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{{Short description|Ecological state of being unique to a defined geographic location or habitat}}
{{Redirect|Endemic|the epidemiological context|Endemic (epidemiology)}}
[[File:Orange-breasted Sunbird (Nectarinia violacea).jpg|right|thumb|The [[orange-breasted sunbird|orange-breasted sunbird (''Anthobaphes violacea'')]] and the ''[[Kniphofia uvaria]]'' plant it feeds on are both found exclusively in [[South Africa]].]]
[[File:Bicolored Frog ( Clinotarsus curtipes ).jpg|thumb|[[Bicolored frog|Bicolored frog (''Clinotarsus curtipes'')]] is endemic to the [[Western Ghats]] of [[India]].]]
[[File:Montezuma well - panoramio.jpg|thumb|[[Montezuma Well]] in the [[Verde Valley]] of [[Arizona]] contains at least five endemic species found exclusively in the sinkhole.|alt=]]
'''Endemism''' is the state of a [[species]] being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are [[Indigenous (ecology)|indigenous]] to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere.<ref name=Morrone2008>{{cite book |last=Morrone |first=Juan J. |date=2008 |title=Encyclopedia of Ecology |edition=2 |volume=3 |publisher=Elsevier |pages=81–86 |doi=10.1016/B978-0-444-63768-0.00786-1}}</ref> For example, the [[Cape sugarbird]] is found exclusively in southwestern [[South Africa]] and is therefore said to be ''endemic'' to that particular part of the world.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.10000birds.com/south-africas-endemic-birds.htm |title=South Africa's endemic birds |last=Riley |first=Adam |date=13 December 2011 |website=10,000 Birds |publisher=Adam Riley |access-date=9 December 2020}}</ref>

An endemic species can be also be referred to as an ''endemism'' or in scientific literature as an ''endemite''. For example ''[[Cytisus|Cytisus aeolicus]]'' is an endemite of the Italian flora.<ref name=Botany>[https://iris.unipa.it/handle/10447/213708#.YQYyNI4za00 Genetic diversity in Cytisus aeolicus Guss. (Leguminosae), a rare endemite of the Italian flora]</ref> ''[[Enidae|Adzharia renschi]]'' was once believed to be an endemite of the [[Caucasus]], but it was later discovered to be a [[Invasive species|non-indigenous]] species from South America belonging to a different [[genus]].<ref name=Malacology>{{Cite journal|url=https://bioone.org/journals/malacologia/volume-58/issue-1%e2%80%932/040.058.0214/The-Supposed-Transcaucasian-Endemite-Adzharia-renschi-Hesse-1933-is-a/10.4002/040.058.0214.short|doi=10.4002/040.058.0214|title=The Supposed Transcaucasian Endemite ''Adzharia'' renschi ''Hesse'', 1933 is a South AmericanBulimulus ''Species'' (Gastropoda: Bulimulidae)|year=2015|last1=Hausdorf|first1=Bernhard|journal=Malacologia|volume=58|issue=1–2|pages=363–364|s2cid=87572201}}</ref>

The extreme opposite of an endemic species is one with a [[cosmopolitan distribution]], having a global or widespread range.<ref name=Morrone2008/>

A rare alternative term for a species that is endemic is "precinctive", which applies to species (and other taxonomic levels) that are restricted to a defined geographical area.<ref name=Entomology>{{cite book |date=2004 |title=Encyclopedia of Entomology |location=Dordrecht |publisher=Springer |doi=10.1007/0-306-48380-7_3391 |isbn=978-0-306-48380-6}}</ref> Other terms that sometimes are used interchangeably, but less often, include autochthonal, autochthonic, and indigenous, however these terms do not reflect the status of a species that specifically belongs only to a determined place.

