摘要: MethodsThe global gap analysis is a two-stage process. The first stage–identifying the gaps–is an overview of the coverage of the analyzed species (threatened birds, all mammals, and all amphibians) by the global network of protected areas. The second stage–filling the gaps–provides recommendations regarding new areas that need conservation attention in order to fill the gaps in the current network. This project overlaid species distribution maps onto protected area maps using Geographic Information Systems to assess how well each species is represented in protected areas, and to identify gap species that are not covered in any part of their ranges.Assessment of the highest priority areas for consolidation and expansion of the protected area network was based on information regarding irreplaceability and threat. Irreplaceability measures how options for achieving species representation targets are reduced …