scholarly journals Understanding rarity: A review of recent conceptual advances and implications for conservation of rare species

2012 ◽  
Vol 88 (02) ◽  
pp. 165-175 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Ronnie Drever ◽  
Mark C. Drever ◽  
Darren J.H. Sleep
Keyword(s):  
Rare Species ◽  
Social Economic ◽  
Extinction Risk ◽  
Ecological Value ◽  
Conservation Action ◽  
Geographic Range Size ◽  
Conservation Actions ◽  
Viable Population ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Available Information

Rare species carry a connotation of uniqueness, of being especially valuable, and of heightened extinction risk. We review the literature regarding rare species and link rarity and risk concepts to jurisdictional rarity and how to allocate conservation efforts to rare species gone long undetected. Conservation actions for rare species should be prioritized based on best available information of population trends and thresholds of minimum viable population or geographic range size. For species rare in some geopolitical jurisdictions but common elsewhere, we recommend prioritizing conservation action by assessing beyond jurisdictional boundaries to assess stewardship responsibility relative to the global distribution and at-risk status of the species in question. For making the thorny decision about when to stop managing or monitoring a long-undetected rare species, it may be optimal to continue conservation efforts for a long time, especially if the species has considerable social, economic or ecological value. Recent advances based on theories of optimality provide a replicable and transparent process upon which these decisions can be based.

scholarly journals A reassessment of the extinction risk of the Critically Endangered Oxapampa poison frog Ameerega planipaleae (Dendrobatidae)

Oryx ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 53 (3) ◽  
pp. 557-560 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ariadne Angulo ◽  
Rudolf von May ◽  
Javier Icochea
Keyword(s):  
Extinction Risk ◽  
Critically Endangered ◽  
Cloud Forests ◽  
Conservation Action ◽  
Poison Frog ◽  
Conservation Actions

AbstractAssessments of extinction risk are required to inform conservation action, but the usefulness of assessments is undermined if they are not current. Ameerega planipaleae, a poison frog endemic to the cloud forests of central Peru, was last assessed in 2004. We therefore sought to provide updated data to inform the reassessment of this species. Based on our findings, we recommend that this frog remain categorized as Critically Endangered, but under modified criteria, and that conservation actions are taken to reduce the pressures of local threats, especially the overuse of agrochemicals.

scholarly journals Global extinction risk for seahorses, pipefishes and their near relatives (Syngnathiformes)

Oryx ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Riley A. Pollom ◽  
Gina M. Ralph ◽  
Caroline M. Pollock ◽  
Amanda C.J. Vincent
Keyword(s):  
Threatened Species ◽  
Habitat Degradation ◽  
Extinction Risk ◽  
Conservation Status ◽  
Field Research ◽  
Selective Extraction ◽  
Iucn Red List ◽  
Point Estimate ◽  
Conservation Action ◽  
Data Deficient

Abstract Few marine taxa have been comprehensively assessed for their conservation status, despite heavy pressures from fishing, habitat degradation and climate change. Here we report on the first global assessment of extinction risk for 300 species of syngnathiform fishes known as of 2017, using the IUCN Red List criteria. This order of bony teleosts is dominated by seahorses, pipefishes and seadragons (family Syngnathidae). It also includes trumpetfishes (Aulostomidae), shrimpfishes (Centriscidae), cornetfishes (Fistulariidae) and ghost pipefishes (Solenostomidae). At least 6% are threatened, but data suggest a mid-point estimate of 7.9% and an upper bound of 38%. Most of the threatened species are seahorses (Hippocampus spp.: 14/42 species, with an additional 17 that are Data Deficient) or freshwater pipefishes of the genus Microphis (2/18 species, with seven additional that are Data Deficient). Two species are Near Threatened. Nearly one-third of syngnathiformes (97 species) are Data Deficient and could potentially be threatened, requiring further field research and evaluation. Most species (61%) were, however, evaluated as Least Concern. Primary threats to syngnathids are (1) overexploitation, primarily by non-selective fisheries, for which most assessments were determined by criterion A (Hippocampus) and/or (2) habitat loss and degradation, for which assessments were determined by criterion B (Microphis and some Hippocampus). Threatened species occurred in most regions but more are found in East and South-east Asia and in South African estuaries. Vital conservation action for syngnathids, including constraining fisheries, particularly non-selective extraction, and habitat protection and rehabilitation, will benefit many other aquatic species.

