scholarly journals Linking indices for biodiversity monitoring to extinction risk theory

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael A. McCarthy ◽  
Alana L. Moore ◽  
Jochen Krauss ◽  
John W Morgan ◽  
Christopher F. Clements
Keyword(s):  
Biological Diversity ◽  
Extinction Risk ◽  
Geometric Mean ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Monitoring Program ◽  
Convention On Biological Diversity ◽  
Biodiversity Indices ◽  
Extinction Rates ◽  
Avian Abundance ◽  
General Power

Biodiversity indices often combine data from different species when used in monitoring programs. Heuristic properties can suggest preferred indices, but we lack objective ways to discriminate between indices with similar heuristics. Biodiversity indices can be evaluated by determining how well they reflect management objectives that a monitoring program aims to support. For example, the Convention on Biological Diversity requires reporting about extinction rates, so simple indices that reflect extinction risk would be valuable. Here we develop three biodiversity indices that are based on simple models of population viability that relate extinction risk to abundance. The first index is based on the geometric mean abundance of species. A second uses a more general power mean. A third integrates both the geometric mean abundance and trend. These indices require the same data as previous indices, but they also relate directly to extinction risk. Field data for butterflies and woodland plants, and experimental studies of protozoan communities show that the indices correlate with local extinction rates. Applying the index based on the geometric mean to global data on changes in avian abundance suggests that the average extinction probability of birds has increased approximately 1% from 1970 to 2009.

scholarly journals How many bird and mammal extinctions has recent conservation action prevented?

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Friederike C. Bolam ◽  
Louise Mair ◽  
Marco Angelico ◽  
Thomas M. Brooks ◽  
Mark Burgman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Threatened Species ◽  
Biological Diversity ◽  
Expert Elicitation ◽  
Convention On Biological Diversity ◽  
Elicitation Method ◽  
Conservation Action ◽  
Mammal Species ◽  
Extinction Rates ◽  
Near Future

AbstractAichi Target 12 of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) aims to ‘prevent extinctions of known threatened species’. To measure its success, we used a Delphi expert elicitation method to estimate the number of bird and mammal species whose extinctions were prevented by conservation action in 1993 - 2020 (the lifetime of the CBD) and 2010 - 2020 (the timing of Aichi Target 12). We found that conservation prevented 21–32 bird and 7–16 mammal extinctions since 1993, and 9–18 bird and 2–7 mammal extinctions since 2010. Many remain highly threatened, and may still become extinct in the near future. Nonetheless, given that ten bird and five mammal species did go extinct (or are strongly suspected to) since 1993, extinction rates would have been 2.9–4.2 times greater without conservation action. While policy commitments have fostered significant conservation achievements, future biodiversity action needs to be scaled up to avert additional extinctions.

scholarly journals Developing a monitoring program of genetic diversity: what do stakeholders say?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rea Pärli ◽  
Eva Lieberherr ◽  
Rolf Holderegger ◽  
Felix Gugerli ◽  
Alex Widmer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Diversity ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Biological Diversity ◽  
Stakeholder Analysis ◽  
Natural Populations ◽  
Monitoring Program ◽  
Convention On Biological Diversity ◽  
Term Survival ◽  
Network Analyses ◽  
National Monitoring

AbstractGenetic diversity is a fundamental component of biological diversity, and its conservation is considered key to ensure the long-term survival of natural populations and species. National and international legislation increasingly mandates a monitoring of genetic diversity. Examples are the United Nation’s Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) Aichi target 13 and the current post-2020 negotiations to specify a new target for maintaining genetic diversity. To date, only a few pilot projects have been launched that systematically monitor genetic diversity over time in natural populations of a broad variety of wild species. The Swiss Federal Office for the Environment mandated a feasibility study in 2019 for implementing a national monitoring of genetic diversity in natural populations. To obtain information on whether stakeholders are interested in such a systematic monitoring, what they would expect from such a monitoring and where they see respective caveats, we conducted an online survey, which 138 (42% of those surveyed) Swiss stakeholders answered. We find that Swiss stakeholders are generally aware of the lacking evidence regarding the status of genetic diversity in wild populations and species. Accordingly, most stakeholders are interested in a monitoring of genetic diversity and see opportunities for the application of its results in their work. Nevertheless, stakeholders also expressed concerns regarding financial resources and that the results of a genetic diversity monitoring program would not benefit conservation practice. Our findings highlight the importance of stakeholder engagement and demonstrate the value of a detailed stakeholder analysis prior to developing and implementing a genetic diversity monitoring program. A powerful tool for examining the constellation and interactions of the different stakeholders are social network analyses (SNAs). Finally, it is particularly important to communicate transparently about the possibilities and limitations of a genetic diversity monitoring program as well as to closely involve stakeholders from the beginning to increase the acceptance of genetic diversity monitoring and facilitate its implementation.

