A strategy for the next decade to address data deficiency in neglected biodiversity

Hochkirch, Axel; Samways, Michael J.; Gerlach, Justin; Böhm, Monika; Williams, Paul H.; Cardoso, Pedro; Cumberlidge, Neil; Stephenson, P. J.; Seddon, Mary; Clausnitzer, Viola; Borges, Paulo A. V.; Mueller, Gregory M.; Pearce-Kelly, Paul; Raimondo, D.; Danielczak, Anja; Dijkstra, K. D. B.

doi:10.1111/cobi.13589

Cited by 139 publications

(122 citation statements)

References 51 publications

(102 reference statements)

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“…These findings reflect recognised global trends, with major gaps in biodiversity data in highbiodiversity tropical countries [13,29,30]. There are generally more data for Europe and North America than other regions, and more for terrestrial birds, mammals and trees than for other taxa, but there is a lot of local variation [4,29,[31][32][33][34].…”

Section: Results Conclusion and Discussionsupporting

confidence: 57%

An inventory of biodiversity data sources for conservation monitoring

Stephenson

Stengel

2020

PLoS ONE

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Many conservation managers, policy makers, businesses and local communities cannot access the biodiversity data they need for informed decision-making on natural resource management. A handful of databases are used to monitor indicators against global biodiversity goals but there is no openly available consolidated list of global data sets to help managers, especially those in high-biodiversity countries. We therefore conducted an inventory of global databases of potential use in monitoring biodiversity states, pressures and conservation responses at multiple levels. We uncovered 145 global data sources, as well as a selection of global data reports, links to which we will make available on an open-access website. We describe trends in data availability and actions needed to improve data sharing. If the conservation and science community made a greater effort to publicise data sources, and make the data openly and freely available for the people who most need it, we might be able to mainstream biodiversity data into decision-making and help stop biodiversity loss.

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Section: Results Conclusion and Discussionsupporting

confidence: 57%

An inventory of biodiversity data sources for conservation monitoring

Stephenson

Stengel

2020

PLoS ONE

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“…Consequently, the allocation of investment for the study of neglected areas (particularly in countries such as Uruguay, where the dominant proportion of the country can be classed within this category) is likely to impact considerably on the efficiency of decisions and ultimately, on the expected outcomes 75 . Conservationists are often required to make decisions with incomplete and biased data, however, in order to improve and project better decision-making, there is an urgent need to focus in the knowledge gaps 76 . For instance, in the past 15 years, new species to science have been described and others have been recorded for the first time in the country expanding their distribution ranges, www.nature.com/scientificreports/ most of which are not considered on conservation prioritisation schemes.…”

Section: Towards Effective Conservation Of Biodiversitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Future directions targeting knowledge gaps. Gaps in digital accessible information about the geographical distribution of species are a well-known and global issue 28,90 that precludes from informing or monitoring the accomplishment of conservation targets across continents 76 . Open-access standardised datasets 91 on species taxonomy, distribution, abundance, and evolutionary patterns remain largely unavailable in Uruguay, for all groups across the tree of life-this makes Uruguay one of America's most neglected countries in this sense.…”

Section: Towards Effective Conservation Of Biodiversitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Currently, the major scientific collections (i.e., Universidad de la República and the Museo Nacional de Historia Natural de Uruguay) are digitally inaccessible and, therefore, at latent risk of being lost 95 . Key efforts need to be made to support research institutions, researchers, policy makers and other stakeholders to digitise and store biodiversity data, and to guarantee its availability for evidence-based environmental planning and management 76 . Importantly, field research and data-sharing practices need to be encouraged.…”

Section: Towards Effective Conservation Of Biodiversitymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Multiple forms of hotspots of tetrapod biodiversity and the challenges of open-access data scarcity

Grattarola

Martínez-Lanfranco

Núñez

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

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The uneven spatial distribution of biodiversity is a defining feature of nature. In fact, the implementation of conservation actions both locally and globally has progressively been guided by the identification of biodiversity ‘hotspots’ (areas with exceptional biodiversity). However, different regions of the world differ drastically in the availability of fine-scale data on the diversity and distribution of species, thus limiting the potential to assess their local environmental priorities. Within South America—a megadiverse continent—Uruguay represents a peculiar area where multiple tropical and non-tropical eco-regions converge, creating highly heterogeneous ecosystems, but where the systematic quantification of biodiversity remains largely anecdotal. To investigate the constraints posed by the limited access to biodiversity data, we employ the most comprehensive database for tetrapod vertebrates in Uruguay (spanning 664 species) assembled to date, to identify hotspots of species-richness, endemism and threatened species for the first time. Our results reveal negligible spatial congruence among biodiversity hotspots, and that tetrapod sampling has historically concentrated in only a few areas. Collectively, our study provides a detailed account of the areas where urgent biodiversity monitoring efforts are needed to develop more accurate knowledge on biodiversity patterns, offering government and environmental bodies a critical scientific resource for future planning.

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“…2011), most will not be assessed in the near future, even though some efforts are underway (Hochkirch et al. 2020).…”

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confidence: 99%

The Time for Insects Is Now

Cardoso

2020

Conservation Biology

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"Synthesis: the mixing of different ideas, influences, or things to make a whole that is different, or new" (dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/synthesis). This is what Michael Samways set out to provide in this 500+ page volume. I guess this much space is required just to begin tackling a problem with millions of actors. Millions of actors that are now in the middle of an apocalyptic movie, one of those B-rated ones, where there is a lot of gore and blood. Try writing the script of this movie. Your job is to describe the fate of all the actors, to which you must give a name, describe how they make a living, and how they are related to each other. Now, create some threat, maybe global warming, maybe wipe out of entire nations. Quantify how many were sacrificed, but do not forget about the survivors. Describe what strategies were used to save them. Try to give a happy ending, so that people leave the theater with some sense of hope. Five hundred pages do not seem that much anymore, do they? Maybe an encyclopedia would be enough? Samways has been one of the strongest advocates for insect (and arthropod) conservation for many decades. Even before anyone cared for them, far from the current growing interest in the subject, he was already fighting for insects and other invertebrates. He was right there with Ed Wilson, Terry Erwin, Tim New, and the very few others who saw biodiversity for what it is, not for what it looks like. Why should the rest of us care about the "little things that run the world" (Wilson 1987)? This new book starts precisely there: tackling the perception problem. Describing the rise and fall of insects, their diversity, their roles in ecosystems, how important they are to us, and the scales at which we can move to take effective action. Particularly insightful is the philosophical aspect of insect conservation. If 99% of the species that ever lived are now extinct, why should we care about the current 1%? Will not new insect species, as for all taxa, just evolve and replace the disappearing ones? Samways argues that our sentience makes the difference. We know we are causing extinctions, and we know we can halt them. Insect conservation psychology (Simaika & Samways 2018) will play a major role in the future, and there is the need for advocates from all areas, from entomology to sociology, to pedagogy, to the arts.

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A strategy for the next decade to address data deficiency in neglected biodiversity

Cited by 139 publications

References 51 publications

An inventory of biodiversity data sources for conservation monitoring

An inventory of biodiversity data sources for conservation monitoring

Multiple forms of hotspots of tetrapod biodiversity and the challenges of open-access data scarcity

The Time for Insects Is Now

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