Toward quantification of the impact of 21st-century deforestation on the extinction risk of terrestrial vertebrates

Conservation actions need to be prioritized, often taking into account species’ extinction risk. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List provides an accepted, objective framework for the assessment of extinction risk. Assessments based on data collected in the field are the best option, but the field data to base these on are often limited. Information collected through remote sensing can be used in place of field data to inform assessments. Forests are perhaps the best-studied land-cover type for use of remote-sensing data. Using an open-access 30-m resolution map of tree cover and its change between 2000 and 2012, we assessed the extent of forest cover and loss within the distributions of 11,186 forest-dependent amphibians, birds, and mammals worldwide. For 16 species, forest loss resulted in an elevated extinction risk under red-list criterion A, owing to inferred rapid population declines. This number increased to 23 when data-deficient species (i.e., those with insufficient information for evaluation) were included. Under red-list criterion B2, 484 species (855 when data-deficient species were included) were considered at elevated extinction risk, owing to restricted areas of occupancy resulting from little forest cover remaining within their ranges. The proportion of species of conservation concern would increase by 32.8% for amphibians, 15.1% for birds, and 24.7% for mammals if our suggested uplistings are accepted. Central America, the Northern Andes, Madagascar, the Eastern Arc forests in Africa, and the islands of Southeast Asia are hotspots for these species. Our results illustrate the utility of satellite imagery for global extinction-risk assessment and measurement of progress toward international environmental agreement targets

How genomics can help biodiversity conservation

The availability of public genomic resources can greatly assist biodiversity assessment, conservation, and restoration efforts by providing evidence for scientifically informed management decisions. Here we survey the main approaches and applications in biodiversity and conservation genomics, considering practical factors, such as cost, time, prerequisite skills, and current shortcomings of applications. Most approaches perform best in combination with reference genomes from the target species or closely related species. We review case studies to illustrate how reference genomes can facilitate biodiversity research and conservation across the tree of life. We conclude that the time is ripe to view reference genomes as fundamental resources and to integrate their use as a best practice in conservation genomics.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The era of reference genomes in conservation genomics

Progress in genome sequencing now enables the large-scale generation of reference genomes. Various international initiatives aim to generate reference genomes representing global biodiversity. These genomes provide unique insights into genomic diversity and architecture, thereby enabling comprehensive analyses of population and functional genomics, and are expected to revolutionize conservation genomics

The era of reference genomes in conservation genomics

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The era of reference genomes in conservation genomics

Progress in genome sequencing now enables the large-scale generation of reference genomes. Various international initiatives aim to generate reference genomes representing global biodiversity. These genomes provide unique insights into genomic diversity and architecture, thereby enabling comprehensive analyses of population and functional genomics, and are expected to revolutionize conservation genomics

How genomics can help biodiversity conservation

The availability of public genomic resources can greatly assist biodiversity assessment, conservation, and restoration efforts by providing evidence for scientifically informed management decisions. Here we survey the main approaches and applications in biodiversity and conservation genomics, considering practical factors, such as cost, time, prerequisite skills, and current shortcomings of applications. Most approaches perform best in combination with reference genomes from the target species or closely related species. We review case studies to illustrate how reference genomes can facilitate biodiversity research and conservation across the tree of life. We conclude that the time is ripe to view reference genomes as fundamental resources and to integrate their use as a best practice in conservation genomics

The PREDICTS database: a global database of how local terrestrial biodiversity responds to human impacts

Biodiversity continues to decline in the face of increasing anthropogenic pressures such as habitat destruction, exploitation, pollution and introduction of alien species. Existing global databases of species’ threat status or population time series are dominated by charismatic species. The collation of datasets with broad taxonomic and biogeographic extents, and that support computation of a range of biodiversity indicators, is necessary to enable better understanding of historical declines and to project – and avert – future declines. We describe and assess a new database of more than 1.6 million samples from 78 countries representing over 28,000 species, collated from existing spatial comparisons of local-scale biodiversity exposed to different intensities and types of anthropogenic pressures, from terrestrial sites around the world. The database contains measurements taken in 208 (of 814) ecoregions, 13 (of 14) biomes, 25 (of 35) biodiversity hotspots and 16 (of 17) megadiverse countries. The database contains more than 1% of the total number of all species described, and more than 1% of the described species within many taxonomic groups – including flowering plants, gymnosperms, birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, beetles, lepidopterans and hymenopterans. The dataset, which is still being added to, is therefore already considerably larger and more representative than those used by previous quantitative models of biodiversity trends and responses. The database is being assembled as part of the PREDICTS project (Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems – www.predicts.org.uk). We make site-level summary data available alongside this article. The full database will be publicly available in 2015

From introduction to the establishment of alien species: bioclimatic differences between presence and reproduction localities in the slider turtle

