Patterns of animal and plant discoveries, distribution and endemism in India—implications on the effectiveness of the protected area network

The main focus in biodiversity is to conserve species diversity with specific emphasis on endemic species. This study has analysed the distribution of endemic floral and faunal species and their representativeness in protected areas of India. The number of endemic species has been estimated as 29787 (30.35%) and 12696 (26.33%) of Indian fauna and flora respectively. Overall, 2055 animal species and 1983 plant species were discovered from India from 2009 to 2018. The number of new distributional records to India reported during the last decade is 1242 species of plants and 1086 species of animals. The species discovery data indicate that there are more species yet to be described. According to the Cramer coefficients, the elevation was strongly correlated with endemism, followed by precipitation, temperature, land cover, and biogeographic zone. The study of endemic floral and faunal species including new species and protected areas provides the first prototype national gap analysis in assessing the representativeness of coverage of protected areas. The patterns of geographic distribution of endemic species and the gap analysis present a novel finding for conservation priorities. The highest number of new species was discovered from protected areas i.e. Periyar, Mundathurai, Khangchendzonga, Mehao, Thattekadu Bird, Eravikulam, Mukurthi, Saddle Peak, Malabar, and Anamalai. Although the total area protected is significant in India, their geographic coverage is almost the contrary to patterns of endemism. The results provide a valued direction for the advancement of management strategies for biodiversity conservation.