== Etymology ==
=== History of the concept ===
The word ''endemic'' is from [[New Latin]] ''endēmicus'', from [[Greek language|Greek]] ἔνδημος, ''éndēmos'', "native". ''Endēmos'' is formed of ''en'' meaning "in", and ''dēmos'' meaning "the people".<ref>[http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/endemic?s=t "Endemic"]. [[Reference.com]]. Retrieved 6 December 2014.</ref> The word entered the English language as a [[loan word]] from [[French language|French]] ''endémique'', and originally seems to have been used in the sense of diseases which occur at a constant amount in a country, as opposed to epidemic diseases, which are exploding in cases. The word was used in biology in 1872 to mean a species restricted to a specific location by [[Charles Darwin]].<ref name=Frank1990>{{cite journal |last1=Frank |first1=J. H. |last2=McCoy |first2=E. D. |date=March 1990 |title=Endemics and epidemics of shibboleths and other things causing chaos |journal=Florida Entomologist |jstor=3495327 |volume=73 |number=1 |pages=1–9 |url=http://journals.fcla.edu/flaent/article/view/58577/56256}}</ref>

The more uncommon term 'precinctive' has been used by some [[entomologist]]s as the equivalent of 'endemic'.<ref name=Entomology/><ref name=Frank1990/><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Frank |first1=J. H. |last2=McCoy |first2=E. D. |date=March 1995 |title=Precinctive insect species in Florida |journal=Florida Entomologist |jstor=3495663 |volume=78 |number=1 |pages=21–35 |url=http://journals.fcla.edu/flaent/article/view/74657/72315|doi=10.2307/3495663 |doi-access=free }}</ref> ''Precinctive'' was coined in 1900 by [[David Sharp (entomologist)|David Sharp]] when describing the Hawaiian insects, as he was uncomfortable with the fact that the word '[[Endemic (epidemiology)|endemic]]' is often associated with diseases.<ref>{{cite book |last=Sharp |first=David |author-link=David Sharp (entomologist) |date = 1900 | chapter = Coleoptera. I. Coleoptera Phytophaga | pages = 91–116 | title = Fauna Hawaiiensis, Being the Land-Fauna of the Hawaiian Islands. | publisher = Cambridge University Press | location = Cambridge | volume = 2, part 3 |quote="I use the word precinctive in the sense of 'confined to the area under discussion' ... 'precinctive forms' means those forms that are confined to the area specified."}}</ref> 'Precinctive' was first used in botany by [[Vaughan MacCaughey]] in Hawaii in 1917.<ref>{{cite journal |last=MacCaughey |first=Vaughan |date=August 1917 |title=A survey of the Hawaiian land flora |journal=Botanical Gazette |doi=10.1086/332097 |volume=LXIV |number=2 |page=92 |s2cid=83629816 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/part/223905 }}</ref>

== Overview ==
[[File:Chorus cicada.jpg|thumb|Chorus cicada (''[[Amphipsalta zelandica]]''), a species endemic to [[New Zealand]]]]
Endemism in general excludes examples kept by humans in [[botanical garden]]s or [[zoological park]]s, as well as populations introduced outside of their native ranges.{{citation needed|date=December 2020}} Juan J. Morrone states that a species may be endemic to any particular geographic region, regardless of size, thus the [[cougar]] is endemic to the Americas,<ref name=Morrone2008/> however, endemism is normally used only where there is a considerable restriction in the area of distribution. All species are not endemics, some species may be cosmopolitan. All endemics are not necessarily rare -some might be common where they occur. All rare species are not necessarily endemics, some may have a large range but be rare throughout this range.<ref name=Bhan>{{cite web |url=https://www.biologydiscussion.com/angiosperm/taxonomy-angiosperm/endemics-types-characters-and-theories/34819 |title=Endemics: Types, Characters and Theories |last=Bhan |first=Preksha |date=12 July 2016 |access-date=9 December 2020}}</ref>