ABSTRACT Aim Understanding the factors determining the transition from introduction of aliens to the establishment of invasive populations is a critical issue of the study of biological invasions, and has key implications for management. Differences in fitness among areas of introduction can define the zones where aliens become invasive. The American slider turtle Trachemys scripta has been introduced worldwide, and has negative effects on freshwater communities, but only a subset of introduced populations breed successfully. We used species distribution models to assess the factors influencing the slider distribution in Italy, by analysing bioclimatic features that can cause the transition from presence of feral adults to breeding populations. We also evaluated whether climate change might increase the future suitability for reproduction. Location Central and Northern Italy. Methods The distribution of slider turtle was obtained from the literature, unpublished reports and field surveys. We used Maxent to build bioclimatic models. Results Reproductive populations are associated to a clear bioclimatic envelope with warmer climate, more solar radiation and higher precipitations than populations where reproduction is not observed. Several Mediterranean areas currently have climatic features suitable for sliders. Scenarios of climate change predict the expansion of these areas. In the near future (2020), the proportion of populations in areas suitable for reproduction will dramatically increase. Main conclusion Our study shows that bioclimatic differences can determine the areas where aliens become invaders. Management should be focused to these source areas. However, climate change can increase fitness in the future, and therefore the interactions between climate change and fitness can boost the invasiveness of this alien species

Threatened by Legislative Conservationism? The Case of the Critically Endangered Aeolian Lizard

Species-based conservation legislation needs to be based on sound scientific data and updated taxonomic knowledge. European Union environmental legislation is among the most advanced in the world, yet there is not a clear and regular mechanism to update species' lists of Habitats Directive Annexes according the latest available scientific data. Here we reviewed the situation of the endemic Aeolian lizard Podarcis raffonei and indicate it as a case-study of possible ongoing species extinction into the Mediterranean biodiversity hotspot as the result of failure to update lists of EU protected species. We recommend to implement a mechanism of periodical revision of the Annexes of the Habitats Directive with particular attention to endemic EU species included in the IUCN Red List as Critically Endangered

Percezione del rischio e risposte anti-predatorie in Epigee ed Ipogee larve di salamandra pezzata

La salamandra pezzata (Salamandra salamandra) \ue8 un anfibio urodelo ampiamente diffuso in Europa che mostra una notevole plasticit\ue0 ecologica nella scelta del sito riproduttivo. Normalmente si riproduce in diverse tipologie di ambiente acquatico lotico, ma recentemente \ue8 stata messa in luce la notevole capacit\ue0 di riprodursi anche in ambienti acquatici ipogei. Rispetto alle larve deposte in ambiente epigeo quelle nate in grotta mostrano una migliore capacit\ue0 di catturare prede al buio ed una maggiore plasticit\ue0 comportamentale nell\u2019adattare la normale strategia di foraggiamento all\u2019agguato tipica degli habitat epigei ad una strategia attiva simile a quella di anfibi troglobi come il proteo. Con questo studio abbiamo voluto indagare l\u2019effetto dei chemical cues di un tipico predatore, quale la larva della libellula Cordulegaster bidentata, hanno sull\u2019attivit\ue0 e sull\u2019aggressivit\ue0 intraspecifica delle larve di salamandra pezzata nate in grotta e in ambiente epigeo. A questo scopo sono state prelevate 146 larve newborn tra 8 siti epigei e 5 grotte. Alla cattura e dopo un mese di trattamento abbiamo registrato i movimenti e l\u2019aggressivit\ue0 delle larve di salamandra in presenza/assenza di segnali chimici di larve di libellula e di conspecifici feriti. Durante il mese di trattamento larve di provenienza ipogea ed epigea sono state equamente suddivise in vasche di controllo (\u201cco\u201d), con presenza di larva di libellula innocua (\u201cno risk\u201d) e con presenza di larva di libellula in grado di spaventare le salamandre (\u201crisk\u201d). I chemicals di C. bidentata hanno influenzato significativamente il comportamento delle larve. In presenza di segnali dei predatori la quantit\ue0 di distanza percorsa, la velocit\ue0 media e l\u2019utilizzo dei settori centrali dell\u2019arena di test diminuisce significativamente. Anche i trattamenti hanno avuto un effetto con le larve mantenute nella condizione \u201crisk\u201d, con una riduzione significativa sia dell\u2019attivit\ue0 che dell\u2019aggressivit\ue0. Infine \ue8 stato riscontrato anche un effetto della provenienza delle larve. Si \ue8 osservato un aumento generalizzato delle interazioni aggressive nelle larve di grotta ed una risposta differenziale ad entrambi i chemicals tra larve di grotta e di ruscello. Questo studio mette in luce il ruolo della percezione chimica del predatore e l\u2019importanza dell\u2019apprendimento nelle risposte anti-predatorie di S. salamandra. Inoltre viene mostrato come la crescita in ambienti differenti, nelle popolazioni epigee ed ipogee, possa plasmare in maniera sensibile la risposta comportamentale