Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Oscar Morton, Brett R. Scheffers, Torbjorn Haugaasen, David P. Edwards
Summary: We assessed the trade volumes of threatened and non-threatened species regulated by CITES and found that non-threatened species dominate the trade. We also discovered a disconnect between trade volumes and changing extinction risk, highlighting potential drawbacks in the current regulation of species trade.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Sandrine Pavoine, Carlo Ricotta
Summary: Functional traits determine species' responses to environmental change and/or determine species' effects on ecosystem functions. To include functional distinctiveness as a criterion in conservation strategies, we need formal quantification of species' degree of distinctiveness while incorporating extinction risk. Our framework is particularly relevant at the local scale, where species extinctions impact ecosystem functioning and where conservation policies are developed.
BIOLOGICAL CONSERVATION
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Samantha E. Andres, Jeff R. Powell, Nathan C. Emery, Paul D. Rymer, Rachael V. Gallagher
Summary: Climate change risk assessments are crucial for species conservation and management under future climates. This study illustrates how exposure to climate change and sensitivity of species based on their traits can be combined to predict climate change risk in threatened and unlisted plant species. Results show a significant decline in habitat suitability for all species at current locations under future climates, with a 32-95% reduction in suitable habitat area by 2060. Seven out of the eight species assessed ranked high for overall climate sensitivity, suggesting that listing status may not be a good indicator of climate change risk for plant species.
GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION
(2021)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Tyrone Lavery, David Lindenmayer, Wade Blanchard, Alex Carey, Emma Cook, Peter Copley, Nicholas A. Macgregor, Rhonda Melzer, Catherine Nano, Laura Prentice, Ben C. Scheele, Steve Sinclair, Darren Southwell, Stephanie Stuart, Melinda Wilson, John Woinarski
Summary: Monitoring of threatened plants in Australia is low in both rate and quality compared to threatened vertebrates. Plants with higher conservation status and recovery plans are more likely to be monitored. However, there is a lack of collated monitoring data for plants, highlighting the need for improvements in plant monitoring for biodiversity conservation.
BIOLOGICAL CONSERVATION
(2021)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Stephen G. Kearney, James E. M. Watson, April E. Reside, Diana O. Fisher, Martine Maron, Tim S. Doherty, Sarah M. Legge, John C. Z. Woinarski, Stephen T. Garnett, Brendan A. Wintle, Euan G. Ritchie, Don A. Driscoll, David Lindenmayer, Vanessa M. Adams, Michelle S. Ward, Josie Carwardine
Summary: Earth's extinction crisis is worsening and threat classification schemes are crucial for assessing the drivers and threats causing species declines. However, there is a lack of a complementary framework for evaluating the conservation responses needed to reduce these threats. In this study, an expert-driven threat-abatement framework was developed and applied to 1532 threatened species in Australia, highlighting the importance of retaining and restoring habitat, controlling invasive species and diseases, and improving fire management for species recovery. Integrated management responses are necessary for the survival and recovery of most species.
BIOLOGICAL CONSERVATION
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Anastasia Chatzimentor, Aggeliki Doxa, Stelios Katsanevakis, Antonios D. D. Mazaris
Summary: Rapid anthropogenic climate change is increasing the threat of extinction for threatened biodiversity. The vulnerability of native species to climate change depends on their exposure and specific ecological characteristics. A systematic risk assessment of threatened marine populations in the Mediterranean Sea is lacking. This study combines exposure to increased sea temperature and intrinsic vulnerability to evaluate the risk of climate change for 90 threatened marine species. The results show that 25% of the threatened marine biodiversity in the Mediterranean Sea is under elevated climate risk, with key vulnerability traits identified.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
David Luther, William Justin Cooper, Jesse Wong, Margaretta Walker, Sarah Farinelli, Ingrid Visseren-Hamakers, Ian J. Burfield, Ashley Simkins, Gill Bunting, Thomas M. Brooks, Kara Dicks, Janet Scott, James R. S. Westrip, John Lamoreux, Mike Parr, Naamal Silva, Matt Foster, Amy Upgren, Stuart H. M. Butchart
Summary: The number of species threatened with extinction is increasing, with some no longer qualifying for Alliance for Zero Extinction (AZE) designation due to various reasons. This highlights the need for additional conservation actions to prevent these species from disappearing.