Endemism is caused by historical and ecological factors. [[Vicariant]] events caused by drifting continents, dispersal and extinction are some possible historical factors. Ecological factors can explain the present limits on a distribution.<ref name=Morrone2008/> Endemic species are especially likely to develop on geographically and biologically isolated areas such as islands and remote island groups, including [[Endemism in the Hawaiian Islands|Hawaii]], the [[Galápagos Islands]] and [[Socotra]],<ref name="Kier_2009">{{cite journal | vauthors = Kier G, Kreft H, Lee TM, Jetz W, Ibisch PL, Nowicki C, Mutke J, Barthlott W | title = A global assessment of endemism and species richness across island and mainland regions | journal = Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America | volume = 106 | issue = 23 | pages = 9322–7 | date = June 2009 | pmid = 19470638 | pmc = 2685248 | doi = 10.1073/pnas.0810306106 | bibcode = 2009PNAS..106.9322K | doi-access = free }}</ref> because of the potential for isolation and therefore evolution through [[allopatric speciation]]. [[Darwin's finches]] in the Galápagos archipelago are examples of species endemic to islands.{{citation needed|date=December 2020}} Similarly, isolated mountainous regions like the [[Ethiopian Highlands]],<ref>{{cite journal| vauthors = Steinbauer MJ, Field R, Grytnes JA, Trigas P, Ah-Peng C, Attorre F, Birks HJ, Borges PA, Cardoso P, Chou CH, de Sanctis M | display-authors = 6 |date=2016|title=Topography-driven isolation, speciation and a global increase of endemism with elevation|journal=Global Ecology and Biogeography|language=en|volume=25|issue=9|pages=1097–1107|doi=10.1111/geb.12469 |url=https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/398553/1/steinbaueret%2520al_GEB2016.pdf|hdl=1893/23221|hdl-access=free}}</ref> or large bodies of water far from other lakes, like [[Lake Baikal]], can also have high rates of endemism.<ref name=Martens2009>{{cite book |last1=Martens |first1=K. |last2=Segers |first2=H. |date=2009 |chapter=Endemism in Aquatic Ecosystems |title=Encyclopedia of Inland Waters |publisher=Academic Press |pages=423–430 |doi=10.1016/B978-012370626-3.00211-8|isbn=9780123706263 }}</ref>

The stability of a region's climate and habitat through time may also contribute to high rates of endemism (especially [[paleoendemism]]), acting as [[Refugium (population biology)|refuges]] for species during times of climate change like [[Ice age|Ice Ages]]. These changes may have caused species to repeatedly restrict their ranges into these refuges, leading to regions with many small-ranged species.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Harrison S, Noss R | title = Endemism hotspots are linked to stable climatic refugia | journal = Annals of Botany | volume = 119 | issue = 2 | pages = 207–214 | date = January 2017 | pmid = 28064195 | pmc = 5321063 | doi = 10.1093/aob/mcw248 | url = }}</ref> In many cases biological factors, such as low rates of dispersal or returning to the spawning area ([[philopatry]]), can cause a particular group of organisms to have high speciation rates and thus many endemic species. for example, [[cichlid]]s in the East African [[Rift Lakes]] have diversified into many more endemic species than the other fish families in the same lakes, possibly due to such factors.<ref name=Martens2009/> Plants which become endemic on isolated islands are often those which have a ''high'' rate of dispersal, and are able to reach such islands by being dispersed by birds.<ref name=Ono1991>{{cite journal |last1=Ono |first1=Mikio |date=1991 |title=The Flora of the Bonin (Ogasawara) Islands: Endemism and Dispersal Modes |url=https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1384&context=aliso |journal=Aliso |volume=13 |issue=1 |pages=95–105 |doi=10.5642/aliso.19911301.04 |access-date=10 December 2020|doi-access=free }}</ref> While birds are less likely to be endemic to a region based on their ability to disperse via flight, there are over 2,500 species which are considered endemic, meaning that the species is restricted to an area less than 5 million hectares.<ref>{{Cite web|title=BirdLife Data Zone|url=http://datazone.birdlife.org/eba|access-date=2021-04-12|website=datazone.birdlife.org}}</ref>