scholarly journals Prioritizing conservation actions in urbanizing landscapes

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
A. K. Ettinger ◽  
E. R. Buhle ◽  
B. E. Feist ◽  
E. Howe ◽  
J. A. Spromberg ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Coho Salmon ◽  
Predictive Accuracy ◽  
Critical Threshold ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Conservation Action ◽  
Critical Thresholds ◽  
Species Response ◽  
Response Data ◽  
Conservation Actions ◽  
Preservation And Restoration

AbstractUrbanization-driven landscape changes are harmful to many species. Negative effects can be mitigated through habitat preservation and restoration, but it is often difficult to prioritize these conservation actions. This is due, in part, to the scarcity of species response data, which limit the predictive accuracy of modeling to estimate critical thresholds for biological decline and recovery. To address these challenges, we quantify effort required for restoration, in combination with a clear conservation objective and associated metric (e.g., habitat for focal organisms). We develop and apply this framework to coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch), a highly migratory and culturally iconic species in western North America that is particularly sensitive to urbanization. We examine how uncertainty in biological parameters may alter locations prioritized for conservation action and compare this to the effect of shifting to a different conservation metric (e.g., a different focal salmon species). Our approach prioritized suburban areas (those with intermediate urbanization effects) for preservation and restoration action to benefit coho. We found that prioritization was most sensitive to the selected metric, rather than the level of uncertainty or critical threshold values. Our analyses highlight the importance of identifying metrics that are well-aligned with intended outcomes.

scholarly journals Conservation Status of Marine Biodiversity in Oceania: An Analysis of Marine Species on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species

2011 ◽  
Vol 2011 ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beth A. Polidoro ◽  
Cristiane T. Elfes ◽  
Jonnell C. Sanciangco ◽  
Helen Pippard ◽  
Kent E. Carpenter
Keyword(s):  
Threatened Species ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Extinction Risk ◽  
Conservation Status ◽  
Marine Species ◽  
Iucn Red List ◽  
Red List ◽  
Marine Biodiversity ◽  
Conservation Priorities ◽  
Conservation Action

Given the economic and cultural dependence on the marine environment in Oceania and a rapidly expanding human population, many marine species populations are in decline and may be vulnerable to extinction from a number of local and regional threats. IUCN Red List assessments, a widely used system for quantifying threats to species and assessing species extinction risk, have been completed for 1190 marine species in Oceania to date, including all known species of corals, mangroves, seagrasses, sea snakes, marine mammals, sea birds, sea turtles, sharks, and rays present in Oceania, plus all species in five important perciform fish groups. Many of the species in these groups are threatened by the modification or destruction of coastal habitats, overfishing from direct or indirect exploitation, pollution, and other ecological or environmental changes associated with climate change. Spatial analyses of threatened species highlight priority areas for both site- and species-specific conservation action. Although increased knowledge and use of newly available IUCN Red List assessments for marine species can greatly improve conservation priorities for marine species in Oceania, many important fish groups are still in urgent need of assessment.

scholarly journals How many bird extinctions have we prevented?

Oryx ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 266-278 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stuart H.M. Butchart ◽  
Alison J. Stattersfield ◽  
Nigel J. Collar
Keyword(s):  
Invasive Species ◽  
Captive Breeding ◽  
Extinction Risk ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Iucn Red List ◽  
Additional Species ◽  
Conservation Actions ◽  
Declining Populations ◽  
Population Sizes ◽  
Principal Actions

Considerable resources and efforts have been directed at biodiversity conservation in recent years, but measures of the success of conservation programmes have been limited. Based on information on population sizes, trends, threatening processes and the nature and intensity of conservation actions implemented during 1994–2004, we assessed that 16 bird species would have probably become extinct during this period if conservation programmes for them had not been undertaken. The mean minimum population size of these 16 species increased from 34 to 147 breeding individuals during 1994–2004. In 1994, 63% of them had declining populations but by 2004, 81% were increasing. Most of these species (63%) are found on islands. The principal threats that led to their decline were habitat loss and degradation (88%), invasive species (50%) and exploitation (38%), a pattern similar to that for other threatened species, but with exploitation and invasive species being relatively more important. The principal actions carried out were habitat protection and management (75% of species), control of invasive species (50%), and captive breeding and release (33%). The 16 species represent only 8.9% of those currently classified as Critically Endangered, and 1.3% of those threatened with extinction. Many of these additional species slipped closer to extinction during 1994–2004, including 164 that deteriorated in status sufficiently to be uplisted to higher categories of extinction risk on the IUCN Red List (IUCN, 2006). Efforts need to be considerably scaled up to prevent many more extinctions in the coming decades. The knowledge and tools to achieve this are available, but we need to mobilize the resources and political will to apply them.