CONSERVATION SCIENCE AND PRACTICE
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Juan Pablo Ramirez-Delgado, Moreno Di Marco, James E. M. Watson, Chris J. Johnson, Carlo Rondinini, Xavier Corredor Llano, Miguel Arias, Oscar Venter
Summary: The study reveals that fragmentation and matrix condition are stronger predictors of extinction risk for terrestrial mammals than habitat loss and amount. The importance of fragmentation increases with a deterioration in matrix condition, highlighting the potential importance of restoring habitat matrices in mitigating the negative impacts of fragmentation on biodiversity.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Ilona Naujokaitis-Lewis, Sarah Endicott, Jessica Guezen
Summary: Climate change presents a growing risk to biodiversity and imperilled species, with a need for consistent and standardized assessments to prioritize recovery actions. Despite improvements, a significant number of species assessments still fail to adequately address the threat of climate change, highlighting the importance of integrating climate change considerations into extinction risk assessments and recovery planning processes for listed species.
CONSERVATION SCIENCE AND PRACTICE
(2021)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Thomas E. Lacher, David Mallon, Rosalind J. Kennerley, Claire Relton, Richard P. Young
Summary: Given the scale of the current biodiversity loss, setting conservation priorities is essential. Many prioritization schemes have been developed, but there is no single process applicable to all situations. Recent studies have used biological, socio-political, and feasibility criteria to prioritize species, both on a global and regional scale.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Carolyn J. Hogg, Kym Ottewell, Peter Latch, Maurizio Rossetto, James Biggs, Andrew Gilbert, Sarah Richmond, Katherine Belov
Summary: Globally, less than 3% of threatened animal species have genomic resources for conservation management. To address this, a consortium in Australia launched the Threatened Species Initiative to develop genomic data and tools for conservation practitioners. The objective is to empower conservation practitioners to access and apply genomic data to their decision-making processes through a web-based portal.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Juan Antonio Calleja, Gemma Domenech, Llorenc Saez, Francisco Lara, Ricardo Garilleti, Belen Albertos
Summary: This study analyzed mosses in Spain and found differences in reproductive traits and habitat preferences between threatened and non-threatened species. Threatened mosses were more likely to exhibit lack of reproduction, asexual reproduction, monoicy, and preference for acidic and humid substrates.
GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Sebastian A. Heilpern, Ruth DeFries, Kathryn Fiorella, Alexander Flecker, Suresh A. Sethi, Maria Uriarte, Shahid Naeem
Summary: This study analyzes the impact of declining biodiversity on nutrient supplies, particularly focusing on compensation, trophic dynamics, and functional diversity. The results show that when small sedentary species compensate for declines in large migratory species, there is an increase in fatty acid supplies but a decrease in zinc and iron supplies. Our findings emphasize the importance of considering biodiversity's essential role in sustaining nutritional benefits for the global population dependent on wild foods.
Article
Ecology
Friederike C. Bolam, Jorge Ahumada, H. Resit Akcakaya, Thomas M. Brooks, Wendy Elliott, Sean Hoban, Louise Mair, David Mallon, Philip J. K. McGowan, Domitilla Raimondo, Jon Paul Rodriguez, Dilys Roe, Mary B. Seddon, Xiaoli Shen, Simon N. Stuart, James E. M. Watson, Stuart H. M. Butchart
Summary: Preventing human-induced extinctions requires policy commitments to implement targeted recovery actions for threatened species, in addition to comprehensive efforts to mitigate threats to species.
FRONTIERS IN ECOLOGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Taku Kadoya, Yayoi Takeuchi, Yushin Shinoda, Keisuke Nansai
Summary: Forest disturbance, especially shifting agriculture, is a major driver of forest biodiversity decline at a global scale. This study quantifies the spatial overlaps between threatened terrestrial vertebrate species and five major forest disturbance drivers, revealing the varying importance of each driver among species groups and geographic regions. Combining forest disturbance maps and species ranges can help prioritize conservation efforts to reduce further biodiversity loss.
