BIOGEOGRAPHY OF RECENTLY EXTINCT MARINE SPECIES - IMPLICATIONS FOR CONSERVATION

At least fifteen marine and coastal animal species have become extinct since the end of the Pleistocene. Analyses of the number of marine biogeographical provinces occupied by these species show that contrary to the prevailing view that extinction is usually associated with a small range, at least five species (33%) bad large ranges encompassing parts of tuo or more provinces. At least eight species occurred in areas that served as geographical refuges for taxa during the Pliocene and early Pleistocene. These refuges, in which primary planktonic productivity is generally very high, include the northwestern Atlantic and North Pacific. Extinctions in the northwestern Atlantic (four species) may be partly responsible for the subsequent success of human-introduced species in subtidal and open-coast intertidal habitats. Regions of high productivity deserve priority among marine areas to be protected from overexploitation and habitat destruction.