Shortfalls in extinction risk assessments for plants

2020 ◽  
Vol 68 (6) ◽  
pp. 466
Author(s):  
Matthew Alfonzetti ◽  
Malin C. Rivers ◽  
Tony D. Auld ◽  
Tom Le Breton ◽  
Tim Cooney ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Extinction Risk ◽  
Iucn Red List ◽  
Red List ◽  
High Rate ◽  
Risk Assessments ◽  
Endemic Plants ◽  
Endemic Plant ◽  
Extinction Risk Assessment ◽  
Epbc Act

Research on species recovery, reintroduction, and conservation disproportionally focusses on birds and mammals. Typically, less attention is given to hyper-diverse but ecologically important groups such as plants and invertebrates. In this study, we focussed on a continent with one of the world’s highest proportions of endemic plant species (Australia) comparing the number of extinction risk assessments relative to birds and mammals. Specifically, we generated a checklist of Australian endemic vascular plants and used three resources which differ in styles and scope to collate information on how many have an extinction risk assessment – the ThreatSearch database, International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, and Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, (EPBC Act). Between 76 and 93% of endemic Australian plants examined lack an extinction risk assessment based on data from our three sources. We also compared the proportions of endemic plants assessed relative to birds and mammals. Of all endemic plant taxa examined, only 6.8% have been assessed under the EPBC Act, compared with 9.4% of birds and 28.9% of mammals. Similarly, only 8.8% of endemic plants have been assessed for the IUCN Red List, compared with 29.1% of birds and 61.1% of mammals, whereas all birds and mammals have been examined in National Action Plans. This represents a significant underestimation of the actual proportion of Australian endemic plants that are likely to satisfy extinction-risk criteria for listing as threatened. This shortfall in risk assessments for plants is a matter of international significance for conservation given Australia’s high rate of plant endemism. A change in policy and approach to assessing extinction risk is needed to ensure adequate assessment effort across different taxonomic groups.

Three new species of Freziera (Pentaphylacaceae, Freziereae) from Bolivia and Peru

Phytotaxa ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 349 (2) ◽  
pp. 101 ◽  
Author(s):  
DANIEL SANTAMARÍA-AGUILAR ◽  
ALFREDO F. FUENTES ◽  
LAURA P. LAGOMARSINO
Keyword(s):  
Risk Assessment ◽  
New Species ◽  
New Taxa ◽  
Extinction Risk ◽  
Iucn Red List ◽  
Red List ◽  
Iucn Red List Categories ◽  
Red List Categories ◽  
Extinction Risk Assessment ◽  
Three New Species

We describe and illustrate three new species of Freziera collected from the “ceja de monte yungueña” cloud forests in Bolivia and Peru. Freziera apolobambensis and F. erickitae, both endemic to Bolivia, have small leaves and pink-magenta flowers, whereas F. magnibracteolata, found in Peru and Bolivia, is characterized by its adaxially pubescent leaves with whitish beige trichomes and inflorescences with large bracts and bracteoles. An extinction risk assessment based on the IUCN Red List categories and criteria indicates that F. apolobambensis should be considered Critically Endangered (CR), whereas F. erickitae and F. magnibracteolata should be considered Endangered (EN). The distribution, phenology, and habitat of the new taxa are provided, and affinities with their presumed closest relatives are discussed. 

scholarly journals Extinction Risk Assessment of the Greek Endemic Flora

Biology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 195 ◽  
Author(s):  
Konstantinos Kougioumoutzis ◽  
Ioannis P. Kokkoris ◽  
Maria Panitsa ◽  
Arne Strid ◽  
Panayotis Dimopoulos
Keyword(s):  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Land Use ◽  
Protected Area ◽  
Extinction Risk ◽  
Endemic Plant ◽  
The Past ◽  
Extinction Risk Assessment ◽  
Endemic Flora ◽  
Biodiversity Decline ◽  
Iucn Criteria

Human-induced biodiversity decline has been on the rise for the past 250 years, due to various causes. What is equally troubling, is that we are unaware which plants are threatened and where they occur. Thus, we are far from reaching Aichi Biodiversity Target 2, i.e., assessing the extinction risk of most species. To that end, based on an extensive occurrence dataset, we performed an extinction risk assessment according to the IUCN Criteria A and B for all the endemic plant taxa occurring in Greece, one of the most biodiverse countries in Europe, in a phylogenetically-informed framework and identified the areas needing conservation prioritization. Several of the Greek endemics are threatened with extinction and fourteen endemics need to be prioritized, as they are evolutionary distinct and globally endangered. Mt. Gramos is identified as the most important conservation hotspot in Greece. However, a significant portion of the identified conservation hotspots is not included in any designated Greek protected area, meaning that the Greek protected areas network might need to be at least partially redesigned. In the Anthropocene era, where climate and land-use change are projected to alter biodiversity patterns and may force many species to extinction, our assessment provides the baseline for future conservation research, ecosystem services maintenance, and might prove crucial for the timely, systematic and effective aversion of plant extinctions in Greece.

