952 L. Martínez‐Domínguez et al.


FIG. 3 Modelled potential species richness of Ceratozamia and priority biocultural regions for conservation and development.


on which they depend, whereas researchers viewed conser- vation primarily as a means of protecting wildlife from extinction.


Discussion


Through a multidisciplinary approach that links ecological and social aspects, we explored current conservation strategies for Ceratozamia, a genus of cycads inMexico. Our data contribute to the understanding of the limits of conservation efforts, and demonstrate challenges for future studies. We combined an exhaustive review of occurrence records in herbaria with the taxonomic concepts proposed by Martínez-Domínguez et al. (2018) and found that reliable taxonomic information on Ceratozamia is lacking, which creates difficulties for the assignment of threat categories (Supplementary Table 3).


Limitations of current conservation strategies


Current protected areas cover only a part of the northern area of the Sierra Madre Oriental, the area with the high- est potential suitability for Ceratozamia (Fig. 5a). This corresponds with a recent evaluation of the diversity of endemic species in the northern part of the study area (Salinas-Rodríguez et al., 2018); however, we found that


FIG. 4 Modelled potential species richness of Ceratozamia in the Sierra Madre Oriental (inset: potential geographical distribution of Ceratozamia).


the main conservation challenges are in the southern region, which was not evaluated in that study. Species in the south- ern area have restricted ranges, leaving them vulnerable to habitat destruction and extinction (Fig. 1). Across the state of Veracruz, where both diversity and endemism of Ceratozamia species are high, the areas with the highest concentrations of species richness are unprotected (Fig. 5). Despite occurring within a protected area, species such as C. delucana and C. decumbens have lost more than half of their potential habitat to destruction (Table 1). Anthropogenic land-use changes affect protected areas


in the study region (Fig. 4); the southern zone of the Sierra Madre Oriental is one of the most threatened, with severely transformed vegetation (Fig. 3). Therefore, species in the southern zone of the restricted distribution of Cerato- zamia require urgent conservation planning. There is con- siderable overlap between the distribution of Ceratozamia and the main Priority Terrestrial Regions for Conservation (Fig. 4) defined by Mexican authorities. These areas are con- sidered relevant for the conservation of many other plant and animal taxa, but forest cover continues to decline. This suggests that current protected areas are ineffective in conserving species endemic to Mexico. In this context, cycads could serve as biogeographical and ecological model species in conservation biology studies, as they occur in het- erogeneous habitats and are frequently associated with other


Oryx, 2021, 55(6), 947–956 © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Fauna & Flora International doi:10.1017/S0030605320000204


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