Abstract
If we lack data on the biology of rare species, then understanding of the biology of rarity will be incomplete at best, biased at worst. However, the extent of potential under-study is mostly unknown. We therefore ask for primates, one of the better known orders of mammals, whether data are lacking on rare species. The measure used is published data on a crucial aspect of biology, namely density. Rare species are here defined as those with both geographic range sizes and habitat breadths less than the median for primates; common species are at or above the median for those two measures. Globally, nearly half, 47%, of the 32 rare species lack data on their density, compared to only 10% of the 83 common species (χ2corr. = 17.1, p < 0.001). Within realms, Asia and Madagascar show a particularly strong bias, missing density data for over 50% of their rare species. Thus, rare species are indeed severely under-studied compared to common species, even in this well-studied mammalian taxon.
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Coppeto, S.A., Harcourt, A.H. Is a biology of rarity in primates yet possible?. Biodivers Conserv 14, 1017–1022 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-004-0668-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-004-0668-1