[[Microorganism]]s were traditionally not believed to form endemics. The hypothesis 'everything is everywhere', first stated in [[Dutch language|Dutch]] by Lourens G.M. Baas Becking in 1934, describes the theory that the distribution of organisms smaller than 2mm is cosmopolitan where habitats occur that support their growth.<ref name=Williams2011>{{cite book |last=Williams |first=David |chapter=Historical biogeography, microbial endemism and the role of classification: Everything is endemic |chapter-url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/234359524 |editor1-last=Fontaneto |editor1-first=Diego |date=January 2011 |title=Biogeography of microorganisms. Is everything small everywhere? |publisher=Cambridge University Press |pages=11–32 |doi=10.1017/CBO9780511974878.003 |isbn=9780511974878 }}</ref>

===Subtypes===
The first subcategories were first introduced by [[Claude P. E. Favager]] and [[Juliette Contandriopoulis]] in 1961: schizoendemics, apoendemics and patroendemics.<ref name=Bhan/><ref name=Contandriopoulos1984>{{cite journal |last1=Contandriopoulos |first1=J. |last2=Cardona i Florit |first2=Mileniac A. |date=1984 |title=Caractère original de la flore endémique des Baléares |url=https://www.e-periodica.ch/digbib/view?pid=bhl-002%3A1984%3A94%3A%3A108#108 |journal=Botanica Helvetica |volume=94 |issue=1 |pages=101–132 |language=fr |issn=0253-1453 |access-date=27 November 2020}}</ref> Using this work, [[Ledyard Stebbins]] and [[Jack Major (botanist)|Jack Major]] then introduced the concepts of neoendemics and paleoendemics in 1965 to describe the endemics of [[California]].<ref name=Stebbins1965>{{cite journal |last1=Stebbins |first1=G. Ledyard |last2=Major |first2=Jack |date=1965 |title=Endemism and Speciation in the California Flora |jstor=1942216 |journal=Ecological Monographs |volume=35 |issue=1 |pages=2–35 |doi=10.2307/1942216 }}</ref> Endemic taxa can also be classified into autochthonous, allochtonous, taxonomic relicts and biogeographic relicts.<ref name=Morrone2008/>

Paleoendemism refers to species that were formerly widespread but are now restricted to a smaller area. [[Neoendemism]] refers to species that have recently arisen, such as through divergence and reproductive isolation<ref name=Martens2009/> or through [[Hybridization (biology)|hybridization]]{{citation needed|date=December 2020}} and [[polyploidy]] in plants,<ref name=Alpecole>{{cite web |url=https://www.geo.uzh.ch/microsite/alpecole/static/course/lessons/08/08d.htm |title=Endemism |author= |date=29 August 2011 |website=Alpecole |publisher=[[University of Zurich]], Department of Geography |access-date=9 December 2020}}</ref> and have not dispersed beyond a limited range.<ref name=Martens2009/>

Paleoendemism is more or less synonymous with the concept of a '[[Relict (biology)|relict species]]': a [[population]] or [[taxon]] of organisms that was more widespread or more diverse in the past. A 'relictual population' is a population that currently occurs in a restricted area, but whose original [[Range (biology)|range]] was far wider during a previous [[Geologic time scale|geologic epoch]]. Similarly, a 'relictual taxon' is a taxon (e.g. species or other lineage) that is the sole surviving representative of a formerly diverse group.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Habel |first1=Jan C. |last2=Assmann |first2=Thorsten |last3=Schmitt |first3=Thomas |last4=Avise |first4=John C. |editor1-last=Habel |editor1-first=Jan Christian |editor2-last=Assmann |editor2-first=Thorsten |title=Relict species: Phylogeography and Conservation Biology |date=2010 |publisher=Springer-Verlag |location=Berlin |isbn=9783540921608 |pages=1–5 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vMTCbd_7qWUC&pg=PA1 |chapter=Relict Species: From Past to Future}}</ref>