scholarly journals The endemic plants of Mozambique: diversity and conservation status

PhytoKeys ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 136 ◽  
pp. 45-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iain Darbyshire ◽  
Jonathan Timberlake ◽  
Jo Osborne ◽  
Saba Rokni ◽  
Hermenegildo Matimele ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Biological Diversity ◽  
Extinction Risk ◽  
Conservation Status ◽  
Life Forms ◽  
Convention On Biological Diversity ◽  
Plant Family ◽  
Cross Border ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Endemic Genera ◽  
Plant Families

An annotated checklist of the 271 strict-endemic taxa (235 species) and 387 near-endemic taxa (337 species) of vascular plants in Mozambique is provided. Together, these taxa constitute c. 9.3% of the total currently known flora of Mozambique and include five strict-endemic genera (Baptorhachis, Emicocarpus, Gyrodoma, Icuria and Micklethwaitia) and two near-endemic genera (Triceratella and Oligophyton). The mean year of first publication of these taxa is 1959, with a marked increase in description noted following the onset of the two major regional floristic programmes, the “Flora of Tropical East Africa” and “Flora Zambesiaca”, and an associated increase in botanical collecting effort. New taxa from Mozambique continue to be described at a significant rate, with 20 novelties described in 2018. Important plant families for endemic and near-endemic taxa include Fabaceae, Rubiaceae and Euphorbiaceae s.s. There is a high congruence between species-rich plant families and endemism with the notable exceptions of the Poaceae, which is the second-most species rich plant family, but outside of the top ten families in terms of endemism, and the Euphorbiaceae, which is the seventh-most species rich plant family, but third in terms of endemism. A wide range of life-forms are represented in the endemic and near-endemic flora, with 49% being herbaceous or having herbaceous forms and 55% being woody or having woody forms. Manica Province is by far the richest locality for near-endemic taxa, highlighting the importance of the cross-border Chimanimani-Nyanga (Manica) Highlands shared with Zimbabwe. A total of 69% of taxa can be assigned to one of four cross-border Centres of Endemism: the Rovuma Centre, the Maputaland Centre sensu lato, and the two mountain blocks, Chimanimani-Nyanga and Mulanje-Namuli-Ribaue. Approximately 50% of taxa have been assessed for their extinction risk and, of these, just over half are globally threatened (57% for strict-endemics), with a further 10% (17% for strict-endemics) currently considered to be Data Deficient, highlighting the urgent need for targeted conservation of Mozambique’s unique flora. This dataset will be a key resource for ongoing efforts to identify “Important Plant Areas – IPAs” in Mozambique, and to promote the conservation and sustainable management of these critical sites and species, thus enabling Mozambique to meet its commitments under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).

scholarly journals Prevalence of sustainable and unsustainable use of wild species inferred from the IUCN Red List

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sophie M.E. Marsh ◽  
Michael Hoffmann ◽  
Neil D. Burgess ◽  
Thomas M. Brooks ◽  
Daniel W.S. Challender ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Wild Species ◽  
Biological Diversity ◽  
Extinction Risk ◽  
Sustainable Use ◽  
Iucn Red List ◽  
Red List ◽  
Convention On Biological Diversity ◽  
Human Consumption ◽  
Management Actions ◽  
Taxonomic Groups

AbstractUnsustainable exploitation of wild species represents a serious threat to biodiversity and to the livelihoods of local communities and indigenous peoples. However, managed, sustainable use has the potential to forestall extinctions, aid recovery, and meet human needs. Here, we infer current prevalence of unsustainable and sustainable biological resource use among species groups; research to date has focused on the former with little consideration of the latter. We analyzed species-level data for 30,923 species from 13 taxonomic groups comprehensively assessed on the IUCN Red List. Our results demonstrate the broad taxonomic prevalence of use, with 40% of species (10,098 of 25,009 from 10 taxonomic groups with adequate data) documented as being used. The main purposes of use are pets, display animals and horticulture, and human consumption. Use is often biologically unsustainable: intentional use is currently considered to be contributing to elevated extinction risk for more than one quarter of all threatened or Near Threatened (NT) species (2,752 – 2,848 of 9,753 species). Of the species used and traded, intentional use threatens 16% (1,597 – 1,631 of 10,098 species). However, 36% of species that are used (3,651 of 10,098 species) have either stable or improving population trends and do not have biological use documented as a threat, including 172 threatened or NT species. It is not yet inferable whether use of the remaining 48% of species is sustainable; we make suggestions for improving use-related Red List data to elucidate this. Around a third of species that have use documented as a threat are not currently receiving any species management actions that directly address this threat. Our findings on the prevalence of sustainable and unsustainable use, and variation across taxa, are important for informing international policymaking, including IPBES, the Convention on Biological Diversity, and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.Article impact statementUse is likely unsustainable for 16%, likely sustainable for 36%, and undetermined for 48% of ~10,000 wild species analyzed on the Red List.

