An integrative synthesis to global amphibian conservation priorities

Abstract

Human activities are driving many species to the brink of extinction, and the current distribution of protected areas only weakly alleviates pressure on threatened species. This discrepancy reflects the presence of protected areas on lands available instead of the ecological, evolutionary, or conservation values of species present. Habitat loss consequently continues to impact threatened species, as illustrated by geographic patterns of biodiversity loss for amphibians. Given the need to better align the boundaries of protected areas with at‐risk biodiversity, we assessed the importance of various factors for identifying global and biome‐level conservation priority areas, specifically for amphibians. We identified, mapped, and ranked areas of critical conservation importance for all amphibian species on earth using a new integrative tool that scores the urgency of conserving each species and location based on a combination of species characteristics and ecoregion‐level human impacts. Our integrative approach is novel in that it accounts for likely threats to Data Deficient species, considers the irreplaceability of unique species that are phylogenetically isolated, and addresses the localized conservation implications of species endemicity and projected future human impacts to an ecoregion. For comparison, we also mapped and ranked amphibian biodiversity using species richness and an Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered (EDGE) score proxy. Our integrative approach predicted key regions for amphibian conservation that were not apparent when using a simple species richness or EDGE score proxy‐based approach. Furthermore, by scaling conservation priority scores relative to biome, we identified several temperate and xeric regions of crucial yet overlooked conservation importance for amphibians. Until global amphibian diversity is thoroughly catalogued, we recommend using our integrative scoring approach to set geographic priorities for amphibian habitat protection, while acknowledging that this approach may be complemented by others (e.g., EDGE scores). Our study provides an avenue for avoiding common pitfalls of more simplistic species richness‐based approaches for conservation planning, and can be used to improve the future design of protected areas.

Chytridiomycosis in Sri Lanka: Predicting the future of a global amphibian hotspot

“…Therefore, the identification of species at high risk of Bd infection in such areas would allow researchers to employ cost‐prohibitive tests such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR) (Thomas et al, 2021) more efficiently and in a more focused manner. In tandem with already existing (Rodríguez‐Rodríguez et al, 2020) and novel conservation strategies (Button & Borzée, 2021), this could have a significant impact in curtailing future Bd outbreaks around the world.…”

“…In tandem with already existing (Rodríguez-Rodríguez et al, 2020) and novel conservation strategies (Button & Borzée, 2021), this could have a significant impact in curtailing future Bd outbreaks around the world.…”

Wildlife resource conservation and utilization for achieving sustainable development in China: main barriers and problem identification

“…Given the need to better align protected area boundaries with biodiversity at risk, Button and Borzée ( 2021 ) assessed the importance of various factors in identifying priority areas for conservation at the global and biome levels, particularly for amphibians. A new comprehensive tool is used to identify, map, and rank important conservation areas for all amphibian species on the earth, scoring the urgency of protecting each species and site at the ecoregional level based on species characteristics and human impact.…”

Integrative conservation science: Conservation knowledge must be used to guide policies

“…Unfortunately, not all researchers with pertinent knowledge for conservation recommendations on such topics have prioritized the development of policies as a critical part of their research. For instance, the authors previously developed maps of amphibian conservation priorities (Button & Borzée, 2021) but did not follow these up with policy recommendations despite the ease of building upon an already existing global conservation action plan for their focal taxonomic group (Wren et al, 2015).…”