News Briefs: Habitat loss, invasive species, and overharvesting have put one of every eight plant species at risk of extinction worldwide,

1999 ◽  
Vol 33 (23) ◽  
pp. 490A-490A
Science ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 366 (6461) ◽  
pp. 71-76 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brett R. Scheffers ◽  
Brunno F. Oliveira ◽  
Ieuan Lamb ◽  
David P. Edwards

Wildlife trade is a multibillion dollar industry that is driving species toward extinction. Of >31,500 terrestrial bird, mammal, amphibian, and squamate reptile species, ~24% (N = 7638) are traded globally. Trade is strongly phylogenetically conserved, and the hotspots of this trade are concentrated in the biologically diverse tropics. Using different assessment approaches, we predict that, owing to their phylogenetic replacement and trait similarity to currently traded species, future trade will affect up to 4064 additional species—totaling 11,702 species at risk of extinction from trade. Our assessment underscores the need for a strategic plan to combat trade with policies that are proactive rather than reactive, which is especially important because species can quickly transition from being safe to being endangered as humans continue to harvest and trade across the tree of life.


FACETS ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 538-550
Author(s):  
J.L. McCune ◽  
Peter D.S. Morrison

Fully 37% of species listed under Canada’s Species at Risk Act (SARA) are plants or lichens. The law does not automatically protect species on private land, and it is unknown how many at-risk plants grow mainly on private land. We analyzed official status reports and related documents for 234 plant species at risk to determine land tenure and evaluated differences in threats and changes in status. We also assessed how well plants were represented in two federal programs: the Natural Areas Conservation Program (NACP) and the Habitat Stewardship Program (HSP). Of SARA-listed plant species, 35% have the majority of their known populations on private land while <10% occur mostly on federal land. Species growing mainly on private land were no more or less likely to decline in status over time compared with others. Plant species at risk were less likely than other taxonomic groups to be found on land protected under the NACP. The proportion of HSP projects targeting plants is well below the expected proportion based on the number of listed species. We recommend that policy-makers promote and prioritize actions to increase the representation of plant species in federally funded programs, especially on private lands.


2020 ◽  
Vol 80 (2) ◽  
pp. 485-486
Author(s):  
V. Molina-Guerra ◽  
B. Soto-Mata ◽  
E. Alanís-Rodríguez ◽  
E. Jurado ◽  
G. Cuéllar-Rodríguez ◽  
...  

2014 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 450-462 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen E. Bagne ◽  
Megan M. Friggens ◽  
Sharon J. Coe ◽  
Deborah M. Finch

Abstract Species conservation often prioritizes attention on a small subset of “special status” species at high risk of extinction, but actions based on current lists of special status species may not effectively moderate biodiversity loss if climate change alters threats. Assessments of climate change vulnerability may provide a method to enhance identification of species at risk of extinction. We compared climate change vulnerability and lists of special status species to examine the adequacy of current lists to represent species at risk of extinction in the coming decades. The comparison was made for terrestrial vertebrates in a regionally important management area of the southwestern United States. Many species not listed as special status were vulnerable to increased extinction risk with climate change. Overall, 74% of vulnerable species were not included in lists of special status and omissions were greatest for birds and reptiles. Most special status species were identified as additionally vulnerable to climate change impacts and there was little evidence to indicate the outlook for these species might improve with climate change, which suggests that existing conservation efforts will need to be intensified. Current special status lists encompassed climate change vulnerability best if climate change was expected to exacerbate current threats, such as the loss of wetlands, but often overlooked climate-driven threats, such as exceeding physiological thresholds.


2018 ◽  
Vol 218 ◽  
pp. 154-162 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Berthon ◽  
M. Esperon-Rodriguez ◽  
L.J. Beaumont ◽  
A.J. Carnegie ◽  
M.R. Leishman

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