scholarly journals Preventing extinctions post-2020 requires recovery actions and transformative change

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Friederike C. Bolam ◽  
Jorge Ahumada ◽  
H. Reşit Akçakaya ◽  
Thomas M. Brooks ◽  
Wendy Elliott ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Threatened Species ◽  
Biological Diversity ◽  
Extinction Risk ◽  
Ex Situ ◽  
Convention On Biological Diversity ◽  
Transformative Change ◽  
Species Extinction ◽  
The World ◽  
Global Biodiversity ◽  
Species Specific

AbstractStopping human-induced extinctions will require strong policy commitments that comprehensively address threats to species. In 2021, a new Global Biodiversity Framework will be agreed by the Convention on Biological Diversity. Here we investigate how the suggested targets could contribute to reducing threats to threatened vertebrates, invertebrates, and plants, and assess the importance of a proposed target to implement recovery actions for threatened species. We find that whilst many of the targets benefit species, extinction risk for over one third of threatened species would not be reduced sufficiently without a target on recovery actions, including ex situ conservation, reintroductions and other species-specific interventions. A median of 41 threatened species per country require such actions, and they are found in most countries of the world. To prevent future extinctions, policy commitments must include recovery actions for the most threatened species in addition to broader transformative change.

scholarly journals Global Plant Extinction Risk Assessment Informs Novel Biodiversity Hotspots

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Haevermans ◽  
Jessica Tressou ◽  
Joon Kwon ◽  
Roseli Pellens ◽  
Anne Dubéarnès ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
Biological Diversity ◽  
Extinction Risk ◽  
Conservation Status ◽  
Scale Up ◽  
Convention On Biological Diversity ◽  
Biodiversity Hotspots ◽  
Threat Status ◽  
United Nations Convention ◽  
The United Nations

Curbing biodiversity loss and its impact on ecosystem services, resilience and Nature's Contributions to People is one of the main challenges of our generation (IPBES, 2019b, 2019a; Secretariat of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, 2020). A global baseline assessment of the threat status of all of biodiversity is crucial to monitor the progress of conservation policies worldwide (Mace & al., 2000; Secretariat of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, 2021) and target priority areas for conservation (Walker & al., 2021). However, the magnitude of the task seems insurmountable, as even listing the organisms already known to science is a challenge (Nic Lughadha & al., 2016; Borsch & al., 2020; Govaerts & al., 2021). A new approach is needed to overcome this stumbling block and scale-up the assessment of extinction risk. Here we show that analyses of natural history mega-datasets using artificial intelligence allows us to predict a baseline conservation status for all vascular plants and identify target areas for conservation corresponding to hotspots optimally capturing different aspects of biodiversity. We illustrate the strong potential of AI-based methods to reliably predict extinction risk on a global scale. Our approach not only retrieved recognized biodiversity hotspots but identified new areas that may guide future global conservation action (Myers & al., 2000; Brooks & al., 2006). To further work in this area and guide the targets of the post-2020 biodiversity framework (Díaz & al., 2020a; Secretariat of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, 2020; Mair & al., 2021), it will be necessary to accelerate the acquisition of fundamental data and allow inclusion of social and economic factors (Possingham & Wilson, 2005).

scholarly journals Challenging the State: Devolutionary Tenure Transitions for Saving and Expanding Forests

Human Ecology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liz Alden Wily
Keyword(s):  
Rural Communities ◽  
Property Rights ◽  
Protected Areas ◽  
Forest Cover ◽  
Biological Diversity ◽  
Convention On Biological Diversity ◽  
Property Relations ◽  
The Will ◽  
Customary Land

AbstractI address a contentious element in forest property relations to illustrate the role of ownership in protecting and expanding of forest cover by examining the extent to which rural communities may legally own forests. The premise is that whilst state-owned protected areas have contributed enormously to forest survival, this has been insufficiently successful to justify the mass dispossession of customary land-owning communities this has entailed. Further, I argue that state co-option of community lands is unwarranted. Rural communities on all continents ably demonstrate the will and capacity to conserve forests – provided their customary ownership is legally recognized. I explore the property rights reforms now enabling this. The replication potential of community protected forestlands is great enough to deserve flagship status in global commitments to expand forest including in the upcoming new Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).

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