Schizoendemics, apoendemics and patroendemics can all be classified as types of neoendemics. Schizoendemics arise from a wider distributed taxon which has become reproductively isolated without becoming (potentially) genetically isolated – a schizoendemic has the same [[karyotype|chromosome count]] as the parent taxon it evolved from. An apoendemic is a [[polyploid]] of the parent taxon (or taxa in the case of [[allopolyploid]]s), whereas a patroendemic has a lower, diploid chromosome count than the related, more widely distributed polyploid taxon.<ref name=Ono1991/><ref name=Alpecole/> [[Mikio Ono]] coined the term 'aneuendemics' in 1991 for species which have more or less chromosomes than their relatives due to [[aneuploidy]].<ref name=Ono1991/>

Pseudoendemics are taxa which have possibly recently evolved from a mutation. Holoendemics is a concept introduced by Richardson 1978 to describe taxa which have remained endemic to a restricted distribution for a very long time.<ref name=Bhan/>

In a 2000 paper, Myers and de Grave further attempted to redefine the concept. In their view, everything is endemic, even cosmopolitan species are endemic to Earth, and earlier definitions restricting endemics to specific locations are wrong. Thus the subdivisions neoendemics and paleoendemics are without merit regarding the study of distributions, because these concepts consider that an endemic has a distribution limited to one place. Instead, they propose four different categories: holoendemics, euryendemics, stenoendemics and rhoendemics. In their scheme cryptoendemics and euendemics are further subdivisions of rhoendemics. In their view, a holoendemic is a cosmopolitan species. Stenoendemics, also known as local endemics,<ref name=Bhan/> have a reduced distribution and are synonymous with the word 'endemics' in the traditional sense, whereas euryendemics have a larger distribution -both these have distributions which are more or less continuous. A rhoendemic has a [[disjunct distribution]]. Where this disjunct distribution is caused by vicariance, in a euendemic the vicariance was geologic in nature, such as the movement of tectonic plates, but in a cryptoendemic the disjunct distribution was due to extinction of the intervening populations. There is yet another possible situation which can cause a disjunct distribution, where a species is able to colonize new territories by crossing over areas of unsuitable habitat, such as plants colonizing an island – this situation they dismiss as extremely rare and do not devise a name for. Traditionally, none of Myers and de Grave's categories would be considered endemics except stenoendemics.<ref name=Williams2011/><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Myers |first1=Alan A. |last2=de Grave |first2=Sammy |date=December 2000 |title=Endemism: Origins and implications |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/290591006 |journal=Vie et Milieu |volume=50 |issue=4 |pages=195–204 |access-date=10 December 2020}}</ref>

=== Soil ===
[[File:Red_Hills_(42598108362).jpg|thumb|Red Hills near Tuolumne County, California: a serpentine grassland]]
[[Serpentine soil]]s act as '[[edaphic]] islands' of low fertility and these soils lead to high rates of endemism.<ref name=pmid24509800>{{cite journal |last1=Anacker |first1=Brian L. |title=The nature of serpentine endemism |journal=American Journal of Botany |date=February 2014 |volume=101 |issue=2 |pages=219–224 |doi=10.3732/ajb.1300349 |pmid=24509800 }}</ref><ref name="Mayer 1994 557–574">{{cite journal |last1=Mayer |first1=Michael S. |last2=Soltis |first2=Pamela S. |title=The Evolution of Serpentine Endemics: A Chloroplast DNA Phylogeny of the ''Streptanthus glandulosus'' Complex (Cruciferae) |journal=Systematic Botany |date=October 1994 |volume=19 |issue=4 |pages=557–74 |doi=10.2307/2419777 |jstor=2419777 }}</ref> These soils are found in the Balkan Peninsula, Turkey, Alps, Cuba, New Caledonia, the North American Appalachians, and a scattered distribution in California, Oregon, and Washington and elsewhere.<ref name="Kruckeberg 2002">{{cite book |title=Geology and plant life: the effects of landforms and rock types on plants |last=Kruckeberg |first=Arthur R |date=2002 |publisher=University of Washington Press |isbn=978-0-295-98203-8 |location=Seattle |language=en |oclc=475373672 }}{{page needed|date=April 2019}}</ref> For example, Mayer and Soltis considered the widespread subspecies [[Streptanthus glandulosus|''Streptanthus glandulosus'' subsp. ''glandulosus'']] which grows on normal soils, to be a paleoendemic, whereas closely related endemic forms of ''S. glandulosus'' occurring on serpentine soil patches are neoendemics which recently evolved from subsp. ''glandulosus''.<ref name="Mayer 1994 557–574"/>