scholarly journals Conservation assessment of the endemic plants from Kosovo

Hacquetia ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-47
Author(s):  
Fadil Millaku ◽  
Elez Krasniqi ◽  
Naim Berisha ◽  
Ferat Rexhepi
Keyword(s):  
Local Population ◽  
Iucn Red List ◽  
Red List ◽  
Serpentine Soils ◽  
Endemic Plants ◽  
Aromatic Plants ◽  
Endemic Plant ◽  
Conservation Assessment ◽  
Medicinal And Aromatic Plants ◽  
Iucn Red List Categories

Abstract Sixteen endemic plant taxa were selected from Kosovo, according to the IUCN standards and for each taxon the risk assessment and threat category has been assigned. The taxa were compared with their previous status from fifteen years ago. From sixteen plant taxa, which were included in this work, four are Balkan endemics, whereas, eight of them are local endemics and four of the taxa are stenoendemics. Six of the taxa are grown exclusively on serpentine soils, five of them on limestone substrate, four of them in carbonate substrate, yet only one in silicate substrate. The work has been done based on the standard working methodologies of the IUCN (Guidelines for Using the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria – Version 8.1). The most threatened plant taxa is Solenanthus krasniqii – which after its observance has only 20 mature individuals. As a result of the wild collection of the medicinal and aromatic plants, from the local population, Sideritis scardica is about to be completely go extinct. The aim of this study was to assess the state of endemics in the threats possessed to them during the previous times, present and predicting the trends for the upcoming years.

scholarly journals Assess the Extinction Risk of Mountain Endemic Plants in Egypt Under the Current Climatic Condition: A Case Study of Endemic Silene Species

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (5) ◽  
pp. 34-47
Author(s):  
Karim Omar ◽  
Ibrahim Elgamal
Keyword(s):  
Species Distribution Model ◽  
Extinction Risk ◽  
Field Research ◽  
Iucn Red List ◽  
Red List ◽  
Ex Situ ◽  
Distribution Model ◽  
High Mountain ◽  
Endemic Plant

The process of developing a conservation programme for endemic plant species, in particular those with a small geographical size in mountain ecosystems, whether in situ of ex situ, is a very complex matter, especially if data on the state of the environment and conservation are unavailable. Silene leucophylla and Silene oreosinaica are perennial plants endemic to St. Catherine Protected Area (SCPA), which locate at South Sinai, Egypt. For long time, the second species has not been observed in the field. As a result, the purpose of this study was to increase understanding of the two species' ecological and conservation statuses by: The first step is to confirm their existence on the ground; the second step is to determine the present ecological and conservation conditions through an extinction risk assessment by using IUCN Red List methodology; and the third step is the use of Species Distribution Model (SDM) to locate and extract current appropriate habitat suitability. The field research, which was conducted between March to December 2017, resulted in building knowledge of the current distribution, characteristics of current species populations, and status of ecology and habitat, in addition to identifying the main threats. Both species have been recorded in 20 major sites, in a very restricted area, particularly in a high mountain region (19 sites of Silene leucophylla and 3 sites of S. oreosinaica), with Extent of Occurrence about 468.2 km2 for Silene leucophylla and 24.5 km2 for S. oreosinaica. The population size was very small and fragmented and the extreme drought and overgrazing clearly affected both species. Based on the collected data, the extinction risk was calculated as Critically Endangered for S. oreosinaica and as Endangered for S. leucophylla according to IUCN Red List. For both species, appropriate habitat is concentrated in the high mountain ranges in the central north section of the SCPA, according to SDM. For Silene leucophylla, a presence probability of 20.5 km2 was anticipated, whereas for S. oreosinaica, a presence probability of 62.1 km2 had been predicted. Conservation methods are advocated both in situ (via recovery) and ex situ (by seed collecting and storage, awareness building, and grazing control).

scholarly journals A data-driven geospatial workflow to improve mapping species distributions and assessing extinction risk under the IUCN Red List

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruben Dario Palacio ◽  
Pablo Jose Negret ◽  
Jorge Velásquez-Tibatá ◽  
Andrew P. Jacobson
Keyword(s):  
Extinction Risk ◽  
Conservation Status ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Species Distributions ◽  
Iucn Red List ◽  
Red List ◽  
Data Driven ◽  
Distribution Maps ◽  
Distance Weighted ◽  
Extinction Risk Assessment

ABSTRACTSpecies distribution maps are essential for assessing extinction risk and guiding conservation efforts. Here, we developed a data-driven, reproducible geospatial workflow to map species distributions and evaluate their conservation status consistent with the guidelines and criteria of the IUCN Red List. Our workflow follows five automated steps to refine the distribution of a species starting from its Extent of Occurrence (EOO) to Area of Habitat (AOH) within the species range. The ranges are produced with an Inverse Distance Weighted (IDW) interpolation procedure, using presence and absence points derived from primary biodiversity data. As a case-study, we mapped the distribution of 2,273 bird species in the Americas, 55% of all terrestrial birds found in the region. We then compared our produced species ranges to the expert-drawn IUCN/BirdLife range maps and conducted a preliminary IUCN extinction risk assessment based on criterion B (Geographic Range). We found that our workflow generated ranges with fewer errors of omission, commission, and a better overall accuracy within each species EOO. The spatial overlap between both datasets was low (28%) and the expert-drawn range maps were consistently larger due to errors of commission. Their estimated Area of Habitat (AOH) was also larger for a subset of 741 forest-dependent birds. We found that incorporating geospatial data increased the number of threatened species by 52% in comparison to the 2019 IUCN Red List. Furthermore, 103 species could be placed in threatened categories (VU, EN, CR) pending further assessment. The implementation of our geospatial workflow provides a valuable alternative to increase the transparency and reliability of species risk assessments and improve mapping species distributions for conservation planning and decision-making.