scholarly journals The effects of geographic range size and abundance on extinction during a time of “sluggish”’ evolution

Paleobiology ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Michelle M. Casey ◽  
Erin E. Saupe ◽  
Bruce S. Lieberman
Keyword(s):  
North American ◽  
Fossil Record ◽  
Extinction Risk ◽  
Geographic Range ◽  
Range Size ◽  
Late Paleozoic ◽  
The North ◽  
Geographic Range Size ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Habitat Tracking

Abstract Geographic range size and abundance are important determinants of extinction risk in fossil and extant taxa. However, the relationship between these variables and extinction risk has not been tested extensively during evolutionarily “quiescent” times of low extinction and speciation in the fossil record. Here we examine the influence of geographic range size and abundance on extinction risk during the late Paleozoic (Mississippian–Permian), a time of “sluggish” evolution when global rates of origination and extinction were roughly half those of other Paleozoic intervals. Analyses used spatiotemporal occurrences for 164 brachiopod species from the North American midcontinent. We found abundance to be a better predictor of extinction risk than measures of geographic range size. Moreover, species exhibited reductions in abundance before their extinction but did not display contractions in geographic range size. The weak relationship between geographic range size and extinction in this time and place may reflect the relative preponderance of larger-ranged taxa combined with the physiographic conditions of the region that allowed for easy habitat tracking that dampened both extinction and speciation. These conditions led to a prolonged period (19–25 Myr) during which standard macroevolutionary rules did not apply.

scholarly journals Extinction risk of narrowly distributed species of seed plants in Brazil due to habitat loss and climate change

PeerJ ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. e7333 ◽  
Author(s):  
José Maria Cardoso da Silva ◽  
Alessandro Rapini ◽  
Luis Cláudio F. Barbosa ◽  
Roger R. Torres
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Land Use ◽  
Habitat Loss ◽  
Extinction Risk ◽  
Conservation Strategies ◽  
Seed Plants ◽  
Conservation Action ◽  
Species Extinction ◽  
Tropical Regions ◽  
Mitigation And Adaptation

In a world where changes in land cover and climate happen faster than ever due to the expansion of human activities, narrowly distributed species are predicted to be the first to go extinct. Studies projecting species extinction in tropical regions consider either habitat loss or climate change as drivers of biodiversity loss but rarely evaluate them together. Here, the contribution of these two factors to the extinction risk of narrowly distributed species (with ranges smaller than 10,000 km2) of seed plants endemic to a fifth-order watershed in Brazil (microendemics) is assessed. We estimated the Regional Climate Change Index (RCCI) of these watersheds (areas with microendemics) and projected three scenarios of land use up to the year 2100 based on the average annual rates of habitat loss in these watersheds from 2000 to 2014. These scenarios correspond to immediate conservation action (scenario 1), long-term conservation action (scenario 2), and no conservation action (scenario 3). In each scenario, areas with microendemics were classified into four classes: (1) areas with low risk, (2) areas threatened by habitat loss, (3) areas threatened by climate change, and (4) areas threatened by climate change and habitat loss. We found 2,354 microendemic species of seed plants in 776 areas that altogether cover 17.5% of Brazil. Almost 70% (1,597) of these species are projected to be under high extinction risk by the end of the century due to habitat loss, climate change, or both, assuming that these areas will not lose habitat in the future due to land use. However, if habitat loss in these areas continues at the prevailing annual rates, the number of threatened species is projected to increase to more than 85% (2,054). The importance of climate change and habitat loss as drivers of species extinction varies across phytogeographic domains, and this variation requires the adoption of retrospective and prospective conservation strategies that are context specific. We suggest that tropical countries, such as Brazil, should integrate biodiversity conservation and climate change policies (both mitigation and adaptation) to achieve win-win social and environmental gains while halting species extinction.

scholarly journals Are guitarfishes the next sawfishes? Extinction risk and an urgent call for conservation action

