A map highlighting species rarity (IMAGE)

Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) Graduate University

A map highlighting species rarity

Caption

A map highlighting species rarity—the areas with many ant species with very small ranges. The colored areas all indicate important regions for ant species with small ranges. Red indicates areas that are relatively more studied than other areas, which could artificially boost their importance. Purple areas are both important based on current knowledge and are likely to remain so after future sampling. Blue areas are predicted by machine learning to harbor concentrations of undiscovered, small-ranged ant species, giving scientists a treasure map to guide future exploration. This image is an edited version of a figure that appeared in the paper.

Credit

OIST

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License

CC BY

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