scholarly journals Conservation status of polar bears ( Ursus maritimus ) in relation to projected sea-ice declines

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. 20160556 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric V. Regehr ◽  
Kristin L. Laidre ◽  
H. Resit Akçakaya ◽  
Steven C. Amstrup ◽  
Todd C. Atwood ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Polar Bear ◽  
Extinction Risk ◽  
Conservation Status ◽  
Iucn Red List ◽  
Arctic Sea Ice ◽  
Polar Bears ◽  
Near Term ◽  
Conservation Assessments ◽  
Global Population

Loss of Arctic sea ice owing to climate change is the primary threat to polar bears throughout their range. We evaluated the potential response of polar bears to sea-ice declines by (i) calculating generation length (GL) for the species, which determines the timeframe for conservation assessments; (ii) developing a standardized sea-ice metric representing important habitat; and (iii) using statistical models and computer simulation to project changes in the global population under three approaches relating polar bear abundance to sea ice. Mean GL was 11.5 years. Ice-covered days declined in all subpopulation areas during 1979–2014 (median −1.26 days year −1 ). The estimated probabilities that reductions in the mean global population size of polar bears will be greater than 30%, 50% and 80% over three generations (35–41 years) were 0.71 (range 0.20–0.95), 0.07 (range 0–0.35) and less than 0.01 (range 0–0.02), respectively. According to IUCN Red List reduction thresholds, which provide a common measure of extinction risk across taxa, these results are consistent with listing the species as vulnerable. Our findings support the potential for large declines in polar bear numbers owing to sea-ice loss, and highlight near-term uncertainty in statistical projections as well as the sensitivity of projections to different plausible assumptions.

scholarly journals The Sampled Red List Index for Plants, phase II: ground-truthing specimen-based conservation assessments

2015 ◽  
Vol 370 (1662) ◽  
pp. 20140015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neil Brummitt ◽  
Steven P. Bachman ◽  
Elina Aletrari ◽  
Helen Chadburn ◽  
Janine Griffiths-Lee ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Natural History ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Biological Diversity ◽  
Extinction Risk ◽  
Conservation Status ◽  
Population Data ◽  
Iucn Red List ◽  
Red List ◽  
Distribution Maps ◽  
Conservation Assessments

The IUCN Sampled Red List Index (SRLI) is a policy response by biodiversity scientists to the need to estimate trends in extinction risk of the world's diminishing biological diversity. Assessments of plant species for the SRLI project rely predominantly on herbarium specimen data from natural history collections, in the overwhelming absence of accurate population data or detailed distribution maps for the vast majority of plant species. This creates difficulties in re-assessing these species so as to measure genuine changes in conservation status, which must be observed under the same Red List criteria in order to be distinguished from an increase in the knowledge available for that species, and thus re-calculate the SRLI. However, the same specimen data identify precise localities where threatened species have previously been collected and can be used to model species ranges and to target fieldwork in order to test specimen-based range estimates and collect population data for SRLI plant species. Here, we outline a strategy for prioritizing fieldwork efforts in order to apply a wider range of IUCN Red List criteria to assessments of plant species, or any taxa with detailed locality or natural history specimen data, to produce a more robust estimation of the SRLI.

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 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.

Using art to explore children’s perceptions of their Arctic community in a changing climate 

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Lipson ◽  
Kim Reasor ◽  
Kååre Sikuaq Erickson
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Sea Ice ◽  
Marine Mammals ◽  
School Curriculum ◽  
Arctic Sea Ice ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Polar Bears ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
Subsistence Hunting ◽  
Sea Ice Decline