2017 ◽  
Vol 34 ◽  
pp. 75-88 ◽  
Author(s):  
ABM Moore
Keyword(s):  
Extinction Risk ◽  
Conservation Action

scholarly journals Aspects of the methodology of plant populations research (by means of the example of rare species)

2020 ◽  
pp. 115-128
Author(s):  
Volodymyr Kyyak ◽  
Andriy Malynovskyі
Keyword(s):  
Research Methodology ◽  
Rare Species ◽  
Vegetative Reproduction ◽  
Integral Characteristic ◽  
Life Forms ◽  
Population Based ◽  
Population Diversity ◽  
Isolated Populations ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Dynamic Endurance

In this work basic concepts and problematic issues of modern population ecology of plants are considered. Quite different views on many aspects of terminology and research methodology one can observed in the scientific literature. Basic terms such as: «vitality», «age structure», «ontogenetic structure», «self-renewal», «strategy», «regeneration niche», «buffering», population size establishment, etc can be interpreted differently, which causes significant discrepancies in research methodology, and thus are reflected in the interpretation of results. The population is considered as an indivisible and unique set of individuals of one species, which is characterized by self-reproduction while maintaining its main properties. The statemen concerning the population as a unit of biodiversity accountability is justified. The study of strategy, intra-population diversity, viability and mechanisms of self-recovery has shown that the existence of populations for a long time is ensured by a certain structure. The structure of the population is a set of quantitative and qualitative components of its organization at the individual and group level, which characterize the structure and ensure the functioning of the population as a whole system. At the same time, establishing which structural elements play a leading role in the changed environmental conditions continues to be an urgent task for species of different life forms in the variety of conditions of their habitats. The example of isolated populations of rare species shows the most typical stages of structure change due to pessimization of living conditions: simplification of spatial structure, aging or pseudo-rejuvenation, reduction of vitality of individuals and population loci, reduction of self-sufficiency and reproduction, simplification and reduction of ontogenesis of individuals, predominance of death rate over birth rate, reduction of area, number and density, cessation of formation of generative individuals, cessation of undergrowth replenishment, reduction of vegetative reproduction, loss of population viability. An integral characteristic that reflects the current state of the population based on the most important individual and group parameters of structure, growth, development and reproduction is the vitality of the population. Intrapopulation structural components - population loci of reproduction - are of the greatest importance in preserving the viability of populations and ensuring the prospects of their existence in the event of adverse changes in the environment. Among population structures, the highest dynamic endurance and stability of functioning for a long time under different conditions of natural and anthropogenically altered environment were found in metapopulations. Understanding of the processes taking place on the verge of existence of the population during its emergence, and especially during the period of its loss of viability and extinction, is extremely important. However, there are still not so many researches aimed at revealing the patterns of behavior of populations during these most vulnerable periods of their long life cycle.

scholarly journals A conservação de áreas naturais e o Ecoturismo

2014 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
André Scarambone Zaú
Keyword(s):  
Protected Areas ◽  
Conservation Biology ◽  
Rare Species ◽  
National Park ◽  
Olympic Games ◽  
Sustainable Tourism ◽  
Natural Areas ◽  
World Cup ◽  
Viable Population

Qual é o papel do Turismo sustentável e do Ecoturismo nas áreas protegidas? Quais devem ser os preparativos para eventos de grande porte como a Copa do Mundo e os Jogos Olímpicos? Como a Biologia da Conservação pode contribuir para o manejo do Turismo ambiental? Para lidar com essas questões, alguns importantes aspectos da Biologia da Conservação são global e regionalmente contextualizados. São discutidos os conceitos de “biodiversidade”, “espécies comuns e raras”, “população mínima viável”, a necessidade de grandes espaços naturais para alguns organismos, bem como outros aspectos que levam a Conservação da Natureza a ser uma das questões mais importantes para a humanidade nos dias de hoje. The conservation of natural areas and the Ecotourism The role of sustainable tourism and ecotourism in protected areas will become of increased importance for the preparation of upcoming events like the Football World Cup and Olympic Games. Therefore, specific understanding of Conservation Biology should contribute to the management of environmental tourism. To address these issues, some important aspects of Conservation Biology in global and regional scales are contextualized. This paper discusses the concepts of “biodiversity”, “common and rare species”, “minimum viable population”, the need for large natural areas for some organisms, as well as other aspects that make Conservation of Nature one of the most important issues for humanity today. KEYWORDS: National Park; Sustainable Tourism; Conservation Biology.

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