pardofelis badia, the flat-headed cat Prionailurus planiceps and the fishing cat Prionailurus viverrinus most urgently require research because they are threatened with extinction. We recommend the use of theoretical approaches, through modelling exercises, as a first step to address the lack of information about the effects of habitat loss and fragmentation on felids, especially for those species for which there are large knowledge gaps.

To facilitate the updating of in situ and ex situ conservation strategies for wild taxa of the genus Hordeum L., a combined ecogeographic survey and gap analysis was undertaken. The analysis was based on the Global Inventory of Barley Plant Genetic Resources held by ICARDA plus additional datasets, resulting in a database containing 17,131 wild Hordeum accessions. The analysis concluded that a genetic reserve should be established in the Mendoza Province of Argentina, as this is the most species-rich area globally for Hordeum. A network of reserves should also be set up across the Fertile Crescent in Israel, Palestine, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey to provide effective conservation within the centres of diversity for gene pools 1B (Hordeum vulgare subsp. spontaneum (C. Koch) Thell.) and 2 (Hordeum bulbosum L.). The majority of the species were deemed under-collected, so further collecting missions are required worldwide where possible. Although ex situ and in situ conservation strategies have been developed, there needs to be further investigation into the ecological environments that Hordeum species occupy to ensure that any adaptive traits expressed are fully conserved. Additionally, studies are required to characterize existing collections and test the viability of rare species accessions held in genebanks to determine whether further ex situ collections are required alongside the proposed in situ conservation.

Because protected areas are a major means of conservation, the extent to which ecosystems are represented under different protection regimes needs to be ascertained. A gap analysis approach was used to assess the representativeness of Chile's terrestrial ecosystems in differing kinds of protected areas. Terrestrial ecosystems were described in terms of potential vegetation, employing three protection scenarios. Scenario 1 was based exclusively on the Chilean National System of Protected Wild Areas (SNASPE). Scenario 2 included all types of public protected areas, namely SNASPE, nature sanctuaries and Ministry of National Heritage lands. Scenario 3 included all items in Scenario 2, but also included private protected areas and biodiversity priority sites. There is insufficient protection of terrestrial ecosystems under the Scenario 2. In addition to the low level of ecosystem protection provided by state protected areas (only 42 of the 127 terrestrial ecosystems had >10% of their area protected), 23 terrestrial ecosystems were identified as having no protection at the national level. Gaps in protection were concentrated in the North (both coastal and inland desertic scrub), Central (thorny scrub, thorny forests, sclerophyllous forests and deciduous coastal forests) and Austral (steppe ecosystems) regions of Chile. These gaps include ecosystems that are of global conservation importance.

We evaluate the effectiveness of the MERCOSUR's network of protected areas in representing South America's ecoregions. The region contains 1,219 non-overlapping protected areas covering nearly 2,000,000 km2. Fifty percent of the reserves are <100 km2 and 75% <1,000 km2. Less than a half of the 75 ecoregions in the MERCOSUR have at least 10% of their area within protected areas, and only 13 when just reserves in IUCN categories I–IV are considered. In general, forests are better represented than other biomes. At the national level the network of protected areas in Uruguay is the least developed in the region, with those of Bolivia and Chile the most developed. For 10% of each ecoregion to be protected at least another 500,000 km2 would have to be incorporated into the network. Such expansion would be more efficient if conservation priorities are identified using a regional approach. This is of particular relevance for the cost-efficient protection of the 20 ecoregions that are shared by two or more countries. While only c. 20% of the ecoregions found in Brazil are shared with other countries, >75% of the ecoregions in Bolivia, c. 70% in Argentina, >60% in Chile, and all the ecoregions in Paraguay and Uruguay are shared with other countries. Overall, although it currently covers 14% of the region, the network of protected areas of the MERCOSUR still performs poorly in protecting its ecoregions.