<p>In this project we analyze artwork and recorded statements of 5<sup>th</sup> grade students from the community of Utqiaġvik, Alaska, who participated in a science-art outreach activity. The team consisted of a scientist (Lipson), an artist (Reasor) and an outreach specialist (Erickson) of Inupiat heritage from a village in Alaska. We worked with four 5th grade classes of about 25 students each at Fred Ipalook Elementary. The predominantly Inupiat people of Utqiaġvik are among those who will be most impacted by climate change and the loss of Arctic sea ice in the near future. Subsistence hunting of marine mammals associated with sea ice is central to the Inupiat way of life. Furthermore, their coastal homes and infrastructure are increasingly subject to damage from increased wave action on ice-free Beaufort and Chukchi Seas. While the people of this region are among the most directly vulnerable to climate change, the teachers reported that the subject is not generally covered in the elementary school curriculum.</p><p>The scientist and the local outreach specialist gave a short presentation about sea ice and climate change in the Arctic, with emphasis on local impacts to hunting and infrastructure. We then showed the students a large poster of historical and projected sea ice decline, and asked the students to help us fill in the white space beneath the lines. The artist led the children in making small paintings that represent things that are important to their lives in Utqiaġvik (they were encouraged to paint animals, but they were free to do whatever they wanted). We returned to the class later that week and had each student briefly introduce themselves and their painting, and place it on the large graph of sea ice decline, which included the dire predictions of the RCP8.5 scenario. Then we added the more hopeful RCP2.6 scenario to end on a positive note.</p><p>Common themes expressed in the students’ artwork included subsistence hunting, other aspects of traditional Inupiat culture, nature and family. Modern themes such as sports and Pokémon were also common. The students reacted to the topic of climate change with pictures of whales, polar bears and other animals, and captions such as “Save the world/ice/animals.” There were several paintings showing unsuccessful hunts for whales or seals. Some students displayed an understanding of ecosystem science in their recorded statements. For example, a student who painted the sun and another who painted a krill both succinctly described energy flow in food webs that support the production of whales (for example, “I drew krill because without krill there wouldn’t be whales”). Some of the students described the consequences of sea ice loss to local wildlife with devastating succinctness (sea ice is disappearing and polar bears will go extinct). The overall sense was that the children had a strong grasp of the potential consequences of climate change to their region and way of life.</p>

scholarly journals Increasing accuracy: The advantage of using open access species occurrence database in the Red List assessment

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (8) ◽  
Author(s):  
Iyan Robiansyah ◽  
Wita Wardani
Keyword(s):  
Open Access ◽  
Extinction Risk ◽  
Conservation Status ◽  
Iucn Red List ◽  
Red List ◽  
Suitable Habitat ◽  
Herbarium Specimens ◽  
Species Occurrence ◽  
Extent Of Occurrence ◽  
Area Of Occupancy

Abstract. Robiansyah I, Wardani W. 2020. Increasing accuracy: The advantage of using open access species occurrence database in the Red List assessment. Biodiversitas 21: 3658-3664. IUCN Red List is the most widely used instrument to assess and advise the extinction risk of a species. One of the criteria used in IUCN Red List is geographical range of the species assessed (criterion B) in the form of extent of occurrence (EOO) and/or area of occupancy (AOO). While this criterion is presumed to be the easiest to be completed as it is based mainly on species occurrence data, there are some assessments that failed to maximize freely available databases. Here, we reassessed the conservation status of Cibotium arachnoideum, a tree fern distributed in Sumatra and Borneo. This species was previously assessed by Praptosuwiryo (2020, Biodiversitas 21 (4): 1379-1384) which classified the species as Endangered (EN) under criteria B2ab(i,ii,iii); C2a(ii). Using additional data from herbarium specimens recorded in the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) website and from peer-reviewed scientific papers, in the present paper we show that C. arachnoideum has a larger extent of occurrence (EOO) and area of occupancy (AOO), more locations and different conservation status compared to those in Praptosuwiryo (2020). Our results are supported by the predicted suitable habitat map of C. arachnoideum produced by MaxEnt modelling method. Based on our assessment, we propose the category of Vulnerable (VU) C2a(i) as the global conservation status for C. arachnoideum. Our study implies the advantage of using open access databases to increase the accuracy of extinction risk assessment under the IUCN Red List criteria in regions like Indonesia, where adequate taxonomical information is not always readily available.

scholarly journals Estimating the global conservation status of more than 15,000 Amazonian tree species

2015 ◽  
Vol 1 (10) ◽  
pp. e1500936 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hans ter Steege ◽  
Nigel C. A. Pitman ◽  
Timothy J. Killeen ◽  
William F. Laurance ◽  
Carlos A. Peres ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Protected Areas ◽  
Tree Species ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Gap Analysis ◽  
Extinction Risk ◽  
Conservation Status ◽  
Iucn Red List ◽  
Distribution Models ◽  
Threatened Plant Species ◽  
The Tropics

Estimates of extinction risk for Amazonian plant and animal species are rare and not often incorporated into land-use policy and conservation planning. We overlay spatial distribution models with historical and projected deforestation to show that at least 36% and up to 57% of all Amazonian tree species are likely to qualify as globally threatened under International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List criteria. If confirmed, these results would increase the number of threatened plant species on Earth by 22%. We show that the trends observed in Amazonia apply to trees throughout the tropics, and we predict that most of the world’s >40,000 tropical tree species now qualify as globally threatened. A gap analysis suggests that existing Amazonian protected areas and indigenous territories will protect viable populations of most threatened species if these areas suffer no further degradation, highlighting the key roles that protected areas, indigenous peoples, and improved governance can play in preventing large-scale extinctions in the tropics in this century.

