A method for siting parks and reserves with special reference to Columbia and Ecuador

Many tropical countries contain large numbers of species with small geographical ranges, here, for convenience, termed endemics. South America, for example, harbours 440 endemic land birds having ranges of less than 50 000 km². These comprise about a quarter of the terrestrial avifauna of the continent. Such species are exceptionally vulnerable to deforestation and their preservation will require siting future parks or reserves in just the right places. Using Colombia and Ecuador as an illustration, we describe a simple procedure for locating areas of concentrated endemism that would be optimal for future protection. Unfortunately, there is little correspondence between the points of maximal endemism and the locations of existing and projected reserves in the two countries. The advantages and limitations of using satellite photos for habitat evaluation in centres of endemism are also discussed.