=== Islands ===
Isolated islands commonly develop a number of endemics.<ref name=Ono1991/><ref name=Carlquist>{{cite book|last1=Carlquist |first1=Sherwin |title=Island Biology |date=1974 |publisher=Columbia University |location=New York |pages=19, 34, 35 |isbn=9780231035620 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/41479735 |access-date=10 December 2020}}</ref> Many species and other higher taxonomic groups exist in very small terrestrial or aquatic islands, which restrict their distribution. The Devil's Hole pupfish, ''[[Devils Hole pupfish|Cyprinodon diabolis]],'' has its whole native population restricted to a spring that is 20 x 3 meters, in Nevada's Mojave Desert.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Lomolino|first=Mark V.|title=Biogeography: Biological Diversity across Space and Time|publisher=Sinauer Associates, Inc.|year=2016|isbn=9781605354729|location=Sunderland, Massachusetts, U.S.A.|pages=316}}</ref> This 'aquatic island' is connected to an underground basin; however, the population present in the pool remains isolated.

Other areas very similar to the Galapagos Islands of the Pacific Ocean exist and foster high rates of endemism. The Socotra Archipelago of Yemen, located in the Indian Ocean, has seen a new endemic species of parasitic leech, ''[[Myxobdella socotrensis]],'' appear.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Schenkova|first=J.|date=June 2021|title=Myxobdella socotrensis sp. nov., a new parasitic leech from Socotra Island, with comments on the phylogeny of Praobdellidae (Hirudinida: Arhynchobdellida)|url=https://www.scopus.com/record/display.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85101716404&origin=resultslist&sort=plf-f&src=s&sid=9b4f79fd5f4c818b8682dca476ff60d6&sot=b&sdt=b&sl=35&s=TITLE-ABS-KEY%28islands+and+endemism%29&relpos=2&citeCnt=0&searchTerm=|journal=Parasitology International|volume=82|page=102310|doi=10.1016/j.parint.2021.102310|pmid=33617989|s2cid=232018118|via=SCOPUS}}</ref> This species is restricted to freshwater springs, where it may attach to and feed upon native crabs.

=== Mountains ===
Mountains can be seen as '[[sky islands]]': refugia of endemics because species that live in the cool climates of mountain peaks are geographically isolated. For example, in the [[Alpes-Maritimes]] department of France, ''[[Saxifraga florulenta]]'' is an endemic plant that may have evolved in the [[Late Miocene]] and could have once been widespread across the [[Mediterranean Basin]].<ref name=Comes2004>{{cite journal |last1=Comes |first1=Hans Peter |title=The Mediterranean region – a hotspot for plant biogeographic research |journal=New Phytologist |date=1 September 2004 |volume=164 |issue=1 |pages=11–14 |doi=10.1111/j.1469-8137.2004.01194.x |pmid=33873489 }}</ref>
[[File:Kula tump.jpg|thumb|Cinder cones and vegetation of Kula Volcano, in Turkey]]
Volcanoes also tend to harbor a number of endemic species. Plant life on volcanoes tend to fill a specialized [[ecological niche]] with a very restrictive range due to the unique environmental characteristics present. The [[Kula (volcano)|Kula Volcano]], which is one of the fourteen volcanoes present in Turkey, is home to 13 endemic species of plants.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Isik-Gursoy|first=Deniz|date=January 2015|title=Plant communities, diversity and endemism of the Kula Volcano, Manisa, Turkey|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/271408671|journal=Plant Biosystems |pages=1–6|via=ResearchGate}}</ref>

