Speculation versus data-driven conclusions: A response to Gereau et al.’s "Phylogenetic patterns of extinction risk: the need for critical application of appropriate datasets"
1
African Centre for DNA Barcoding, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa
2
Department of Environmental Sciences, University of South Africa, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa
3
Department of Biology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- Published
- Accepted
- Subject Areas
- Biodiversity, Conservation Biology, Ecology, Evolutionary Studies
- Keywords
- Eastern Arc, Gereau et al. (2013); Yessoufou et al. (2012)
- Copyright
- © 2014 Daru et al.
- Licence
- This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, reproduction and adaptation in any medium and for any purpose provided that it is properly attributed. For attribution, the original author(s), title, publication source (PeerJ PrePrints) and either DOI or URL of the article must be cited.
- Cite this article
- 2014. Speculation versus data-driven conclusions: A response to Gereau et al.’s "Phylogenetic patterns of extinction risk: the need for critical application of appropriate datasets" PeerJ PrePrints 2:e323v1 https://doi.org/10.7287/peerj.preprints.323v1
Abstract
Gereau et al. (2013) criticized our recent analysis on the phylogenetic patterns of extinction risk in the Eastern Arc biodiversity hotspot (Yessoufou et al. 2012). However, Gereau and colleagues based their critique on preconceptions and speculation rather than data. Here we identify several shortfalls in their lines of argument, and suggest that, given current rates of extinction, it is far more dangerous to wait for complete Red List assessments than to explore patterns of threat using available data. Nonetheless, we agree that all analyses should be based upon the best available data, and we encourage the rapid releases of new data on threat status for the flora of the Eastern Arc.
