Browsing by Author "Foden, Wendy"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
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    Assessing the conservation potential of fish and corals in aquariums globally
    (Elsevier, 2019) Da Silva, Rita; Pearce-Kelly, Paul; Zimmerman, Brian; Knott, Meredith; Foden, Wendy; Conde, Dalia A.
    Aquatic ecosystems are indispensable for life on earth and yet despite their essential function and service roles, marine and freshwater biomes are facing unprecedented threats from both traditional and emerging anthropogenic stressors. The resultant species and ecosystem-level threat severity requires an urgent response from the conservation community. With their care facilities, veterinary and conservation breeding expertise, reintroduction and restoration, and public communication reach, stand-alone aquariums and zoos holding aquatic taxa have great collective potential to help address the current biodiversity crisis, which is now greater in freshwater than land habitats. However, uncertainty regarding the number of species kept in such facilities hinders assessment of their conservation value. Here we analyzed, standardized and shared data of zoological institution members of Species360, for fish and Anthozoa species (i.e. Actinopterygii, Elasmobranchii, Holocephali, Myxini, Sarcopterygii and Anthozoa). To assess the conservation potential of populations held in these institutions, we cross-referenced the Species360 records with the following conservation schemes: the Convention on the International Trade of Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora (CITES), the IUCN Red List of Threatened species, climate change vulnerability, Evolutionary Distinct and Globally Endangered (EDGE) and The Alliance for Zero Extinction (AZE). We found that aquariums hold four of the six fish species listed by the IUCN Red List as ‘Extinct in the Wild’, 31% of Anthozoa species listed by Foden et al. (2013) as vulnerable to climate change, 19 out of the 111 Anthozoa EDGE species, and none of the species prioritized by the AZE. However, it is very likely that significant additional species of high conservation value are held in aquariums that do not manage their records in standardized, sharable platforms such as Species360. Our study highlights both the great value of aquarium and zoo collections for addressing the aquatic biodiversity crisis, as well as the importance that they maintain comprehensive, standardised, globally-shared taxonomic data.
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    The commonness of rarity : global and future distribution of rarity across land plants
    (American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2019) Enquist, Brian J.; Feng, Xiao; Boyle, Brad; Maitner, Brian; Newman, Erica A.; Jorgensen, Peter Moller; Roehrdanz, Patrick R.; Thiers, Barbara M.; Burger, Joseph R.; Corlett, Richard T.; Couvreur, Thomas L. P.; Dauby, Gilles; Donoghue, John C.; Foden, Wendy; Lovett, Jon C.; Marquet, Pablo A.; Merow, Cory; Midgley, Guy; Morueta-Holme, Naia; Neves, Danilo M.; Oliveira-Filho, Ary T.; Kraft, Nathan J. B.; Park, Daniel S.; Peet, Robert K.; Pillet, Michiel; Serra-Diaz, Josep M.; Sandel, Brody; Schildhauer, Mark; Simova, Irena; Violle, Cyrille; Wieringa, Jan J.; Wiser, Susan K.; Hannah, Lee; Svenning, Jens-Christian; McGill, Brian J.
    A key feature of life’s diversity is that some species are common but many more are rare. Nonetheless, at global scales, we do not know what fraction of biodiversity consists of rare species. Here, we present the largest compilation of global plant diversity to quantify the fraction of Earth’s plant biodiversity that are rare. A large fraction, ~36.5% of Earth’s ~435,000 plant species, are exceedingly rare. Sampling biases and prominent models, such as neutral theory and the k-niche model, cannot account for the observed prevalence of rarity. Our results indicate that (i) climatically more stable regions have harbored rare species and hence a large fraction of Earth’s plant species via reduced extinction risk but that (ii) climate change and human land use are now disproportionately impacting rare species. Estimates of global species abundance distributions have important implications for risk assessments and conservation planning in this era of rapid global change.
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    Comparing the IUCN’s EICAT and Red List to improve assessments of the impact of biological invasions
    (Pensoft, 2020-10-15) Van der Colff, Dewidine; Kumschick, Sabrina; Foden, Wendy; Wilson, John R. U.
    The IUCN recommends the use of two distinct schemes to assess the impacts of biological invasions on biodiversity at the species level. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (Red List) categorises native species based on their risk of extinction. Such assessments evaluate the extent to which different pressures, including alien species, threaten native species. The much newer IUCN Environmental Impact Classification for Alien Taxa (EICAT) categorises alien species on the degree to which they have impacted native species. Conceptually, the schemes are related. One would expect that: 1) if a native species is assessed as threatened under the Red List due to the impacts of alien species, then at least one alien species involved should be classified as harmful under EICAT; and 2) if an alien species is assessed as harmful under EICAT, then at least one native species impacted should be assessed as threatened by alien species under the Red List. Here we test this by comparing the impacts of alien gastropods, assessed using EICAT, to the impact on native species as assessed based on the Red List. We found a weak positive correlation, but it is clear there is not a simple one-to-one relationship. We hypothesise that the relationship between EICAT and the Red List statuses will follow one of three forms: i) the EICAT status of an alien species is closely correlated to the Red List status of the impacted native species; ii) the alien species is classed as ‘harmful’ under EICAT, but it does not threaten the native species with extinction as per the Red List (for example, the impacted native species is still widespread or abundant despite significant negative impacts from the alien species); or iii) the native species is classified as threatened under the Red List regardless of the impacts of the alien species (threatened species are impacted by other pressures with alien species potentially a passenger and not a driver of change). We conclude that the two schemes are complementary rather than equivalent, and provide some recommendations for how categorisations and data can be used in concert.
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    Priorities for protected area research
    (International Union for Conservation of Nature, 2018-05) Dudley, Nigel; Hockings, Marc; Stolton, Sue; Amend, Thora; Badola, Ruchi; Bianco, Mariasole; Chettri, Nakul; Cook, Carly; Day, Jon C.; Dearden, Phil; Edwards, Mary; Ferraro, Paul; Foden, Wendy; Gambino, Roberto; Gaston, Kevin J.; Hayward, Natalie; Hickey, Valerie; Irving, Jason; Jeffries, Bruce; Karapetyan, Areg; Kettunen, Marianne; Laestadius, Lars; Laffoley, Dan; Lham, Dechen; Lichtenstein, Gabriela; Makombo, John; Marshall, Nina; McGeoch, Melodie; Nguyen, Dao; Nogue, Sandra; Paxton, Midori; Rao, Madhu; Reichelt, Russell; Rivas, Jorge; Roux, Dirk; Rutte, Claudia; Sadovy, Yvonne; Schreckenberg, Kate; Sovinc, Andrej; Sutyrina, Svetlana; Utomo, Agus; Vallauri, Daniel; Vedeld, Pal Olav; Verschuuren, Bas; Waithaka, John; Woodley, Stephen; Wyborn, Carina; Zhang, Yan
    A hundred research priorities of critical importance to protected area management were identified by a targeted survey of conservation professionals; half researchers and half practitioners. Respondents were selected to represent a range of disciplines, every continent except Antarctica and roughly equal numbers of men and women. The results analysed thematically and grouped as potential research topics as by both practitioners and researchers. Priority research gaps reveal a high interest to demonstrate the role of protected areas within a broader discussion about sustainable futures and if and how protected areas can address a range of conservation and socio-economic challenges effectively. The paper lists the hundred priorities structured under broad headings of management, ecology, governance and social (including political and economic issues) and helps contribute to setting future research agendas.