==Conservation==
Endemics might more easily become [[endangered]] or [[extinct species|extinct]] because they are already restricted in distribution.<ref name=Fritz2009>{{cite journal |last1=Fritz |first1=S. A. |last2=Bininda-Emonds |first2=O. R. P. |last3=Purvis |first3=A. |date= 15 May 2009 |title=Geographical variation in predictors of mammalian extinction risk: big is bad, but only in the tropics |journal=Ecology Letters |volume=12 |number=6 |pages=538–549 |doi=10.1111/j.1461-0248.2009.01307.x |pmid=19392714 |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1461-0248.2009.01307.x}}</ref> Some scientists claim that the presence of endemic species in an area is a good method to find geographical regions which can be considered priorities for conservation.<ref name=Morrone2008/><ref name=Myers2000>{{cite journal |last1=Myers |first1=Norman |last2=Mittermeier |first2=Russell A. |last3=Mittermeier |first3=Cristina G. |last4=da Fonseca |first4=Gustavo A. B. |last5=Kent |first5=Jennifer |title=Biodiversity hotspots for conservation priorities |journal=Nature |date=February 2000 |volume=403 |issue=6772 |pages=853–858 |doi=10.1038/35002501 |pmid=10706275 |bibcode=2000Natur.403..853M |s2cid=4414279 }}</ref> Endemism can thus be studied as a proxy for measuring [[biodiversity]] of a region.<ref name=conservationmag>{{cite magazine |last=Meadows |first=Robin |date=29 July 2008 |title=Endemism as a Surrogate for Biodiversity |url=https://www.conservationmagazine.org/2008/07/endemism-as-a-surrogate-for-biodiversity/ |magazine=Conservation |publisher=University of Washington |access-date=21 March 2019}}</ref>

The concept of finding endemic species which occur in the same region to designate 'endemism hotspots' was first proposed by [[Paul Müller (biologist)|Paul Müller]] in a 1973 book. According to him, this is only possible where 1.) the [[Taxonomy (biology)|taxonomy]] of the species in question is not in dispute; 2.) the species distribution is accurately known; and 3.) the species have relatively small distributional ranges.<ref>{{cite book |last=Müller |first=Paul |author-link=Paul Müller (biologist) |date=11 October 1973 |title=The dispersal centres of terrestrial vertebrates in the Neotropical realm : a study in the evolution of the Neotropical biota and its native landscapes |url=https://archive.org/details/dispersalcentres0000mull |location=The Hague |publisher=W. Junk |isbn=9789061932031 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Morrone |first=Juan J. |year=1994 |title=On the Identification of Areas of Endemism |journal=Systematic Biology |volume=43 |issue=3 |pages=438–441 |url=http://www-museum.unl.edu/research/entomology/BiogeographyWS/Morrone1994.pdf |doi=10.1093/sysbio/43.3.438 |access-date=2010-08-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120403022121/http://www-museum.unl.edu/research/entomology/BiogeographyWS/Morrone1994.pdf |archive-date=2012-04-03 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In a 2000 article, Myers ''et al''. used the standard of having more than 0.5% of the world's plant species being endemics of the region to designate 25 geographical areas of the world as '[[biodiversity hotspot]]s'.<ref name=Myers2000/>
[[File:Aplastodiscus arildae no Parque Estadual de Caparao por Lucas Rosado (03).jpg|thumb|''[[Aplastodiscus arildae]]'', a species of frog which is endemic to Brazil]]
In response to the above, the [[Worldwide Fund for Nature|World Wildlife Fund]] has split the world into a few hundred geographical '[[ecoregions]]'. These have been designed to include as many species as possible which only occur in a single ecoregion, and these species are thus 'endemics' to these ecoregions.<ref name=Martens2009/> Since plenty of these ecoregions have a high prevalence of endemics existing within them, many National Parks have been formed around or within them to further promote conservation. The [[Caparaó National Park]] was formed in the [[Atlantic Forest]], a biodiversity hotspot located in Brazil, in order to help protect valuable and vulnerable species.<ref>{{Cite journal|date=2021-04-01|title=Vegetation trends in a protected area of the Brazilian Atlantic forest|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0925857421000343|journal=Ecological Engineering|language=en|volume=162|pages=106180|doi=10.1016/j.ecoleng.2021.106180|issn=0925-8574|last1=Silva|first1=Rosane Gomes da|last2=Santos|first2=Alexandre Rosa dos|last3=Pelúzio|first3=João Batista Esteves|last4=Fiedler|first4=Nilton César|last5=Juvanhol|first5=Ronie Silva|last6=Souza|first6=Kaíse Barbosa de|last7=Branco|first7=Elvis Ricardo Figueira|s2cid=233567444}}</ref>

