Andy Purvis

..We estimate that the prospective extra loss of mammalian evolutionary history alone would be equivalent to losing a monotypic phylum...

..These traits together explain nearly 50% of the total between-species variation in extinction risk. Much of the remaining variation can be accounted for by external anthropogenic factors that affect species irrespective of their biology...

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..We propose two modifications that remove the dependency and so increase the measure's usefulness. We illustrate the use of the modified measures, which are implemented in a freely-available program, MESA...

..Thus, the disadvantages of large size are greater than generally recognized, and future loss of large mammal biodiversity could be far more rapid than expected...

..We suggest that a preemptive approach to species conservation is needed to identify and protect species that may not be threatened at present but may become so in the near future...

..The interactions we describe between biological traits and anthropogenic threats increase understanding of the processes determining extinction risk...

..Our results therefore support the view that comparative models of relatively narrow taxonomic scope are likely to be the most precise...

..Our analyses provide no evidence that mammalian species richness is associated with body size or degree of sexual dimorphism...

..Therefore, impermeability provides a simple measure for identifying regions, where continuing global change and human encroachment are likely to cause profound changes in regional diversity patterns...

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..We conclude with a verbal model of mammalian macroevolution, which emphasizes the importance to diversification of accessing new regions of geographical or niche space...

..This low surrogacy stresses a need for conservation prioritization based on threatened trait diversity, and for conservation efforts to take an ecosystem perspective...

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..Instead of a rule, size evolution on islands is likely to be governed by the biotic and abiotic characteristics of different islands, the biology of the species in question and contingency...

..The ensuing macroevolutionary dynamics depend fundamentally on the ecological structure of species' assemblages...

..Our results suggest that part of the signal of assemblage formation processes is detectable in the phylogenies of contemporary island mammal faunas, though much is obscured by the complexity of these processes...

..Discussing reasons for this discrepancy, we emphasize that clarity of species concept leads to clarity of meaning when interpreting macroevolutionary birth-death models...

..Improved methods for integrating the work of scientists and policymakers is recommended, from the beginning to end of the planning process...

..The imbalance measure adopted here permits the use of trees that contain polytomies, facilitating a larger sample than has been achieved previously...

..We provide a set of simple guidelines to maximize the performance of phylogenetically nested comparisons in tests of putative correlates of species richness...

..Here I show that both clade age and the logarithm of species number independently predict variance under both gradual and punctuational change, rendering Ricklefs' results uninformative about his central hypothesis...

..We explore possible explanations for the inconsistency of our findings with macro-ecological patterns...

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..We also compare our new strategy with a recent, independently developed strategy known as the Parsimony Ratchet...

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..The meeting highlighted methodological advances and recent analyses of exemplar datasets focusing on the exploration of the role of ecological processes in shaping macroevolutionary patterns...

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..Shape showed no trend but was still estimated very poorly: we consider possible reasons. We discuss the implications of our results for the use of estimates of ancestral characteristics...

..We discuss ways of unlocking the full potential usefulness of phylogenies for studying the dynamics of evolutionary trends...

..Two tests that do not require completely resolved phylogenies, mean I' and mean I'(10), have reasonable power...

..In the future, as techniques improve and more data become accessible, we will have an expanded set of conservation options, including ways to prioritize outcomes from evolutionary and ecological processes...

..Incorporating latent extinction risk patterns into conservation planning could help guard against future biodiversity loss by anticipating and preventing species declines before they begin...

..Nevertheless, oligomerization-as a trend rather than a law-may be an important process that influences evolutionary trajectories from both morphological and functional perspectives...

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..We discuss the serious consequences of this trend for conservation, including an apparent change in the number of endangered species, potential political fallout, and the difficulty of deciding what should be conserved...

..These results provide a rare demonstration of a large-scale and probably driven trend occurring across multiple independent lineages and influencing both the form and number of species through deep time and in the present day...

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..We used supertrees for carnivores and primates to estimate that nearly 70% of the total amount of evolutionary history represented in these groups is found in 25 biodiversity hotspots...