Ranking threats to biodiversity and why it doesn’t matter

Bellard, Céline; Marino, Clara; Courchamp, Franck

doi:10.1038/s41467-022-30339-y

Cited by 62 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…2 ). The context dependency of driver rankings has been used to argue that these rankings are at best irrelevant for conservation ( 42 ). However, far from diminishing the importance of rankings for the development of effective policies and action targets, context dependency instead emphasizes that the rankings must be based on evidence from a wide range of contexts—different realms, regions, taxa, and indicators—as we have done here, to ensure their robustness.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The direct drivers of recent global anthropogenic biodiversity loss

et al. 2022

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Effective policies to halt biodiversity loss require knowing which anthropogenic drivers are the most important direct causes. Whereas previous knowledge has been limited in scope and rigor, here we statistically synthesize empirical comparisons of recent driver impacts found through a wide-ranging review. We show that land/sea use change has been the dominant direct driver of recent biodiversity loss worldwide. Direct exploitation of natural resources ranks second and pollution third; climate change and invasive alien species have been significantly less important than the top two drivers. The oceans, where direct exploitation and climate change dominate, have a different driver hierarchy from land and fresh water. It also varies among types of biodiversity indicators. For example, climate change is a more important driver of community composition change than of changes in species populations. Stopping global biodiversity loss requires policies and actions to tackle all the major drivers and their interactions, not some of them in isolation.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The direct drivers of recent global anthropogenic biodiversity loss

et al. 2022

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“…Despite ongoing activities to halt biodiversity loss, we are still losing many species at an increasing rate ( Turvey & Crees, 2019 ; Gumbs et al, 2020 ). Population decline has many causes, such as habitat fragmentation, introduction of non-native species, climate change, pollution and exploitation ( Barnosky et al, 2011 ), and strengths of these threats heavily depend on local context and metrics used ( Bellard et al, 2022 ). Many threatened populations are critically small, and protecting their habitat is not sufficient to keep such populations viable ( Baker, 2007 ).…”

Section: Alarming Decline In Biodiversitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Challenges in quantifying genome erosion for conservation

Bosse

Loon

2022

Front. Genet.

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Massive defaunation and high extinction rates have become characteristic of the Anthropocene. Genetic effects of population decline can lead populations into an extinction vortex, where declining populations show lower genetic fitness, in turn leading to lower populations still. The lower genetic fitness in a declining population due to a shrinking gene pool is known as genetic erosion. Three different types of genetic erosion are highlighted in this review: overall homozygosity, genetic load and runs of homozygosity (ROH), which are indicative of inbreeding. The ability to quantify genetic erosion could be a very helpful tool for conservationists, as it can provide them with an objective, quantifiable measure to use in the assessment of species at risk of extinction. The link between conservation status and genetic erosion should become more apparent. Currently, no clear correlation can be observed between the current conservation status and genetic erosion. However, the high quantities of genetic erosion in wild populations, especially in those species dealing with habitat fragmentation and habitat decline, may be early signs of deteriorating populations. Whole genome sequencing data is the way forward to quantify genetic erosion. Extra screening steps for genetic load and hybridization can be included, since they could potentially have great impact on population fitness. This way, the information yielded from genetic sequence data can provide conservationists with an objective genetic method in the assessment of species at risk of extinction. However, the great complexity of genome erosion quantification asks for consensus and bridging science and its applications, which remains challenging.

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“…For example, overgrazing and overharvesting were considered of less relative importance than land degradation when compared with global ranking. A plausible explanation of this discrepancy may be associated with the inherent difficulties scientists encounter in ranking global threats being contextdependent (Bellard et al, 2022). Conditions and nature of threats differ among geographical locations, climatic features, habitats, and species of concern (Borelli et al, 2020).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wild leafy vegetables: A potential source for a traditional Mediterranean food from Lebanon

Baydoun

Hani

Nasser

et al. 2023

Front. Sustain. Food Syst.

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IntroductionIn Lebanon, wild leafy vegetables (WLVs) continue to be an essential component of people's diet. Nevertheless, little ethnobotanical research has addressed this important potential source for food and nutrition.MethodsIn this study, an ethnobotanical survey was carried out between 2018 and 2022 across 21 villages/towns involving 151 local informants by semi-structured interviews.Results and discussionA list of 158 plant species which was still gathered and consumed by traditional Lebanese communities was compiled. The species belonged to 21 families and the most diverse families were Asteraceae (77 species), Brassicaceae (22), and Apiaceae (11). Native species accounted for 147 of the cited species, five of which were endemics to Lebanon and Syria. According to the Relative Frequency of Citation (RFC) index, Anchusa azurea, Centaurea hyalolepis, Chondrilla juncea, Eruca vesicaria, Pseudopodospermum molle, Pseudopodospermum papposum, and Taraxacum sect. Taraxacum were reported for the first time among the top popular species. Basal rosettes were the main parts consumed both raw and/or cooked. Informants perceived a decline in availability primarily due to habitat loss and land degradation. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), six of cited species were classified as globally threatened (EN or VU), five of which were narrow endemics. These species scored substantial RFC values. Findings indicate that WEVs of Lebanon offer a promising potential to support food diversity and dietary quality of traditional communities and that threatened endemic species present a high conservation priority. Future research on nutritional contents of these species and highly rated WLVs is recommended.

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Ranking threats to biodiversity and why it doesn’t matter

Abstract: Conservation scientists have proposed several rankings of the relative importance of global threats to biodiversity. Here, we argue that relative ranking of biodiversity threats depends on local context and metrics used, and so has little application for conservation.

Cited by 62 publications

References 16 publications

The direct drivers of recent global anthropogenic biodiversity loss

The direct drivers of recent global anthropogenic biodiversity loss

Challenges in quantifying genome erosion for conservation

Wild leafy vegetables: A potential source for a traditional Mediterranean food from Lebanon

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