Abstract
We are in the midst of a sixth mass extinction but little is known about the global patterns of biodiversity when accounting for taxonomic, phylogenetic and functional information. Here, we present the first integrated analysis of global variation in taxonomic, functional diversity and phylogenetic diversity of more than 17,000 tetrapod species (terrestrial mammals, amphibians, reptiles and birds). We used a new metric (z-Diversity) able to synthetize taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic information across different sets of species to provide a comprehensive estimation of biodiversity. Our analyses reveal that hotspots of tetrapod diversity are clustered in specific regions of the world such as central Africa and the Indian peninsula, and that climate stability and energy availability have an overarching importance in explaining tetrapod spatial patterns. Future research might take advantage of these methods to perform an informed prioritization of protected areas.
Competing Interest Statement
The authors have declared no competing interest.
