Analysing biodiversity and conservation knowledge products to support regional environmental assessments

Brooks, Thomas M.; Akçakaya, H. Reşi̇t; Burgess, Neil D.; Butchart, Stuart H. M.; Hilton‐Taylor, Craig; Hoffmann, Michael; Juffe‐Bignoli, Diego; Kingston, Naomi; MacSharry, Brian; Parr, Mike; Perianin, Laurence; Regan, Eugenie; Rodrigues, Ana S. L.; Rondinini, Carlo; Shennan‐Farpón, Yara; Young, Bruce E.

doi:10.1038/sdata.2016.7

Cited by 75 publications

(64 citation statements)

References 107 publications

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“…The comprehensively assessed groups included here are not a random sample from the tree of life 1 , but those that are generally better-studied. All known bird species have been assessed, for instance.…”

Section: Data Limitationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biodiversity: The ravages of guns, nets and bulldozers

Maxwell

Fuller

Brooks

et al. 2016

Nature

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1,522

994

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© 2 0 1 6 M a c m i l l a n P u b l i s h e r s L i m i t e d , p a r t o f S p r i n g e r N a t u r e . A l l r i g h t s r e s e r v e d .risk -have guided assessments, now for 82,845 species. Assessors assign species to categories, including 'near-threatened' , 'vulnerable' , 'endangered' or 'critically endangered' depending on their population size; past, current and projected population trends; geographic range and other symptoms of extinction risk. Species in the latter three groups are collectively referred to as 'threatened' .To assess the relative prevalence of current hazards to biodiversity, we quantified threat information for 8,688 near-threatened or threatened species belonging to species groups in which all known species have been assessed (for complete list of taxa included, see Supplementary Information; go.nature.com/2ajen88).The basic message emerging from these data is that whatever the threat category or species group, overexploitation and agriculture have the greatest current impact on biodiversity (see 'Big killers').Of the species listed as threatened or near-threatened, 72% (6,241) are being overexploited for commerce, recreation or subsistence. The Sumatran rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis), Western gorilla (Gorilla gorilla) and Chinese pangolin (Manis penta dactyla, a scaly mammal), for instance, are all illegally hunted as a result of high market demand for their body parts and meat. These are just three of the more than 2,700 species affected by hunting or fishing, or by people collecting live specimens for the pet trade. At the same time, unsustainable logging is contributing to the decline of more than 4,000 forest-dependent species, such as the Bornean wren-babbler (Ptilocichla leucogrammica), India's Nicobar shrew (Crocidura nicobarica), and the Myanmar snub-nosed monkey (Rhinopithecus strykeri).The expansion and intensification of agricultural activity is imperilling 5,407 species -62% of those listed as threatened or near-threatened. Africa's cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus), Asia's hairy-nosed otter (Lutra sumatrana) and South America's huemul deer (Hippocamelus bisulcus) are among more than 2,300 species affected by livestock farming and aquaculture. And the Fresno kangaroo rat (Dipodomys nitratoides) and the African wild dog (Lycaon pictus) are two of more than 4,600 species currently under threat from land modification associated with the production of food, fodder or fuel crops.Meanwhile, anthropogenic climate change -including increases in storms, flooding, extreme temperatures or drought that exceed background variability, as well as sea-level rise -is currently affecting 19% of species listed as threatened or near-threatened. Hooded seals (Cystophora cristata) are among the 1,688 species affected. These have dropped in abundance by 90% in the northeastern Atlantic Arctic over the past few decades More than 80% of species analysed are harmed by more than one sub-class threat. OVER-EXPLOITATION BIG KILLE SOverexploitation and agriculture are the most prevalent threats faci...

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Section: Data Limitationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biodiversity: The ravages of guns, nets and bulldozers

Maxwell

Fuller

Brooks

et al. 2016

Nature

Self Cite

1,522

994

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“…There are many ways to view marine systems, depending on the questions asked, the management goals set and typically, as with any complex system, disaggregating the various levels of complexity allows us to better understand each of the components and their major interactions (Brooks et al, 2016). Consequently, an assessment of biodiversity used to answer a specific question will benefit from a set of conceptual models which together represent the various aspects of biodiversity.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

What Is Marine Biodiversity? Towards Common Concepts and Their Implications for Assessing Biodiversity Status

Cochrane

Andersen²,

Berg

et al. 2016

Front. Mar. Sci.

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Biodiversity' is one of the most common keywords used in environmental sciences, spanning from research to management, nature conservation, and consultancy. Despite this, our understanding of the underlying concepts varies greatly, between and within disciplines as well as among the scientists themselves. Biodiversity can refer to descriptions or assessments of the status and condition of all or selected groups of organisms, from the genetic variability, to the species, populations, communities, and ecosystems. However, a concept of biodiversity also must encompass understanding the interactions and functions on all levels from individuals up to the whole ecosystem, including changes related to natural and anthropogenic environmental pressures. While biodiversity as such is an abstract and relative concept rooted in the spatial domain, it is central to most international, European, and national governance initiatives aimed at protecting the marine environment. These rely on status assessments of biodiversity which typically require numerical targets and specific reference values, to allow comparison in space and/or time, often in association with some external structuring factors such as physical and biogeochemical conditions. Given that our ability to apply and interpret such assessments requires a solid conceptual understanding of marine biodiversity, here we define this and show how the abstract concept can and needs to be interpreted and subsequently applied in biodiversity assessments.

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“…5 Regions/sub-regions are derived from a dataset combining Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ: VLIZ, 2014) and terrestrial country boundaries (World Vector Shoreline, 3rd edition, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency). A simplified version of this layer has been published in the Nature Scientific Data journal (Brooks et al, 2016a;Brooks et al, 2016b). 6 Further data on PPAs in the UK have been collected by the Putting Nature on the Map project and are currently being formatted to comply with the WDPA data standards.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Analysing biodiversity and conservation knowledge products to support regional environmental assessments

Cited by 75 publications

References 107 publications

Biodiversity: The ravages of guns, nets and bulldozers

Biodiversity: The ravages of guns, nets and bulldozers

What Is Marine Biodiversity? Towards Common Concepts and Their Implications for Assessing Biodiversity Status

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