COMMUNICATIONS EARTH & ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Brooke A. Williams, James E. M. Watson, Hawthorne L. Beyer, Carissa J. Klein, Jamie Montgomery, Rebecca K. Runting, Leslie A. Roberson, Benjamin S. Halpern, Hedley S. Grantham, Caitlin D. Kuempel, Melanie Frazier, Oscar Venter, Amelia Wenger
Summary: Management of the land-sea interface is crucial for global conservation and sustainability objectives. However, current assessments of coastal regions are limited by their focus on either the terrestrial or marine realm. The global assessment revealed that only 15.5% of coastal regions have low anthropogenic pressure, while 47.9% are heavily affected by human activities. In most countries, more than half of their coastal regions are degraded. Additionally, nearly half of the protected areas in coastal regions are exposed to high human pressures.
CONSERVATION BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Pablo Prieto, Jacob J. Bukoski, Felipe S. M. Barros, Hawthorne L. Beyer, Alvaro Iribarrem, Pedro H. S. Brancalion, Robin L. Chazdon, David B. Lindenmayer, Bernardo B. N. Strassburg, Manuel R. Guariguata, Renato Crouzeilles
Summary: Predicting and mapping the recovery of species richness and total abundance in tropical and subtropical second-growth forests can inform spatial restoration planning. The study found that socioenvironmental factors influenced the recovery of biodiversity in second-growth forests. Natural forest regrowth in tropical and subtropical forest landscapes has the potential to promote biodiversity recovery.
CONSERVATION BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Paul R. Elsen, Earl C. Saxon, B. Alexander Simmons, Michelle Ward, Brooke A. Williams, Hedley S. Grantham, Salit Kark, Noam Levin, Katharina-Victoria Perez-Hammerle, April E. Reside, James E. M. Watson
Summary: Rapid climate change is impacting biodiversity, ecosystem function, and human well-being, resulting in changes to the distribution of terrestrial life zones, with the pace of change accelerating. These changes have already had negative consequences for social and ecological systems.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Brooke A. Williams, Hedley S. Grantham, James E. M. Watson, Aurelie C. Shapiro, Andrew J. Plumptre, Samuel Ayebare, Elizabeth Goldman, Ayesha I. T. Tulloch
Summary: Many threats to biodiversity are well mapped, while others are uncertain in their extent and impact. This study highlights the importance of considering all threats, both certain and uncertain, in spatial conservation planning.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
James R. Allan, Hugh P. Possingham, Scott C. Atkinson, Anthony Waldron, Moreno Di Marco, Stuart H. M. Butchart, Vanessa M. Adams, W. Daniel Kissling, Thomas Worsdell, Chris Sandbrook, Gwili Gibbon, Kundan Kumar, Piyush Mehta, Martine Maron, Brooke A. Williams, Kendall R. Jones, Brendan A. Wintle, April E. Reside, James E. M. Watson
Summary: Ambitious conservation efforts are necessary to address the global biodiversity crisis. This study estimates the minimum land area required to protect important biodiversity areas, ecologically intact areas, and optimal locations for representation of species ranges and ecoregions. At least 64 million square kilometers of land would need conservation attention, which is 44% of the terrestrial area. Immediate action is needed as 1.3 million square kilometers of this land is at risk of conversion for intensive human land uses by 2030.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Jeffrey O. Hanson, Jaimie Vincent, Richard Schuster, Lenore Fahrig, Angela Brennan, Amanda E. Martin, Josie S. Hughes, Richard Pither, Joseph R. Bennett
Summary: This study examines eight approaches for promoting connectivity in prioritizations and finds that different methods can lead to very different or very similar prioritizations, depending on their underlying assumptions. Some approaches based on very different underlying assumptions produce similar prioritizations, while widely used methods such as the boundary length approach can result in prioritizations that are highly dissimilar to others.
JOURNAL OF APPLIED ECOLOGY
(2022)
Letter
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Bernardo B. N. Strassburg, Alvaro Iribarrem, Hawthorne L. Beyer, Carlos Leandro Cordeiro, Renato Crouzeilles, Catarina Jakovac, Andre Braga Junqueira, Eduardo Lacerda, Agnieszka E. Latawiec, Andrew Balmford, Thomas M. Brooks, Stuart H. M. Butchart, Robin L. Chazdon, Karl-Heinz Erb, Pedro Brancalion, Graeme Buchanan, David Cooper, Sandra Diaz, Paul F. Donald, Valerie Kapos, David Leclere, Lera Miles, Michael Obersteiner, Christoph Plutzar, Carlos Alberto de Mattos Scaramuzza, Fabio R. Scarano, Piero Visconti
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Jeffrey O. Hanson, Jenny L. McCune, Iadine Chades, Caitlyn A. Proctor, Emma J. Hudgins, Joseph R. Bennett
Summary: Conservation decisions must be made with limited funding and incomplete information. Ecological surveys can help reduce uncertainty and potentially lead to better management decisions. However, conducting surveys can reduce funds available for implementing management actions and can potentially lead to worse conservation outcomes. Therefore, a value of information framework has been developed to evaluate and optimize survey plans.