Unusual Predation Attempts of Polar Bears on Ringed Seals in the Southern Beaufort Sea: Possible Significance of Changing Spring Ice Conditions

ARCTIC ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 61 (1) ◽  
pp. 14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian Stirling ◽  
Evan Richardson ◽  
Gregory W. Thiemann ◽  
Andrew E. Derocher
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Polar Bear ◽  
Foraging Behaviour ◽  
Open Water ◽  
Beaufort Sea ◽  
Polar Bears ◽  
Ringed Seals ◽  
Decadal Scale ◽  
Underlying Causes ◽  
Ice Conditions

In April and May 2003 through 2006, unusually rough and rafted sea ice extended for several tens of kilometres offshore in the southeastern Beaufort Sea from about Atkinson Point to the Alaska border. Hunting success of polar bears (Ursus maritimus) seeking seals was low despite extensive searching for prey. It is unknown whether seals were less abundant in comparison to other years or less accessible because they maintained breathing holes below rafted ice rather than snowdrifts, or whether some other factor was involved. However, we found 13 sites where polar bears had clawed holes through rafted ice in attempts to capture ringed seals (Phoca hispida) in 2005 through 2006 and another site during an additional research project in 2007. Ice thickness at the 12 sites that we measured averaged 41 cm. These observations, along with cannibalized and starved polar bears found on the sea ice in the same general area in the springs of 2004 through 2006, suggest that during those years, polar bears in the southern Beaufort Sea were nutritionally stressed. Searches made farther north during the same period and using the same methods produced no similar observations near Banks Island or in Amundsen Gulf. A possible underlying ecological explanation is a decadal-scale downturn in seal populations. But a more likely explanation is major changes in the sea-ice and marine environment resulting from record amounts and duration of open water in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas, possibly influenced by climate warming. Because the underlying causes of observed changes in polar bear body condition and foraging behaviour are unknown, further study is warranted.

scholarly journals Increased Arctic sea ice drift alters adult female polar bear movements and energetics

2017 ◽  
Vol 23 (9) ◽  
pp. 3460-3473 ◽  
Author(s):  
George M. Durner ◽  
David C. Douglas ◽  
Shannon E. Albeke ◽  
John P. Whiteman ◽  
Steven C. Amstrup ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Adult Female ◽  
Polar Bear ◽  
Arctic Sea Ice ◽  
Ice Drift ◽  
Arctic Sea ◽  
Sea Ice Drift ◽  
Female Polar Bear

scholarly journals The changing fates of the world's mammals

2011 ◽  
Vol 366 (1578) ◽  
pp. 2598-2610 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Hoffmann ◽  
Jerrold L. Belant ◽  
Janice S. Chanson ◽  
Neil A. Cox ◽  
John Lamoreux ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Captive Breeding ◽  
Extinction Risk ◽  
Conservation Status ◽  
Iucn Red List ◽  
Red List ◽  
Mammal Species ◽  
International Union ◽  
The Status ◽  
Conservation Actions ◽  
In The Wild

A recent complete assessment of the conservation status of 5487 mammal species demonstrated that at least one-fifth are at risk of extinction in the wild. We retrospectively identified genuine changes in extinction risk for mammals between 1996 and 2008 to calculate changes in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List Index (RLI). Species-level trends in the conservation status of mammalian diversity reveal that extinction risk in large-bodied species is increasing, and that the rate of deterioration has been most accelerated in the Indomalayan and Australasian realms. Expanding agriculture and hunting have been the main drivers of increased extinction risk in mammals. Site-based protection and management, legislation, and captive-breeding and reintroduction programmes have led to improvements in 24 species. We contextualize these changes, and explain why both deteriorations and improvements may be under-reported. Although this study highlights where conservation actions are leading to improvements, it fails to account for instances where conservation has prevented further deteriorations in the status of the world's mammals. The continued utility of the RLI is dependent on sustained investment to ensure repeated assessments of mammals over time and to facilitate future calculations of the RLI and measurement against global targets.

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