A quantitative global review of species population monitoring

Moussy, Caroline; Burfield, Ian J.; Stephenson, P. J.; Newton, Arabella F. E.; Butchart, Stuart H. M.; Sutherland, William J.; Gregory, Richard D.; McRae, Louise; Bubb, Philip; Roesler, Ignacio; Ursino, Cynthia; Wu, Yanqing; Retief, Ernst F; Udin, Jihad S.; Urazaliyev, Ruslan; Sánchez-Clavijo, Lina María; Lartey, Eric; Donald, Paul F.

doi:10.1111/cobi.13721

Cited by 75 publications

(50 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…Biased sampling remains a key hurdle to predicting biodiversity patterns (Tydecks et al, 2018; Hughes et al, 2021; Moussy et al, 2022). We evaluated the feasibility of using biased sampling frames (in this case commercial vessels) as sampling platforms for collecting species occurrence data for marine species distribution modelling.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sampling from commercial vessel routes can capture marine biodiversity distributions effectively

Boyse

Beger

Valsecchi

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Collecting fine-scale occurrence data for marine species across large spatial scales is logistically challenging, but is important to determine species distributions and for conservation planning. Inaccurate descriptions of species ranges could result in designating protected areas with inappropriate locations or boundaries. Optimising sampling strategies therefore is a priority for scaling up survey approaches using tools such as environmental DNA (eDNA) to capture species distributions. eDNA can detect diverse taxa simultaneously, but to date has rarely been applied across large spatial scales relevant for conservation planning. In a marine context, commercial vessels, such as ferries, could provide sampling platforms allowing access to under-sampled areas and repeatable sampling over time to track community changes. However, sample collection from commercial vessels could be biased and may not represent biological and environmental variability. Here, we evaluate whether sampling along Mediterranean ferry routes can yield unbiased biodiversity survey outcomes, based on perfect knowledge from a stacked species distribution model (SSDM) of marine megafauna. Simulations were carried out representing different sampling strategies (random vs systematic), frames (ferry routes vs unconstrained) and number of sampling points. SSDMs were remade from different sampling simulations and compared to the perfect knowledge SSDM to quantify the bias associated with different sampling strategies. Ferry routes detected more species and were able to recover known patterns in species richness at smaller sample sizes better than unconstrained sampling points. However, to minimise potential bias, ferry routes should be chosen to cover the variability in species composition and its environmental predictors in the SSDMs. The workflow presented here can be used to design effective eDNA sampling strategies using commercial vessel routes globally. This approach has potential to provide a cost-effective method to access remote oceanic areas on a regular basis, and can recover meaningful data on spatiotemporal biodiversity patterns.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sampling from commercial vessel routes can capture marine biodiversity distributions effectively

Boyse

Beger

Valsecchi

et al. 2022

Preprint

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“…birds), or regions (e.g. high income countries) 27,127,128 . This is a challenge shared by biodiversity indicators and databases in general 122,129 .…”

Section: ) the Dataset Underpinning The Lpimentioning

confidence: 99%

Past, present, and future of the Living Planet Index

Ledger

McRae²,

Böhm

et al. 2022

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As we enter the next phase of international policy commitments to halt biodiversity loss (e.g. Post-2020 Biodiversity Framework), biodiversity indicators will play an important role forming the robust basis upon which targeted, and time sensitive conservation actions are developed. Population trend indicators are perhaps the most powerful tool in biodiversity monitoring due to their responsiveness to changes over short timescales and their ability to aggregate species trends from global down to at a sub-national or even local scale. We consider how the project behind the foremost population level indicator - the Living Planet Index - has evolved over the last 25 years, its value to the field of biodiversity monitoring, and how its components have portrayed a compelling account of the changing status of global biodiversity through its application at policy, research and practice levels. We explore ways the project can develop to enhance our understanding of the state of biodiversity and share lessons learned to inform indicator development and mobilise action.

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“…Other taxa, including animals, fungi and microorganisms were rarely assessed, despite their critical importance in the functioning of ecosystems. This skew towards plants when assessing nature-based interventions for climate adaptation, which may relate to the role of vegetation in delivering ecosystem services and protecting from climate impacts, does not reflect global conservation monitoring programmes, which are biased towards birds (Moussy et al 2021). Population trends in one taxonomic group are often not indicative of similar trends across other taxonomic groups (Carignan and Villard 2002;Prendergast et al 1993); so positive outcomes for plants, for example, does not imply that there are necessarily increases in animal species (Cristescu et al 2013;Marshall et al 2020Marshall et al , 2021.…”

Section: Taxonomic Coverage and Recognition Of Native Speciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Can Nature-Based Solutions Deliver a Win-Win for Biodiversity and Climate Change Adaptation?

Key¹,

Smith²,

Turner³

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Nature-based solutions (NbS) are increasingly recognised for their potential to address both the climate and biodiversity crises. These outcomes are interdependent, and both rely on the capacity of NbS to support and enhance the health of an ecosystem: its biodiversity, the condition of its abiotic and biotic elements, and its capacity to function normally despite environmental change. However, while understanding of ecosystem health outcomes of nature-based interventions for climate change mitigation is growing, the outcomes of those implemented for adaptation remain poorly understood with evidence scattered across multiple disciplines. To address this, we conducted a systematic review of the outcomes of 109 nature-based interventions for climate change adaptation using 33 indicators of ecosystem health across eight broad categories (e.g. diversity, biomass, ecosystem functioning and population dynamics). We showed that 88% of interventions with positive outcomes for climate change adaptation also reported measurable benefits for ecosystem health. We also showed that interventions were associated with a 67% average increase in local species richness. All eight studies that reported benefits in terms of both climate change mitigation and adaptation also supported ecosystem health, leading to a triple win. However, there were also trade-offs, mainly for forest management and creation of novel ecosystems such as monoculture plantations of non-native species. Our review highlights two major limitations of research to date. First, only a limited selection of metrics are used to assess ecosystem health and these rarely include key aspects such as functional diversity and habitat connectivity. Second, taxonomic coverage is poor: 67% of outcomes assessed only plants and 57% did not distinguish between native and non-native species. Future research addressing these issues will allow the design and adaptive management of NbS to support healthy and resilient ecosystems, and thereby enhance their effectiveness for meeting both climate and biodiversity targets.

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A quantitative global review of species population monitoring

Abstract: Article impact statement: Species population monitoring for conservation purposes remains strongly biased toward a few vertebrate taxa in wealthier countries.

Cited by 75 publications

References 51 publications

Sampling from commercial vessel routes can capture marine biodiversity distributions effectively

Sampling from commercial vessel routes can capture marine biodiversity distributions effectively

Past, present, and future of the Living Planet Index

Can Nature-Based Solutions Deliver a Win-Win for Biodiversity and Climate Change Adaptation?

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