JOURNAL OF APPLIED ECOLOGY
(2023)
Letter
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Bernardo B. N. Strassburg, Alvaro Iribarrem, Hawthorne L. Beyer, Carlos Leandro Cordeiro, Renato Crouzeilles, Catarina Jakovac, Andre Braga Junqueira, Eduardo Lacerda, Agnieszka E. Latawiec, Andrew Balmford, Thomas M. Brooks, Stuart H. M. Butchart, Robin L. Chazdon, Karl-Heinz Erb, Pedro Brancalion, Graeme Buchanan, David Cooper, Sandra Diaz, Paul F. Donald, Valerie Kapos, David Leclere, Lera Miles, Michael Obersteiner, Christoph Plutzar, Carlos Alberto de M. Scaramuzza, Fabio R. Scarano, Piero Visconti
Correction
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Bernardo B. N. Strassburg, Alvaro Iribarrem, Hawthorne L. Beyer, Carlos Leandro Cordeiro, Renato Crouzeilles, Catarina C. Jakovac, Andre Braga Junqueira, Eduardo Lacerda, Agnieszka E. Latawiec, Andrew Balmford, Thomas M. Brooks, Stuart H. M. Butchart, Robin L. Chazdon, Karl-Heinz Erb, Pedro Brancalion, Graeme Buchanan, David Cooper, Sandra Diaz, Paul F. Donald, Valerie Kapos, David Leclere, Lera Miles, Michael Obersteiner, Christoph Plutzar, Carlos Alberto de M. Scaramuzza, Fabio R. Scarano, Piero Visconti
Article
Ecology
Allison D. Binley, Joseph R. Bennett
Summary: Conservation planning requires extensive amounts of data, and community science programs are increasingly being used to supplement traditional data collection methods. However, there is still debate over the reliability of community science data. To address this issue, this study compares the limitations and biases present in community science datasets with those in professionally collected data. The study also suggests four main solutions, including the use of statistical techniques and benchmarking, to address the challenges associated with both types of data.
METHODS IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Cassia M. G. Lemos, Hawthorne L. Beyer, Rebecca K. Runting, Pedro R. Andrade, Ana P. D. Aguiar
Summary: Understanding the cost-effectiveness of forest landscape restoration strategies is crucial for successful implementation. This study presents a new optimization model that maximizes biodiversity conservation, carbon stock increase, and soil loss reduction while minimizing costs. The results show that the approach achieves high levels of multiple environmental benefits in a cost-effective manner, reinforcing the importance of quantifying trade-offs among objectives before implementing restoration initiatives.
ECOSYSTEM SERVICES
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Rachael V. Gallagher, Stuart P. Allen, Rafael Govaerts, Malin C. Rivers, Andrew P. Allen, David A. Keith, Cory Merow, Brian Maitner, Nathalie Butt, Tony D. Auld, Brian J. Enquist, Wolf L. Eiserhardt, Ian J. Wright, Jonathon C. O. Mifsud, Sylvia Espinosa-Ruiz, Hugh Possingham, Vanessa M. Adams
Summary: Systematic approaches to conservation assessment are needed to protect plant diversity. However, the completion of threat assessments for endemic plants is weakly related to a country's wealth or the level of threat that species face. The lack of assessment limits national regulation of actions that endanger plant species.
PLANTS PEOPLE PLANET
(2023)
Correction
Biodiversity Conservation
L. A. Roberson, H. L. Beyer, C. O'Hara, J. E. M. Watson, D. C. Dunn, B. S. Halpern, C. J. Klein, M. R. Frazier, C. D. Kuempel, B. Williams, H. S. Grantham, J. C. Montgomery, S. Kark, R. K. Runting
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2022)