Phylogenetic autocorrelation and evolutionary diversity of Carnivora (Mammalia) in Conservation Units of the New World

One of the main concerns of Conservation Biology is the identification of priority areas for conservation, and the development of quantitative methods is important to achieve this task. Many phylogenetic diversity indexes and higher-taxon approaches have been used in this context. In this study, Faith's phylogenetic indexes and the number of evolutionary independent lineages of Carnivora were calculated at the average patch level based on phylogenetic autocorrelation analysis of phenotypic traits, in 18 conservation units in America (frequently National Parks). Despite controversies about the hierarchical level to be adopted, the characters included in this study suggest that the family level produces independent units for the analysis of phenotypic diversity in Carnivora. A positive correlation between species richness and the number of evolutionary independent lineages appeared (r = 0.67; P < 0.05), showing that this is a valid criterion to priorize conservation areas. Faith's phylogenetic diversity index is also highly correlated with species richness (r = 0.87; P < 0.05), as well as with the number of evolutionary independent lineages (r = 0.89; P < 0.05). Thus, the conservation units with more species have also more evolutionary information to be preserved