Other scientists have argued that endemism is not an appropriate measure of [[biodiversity]], because the levels of threat or biodiversity are not actually correlated to areas of high endemism. When using bird species as an example, it was found that only 2.5% of biodiversity hotspots correlate with endemism and the threatened nature of a geographic region.<ref name=Morrone2008/><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Orme |first1=C. David L. |last2=Richard G. |first2=Davies |last3=Burgess |first3=Malcolm |last4=Eigenbrod |first4=Felix |last5=Pickup |first5=Nicola |last6=Olson |first6=Valerie A. |last7=Webster |first7=Andrea J. |last8=Ding |first8=Tzung-Su |last9=Rasmussen |first9=Pamela C. |last10=Ridgely |first10=Robert S. |last11=Stattersfield |first11=Ali J. |last12=Bennett |first12=Peter M. |last13=Blackburn |first13=Tim M. |last14=Gaston |first14=Kevin J. |last15=Owens |first15=Ian P. F. | date = August 2005 | display-authors = 6 | title = Global hotspots of species richness are not congruent with endemism or threat | journal = Nature | volume = 436 | issue = 7053 | pages = 1016–1019 | pmid = 16107848 | doi = 10.1038/nature03850 | bibcode = 2005Natur.436.1016O | s2cid = 4414787 }}</ref> A similar pattern had been found before regarding mammals, ''[[Lasioglossum]]'' bees, [[Plusiinae]] moths, and [[swallowtail butterflies]] in North America: these different groups of taxa did not correlate geographically with each other regarding endemism and species richness. Especially using mammals as [[flagship species]] proved to be a poor system of identifying and protecting areas of high invertebrate biodiversity.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Kerr |first=Jeremy T. |date=October 1997 |title=Species Richness, Endemism, and the Choice of Areas for Conservation |journal=Conservation Biology |jstor=2387391 |doi=10.1046/j.1523-1739.1997.96089.x |volume=11 |issue=55 |pages=1094–1100 |s2cid=55794847 |url=http://www.macroecology.ca/pdf/consbiol1997.pdf |url-access=subscription |access-date=2010-08-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170809090441/http://macroecology.ca/pdf/consbiol1997.pdf |archive-date=2017-08-09 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In response to this, other scientists again defended the concept by using WWF ecoregions and reptiles, finding that most reptile endemics occur in WWF ecoregions with high biodiversity.<ref name=conservationmag/>

Other conservation efforts for endemics include keeping captive and semi-captive populations in zoological parks and botanical gardens. These methods are [[Ex situ conservation|ex situ]] ("off site") conservation methods. The use of such methods may not only offer refuge and protection for individuals of declining or vulnerable populations, but it may also allow biologists valuable opportunities to research them as well.

== References ==
{{Reflist|32em}}

== External links ==
* {{Wiktionary-inline|endemism}}
* {{Wiktionary-inline|endemic}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Endemism}}
[[Category:Endemism| ]]
[[Category:Biodiversity]]
[[Category:Habitat]]
[[Category:Biology terminology]]

Endemism - Revision history

ImportMaster at 03:03, 7 May 2022