Translating globally threatened marine species information into regional guidance for the Gulf of Mexico

Abstract

A comprehensive understanding of the status of marine organisms in the Gulf of Mexico is critical to the conservation and improved management of marine biodiversity in the region. Threats and extinction risk, based on application of the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria at the global level, were analyzed for 1,300 Gulf of Mexico marine species. These species include all known marine mammals, sea birds, marine reptiles, cartilaginous fishes, bony shorefishes, corals, mangroves, seagrasses and complete clades of select invertebrates. Analyses showed that 6% of these species are threatened, 2% Near Threatened, 9% Data Deficient, and 83% Least Concern. However, the majority of these species are not endemic to the Gulf, and therefore are globally impacted by threats that may or may not be particularly intense within the Gulf. For example, many of these species are impacted by fisheries in much of their global range; however, the intensity of fishing pressure varies across their ranges, and some of these exploited species are well managed in the Gulf of Mexico. Other anthropogenic impacts, including industrial development, pollution, and habitat loss also vary in intensity across species’ global ranges. Here we provide recommendations for interpreting the application of global IUCN Red List Categories at the sub-global/regional scale, while highlighting conservation measures needed for marine species specific to the Gulf region.