scholarly journals Clarifying misconceptions of extinction risk assessment with the IUCN Red List

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 20150843 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ben Collen ◽  
Nicholas K. Dulvy ◽  
Kevin J. Gaston ◽  
Ulf Gärdenfors ◽  
David A. Keith ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Extinction Risk ◽  
Iucn Red List ◽  
Red List ◽  
Species At Risk ◽  
Iucn Red List Categories ◽  
Use Of Data ◽  
Risk Of Extinction ◽  
Identification Of Species ◽  
Extinction Risk Assessment ◽  
Red Listing

The identification of species at risk of extinction is a central goal of conservation. As the use of data compiled for IUCN Red List assessments expands, a number of misconceptions regarding the purpose, application and use of the IUCN Red List categories and criteria have arisen. We outline five such classes of misconception; the most consequential drive proposals for adapted versions of the criteria, rendering assessments among species incomparable. A key challenge for the future will be to recognize the point where understanding has developed so markedly that it is time for the next generation of the Red List criteria. We do not believe we are there yet but, recognizing the need for scrutiny and continued development of Red Listing, conclude by suggesting areas where additional research could be valuable in improving the understanding of extinction risk among species.

scholarly journals Buglossoporus pulvinus, a rare wood-inhabiting fungus on ancient oak trees in Poland: ecology, distribution and extinction risk assessment

2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 178-186 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrzej Szczepkowski ◽  
Błażej Gierczyk ◽  
Anna Kujawa
Keyword(s):  
Extinction Risk ◽  
Iucn Red List ◽  
Red List ◽  
Distribution Data ◽  
Red Lists ◽  
Oak Trees ◽  
New Localities ◽  
Białowieża National Park ◽  
Extinction Risk Assessment ◽  
Iucn Red List Criteria

Buglossoporus pulvinus is widely distributed across Europe, within the range of Quercus robur. Throughout the area in which it appears, it is rare or very rare. It is listed as an endangered species in Europe and has been added to the Red Lists of fungi in a number of countries, along with awaiting inclusion in the IUCN Red List. In this study we have critically analysed the existing data about the occurrence of B. pulvinus in Poland. We have presented two new localities of the species in question in Poland, as well as new occurrences on the territory of the Białowieża National Park, the only place where this species had been previously recorded in Poland. Selected trees and logs inhabited by B. pulvinus have been characterized. We have indicated the number of observed basidiomata, their phenology, and the sizes of the largest specimens. We have identified 8 fungus species (Bisporella citrina, Daedalea quercina, Hapalopilus croceus, Hymenochaete rubiginosa, Laetiporus sulphureus, Mycena galericulata, M. inclinata, Xylobolus frustulatus) that coexist with B. pulvinus. Based on the new distribution data for B. pulvinus in Poland, according to IUCN Red List criteria this species should be classified as Endangered (EN).

scholarly journals Mollinedia ruschii (Monimiaceae, Mollinedioideae), a new Critically Endangered species microendemic to the Atlantic rainforest, eastern Brazil

2021 ◽  
Vol 154 (1) ◽  
pp. 150-158
Author(s):  
Elton John De Lírio ◽  
Raquel Negrão ◽  
Paulo Takeo Sano ◽  
Ariane Luna Peixoto
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
Extinction Risk ◽  
Field Work ◽  
Iucn Red List ◽  
Red List ◽  
Critically Endangered ◽  
Habitat Specificity ◽  
Critically Endangered Species ◽  
Eastern Brazil ◽  
Extinction Risk Assessment

Background – Studies of neotropical Monimiaceae revealed a new species of Mollinedia endemic to the state of Espírito Santo, eastern Brazil. In this study, we describe, illustrate, and compare the new species with related taxa. In addition, ecological comments and extinction risk assessment of the new species are provided.Methods – This study was based on herbarium material and field work observations. The risk of extinction assessment follows the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species’ Criteria and Categories and the latest version of the IUCN Guidelines.Results – Mollinedia ruschii sp. nov. has habitat specificity with few individuals recorded, mainly in the Estação Biológica de Santa Lúcia, a protected area created by Augusto Ruschi, a Brazilian naturalist and researcher, to whom we dedicate the name of the new species. Phytosociological and forest dynamics studies and intensive field work in the area where the species occurs, enabled the detection of the decline of mature individuals in previous decades. Following the IUCN Red List criteria, the species is assessed as Critically Endangered.

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.

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