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| Indicator groups may be important tools with which to guide the selection of networks of areas
for conservation. Nevertheless, the literature provides little guidance as to what makes some groups of species
more suitable than others to guide area selection. Using distributional data on all sub-Saharan birds and
mammals, we assessed factors that influence the effectiveness of indicator groups. We assessed the influence
of threatened, endemic, range-restricted, widespread, and large-bodied species by systematically varying their
number in indicator groups. We also assessed the influence of taxonomic diversity by systematically varying
the number of distinct genera and families within the indicator groups. We selected area networks based on
the indicator groups and tested their ability to represent a set of species, which, in terms of species composition,
is independent of the indicator group. Increasing the proportion of threatened, endemic, and range-restricted
species in the indicator groups improved effectiveness of the selected area networks; in particular it improved the
effectiveness in representing other threatened and range-restricted species. In contrast increasing the proportion
of widespread and large-bodied species decreased effectiveness. Changes in the number of genera and families
only marginally affected the performance of indicator groups. Our results reveal that a focus on species of
special conservation concern, which are legitimate conservation targets in their own right, also improves the
effectiveness of indicator groups, in particular in representing other species of conservation concern. | |
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