Global Biodiversity Loss Research Articles

Gambling with nature: Why gene drives are not a viable route to nature conservation

Gene drives, a potentially dangerous application of genetic engineering, enable forced inheritance and species manipulation. With proposed uses in disease vector and invasive species control, as well as agriculture, the main risks and challenges of gene drives relate to uncontrollability, regulation, and ethical concerns. Current scientific knowledge is not sufficient to allow it to be used cautiously and ethically. This article discusses gene drives as a conservation tool, concluding it is not a viable option for halting global biodiversity loss.

Global assessment of the biodiversity safeguards of development banks that finance infrastructure.

Infrastructure development is a major driver of biodiversity loss globally. With upward of US$2.5 trillion in annual investments in infrastructure, the financial sector indirectly drives this biodiversity loss. At the same time, biodiversity safeguards (project-level biodiversity impact mitigation requirements) of infrastructure financiers can help limit this damage. The coverage and harmonization of biodiversity safeguards are important factors in their effectiveness and therefore warrant scrutiny. It isequally important to examine the extent to which these safeguards align with best-practice principles for biodiversity impact mitigation outlined in international policies, such as that of the International Union for Conservation of Nature. We assessed the biodiversity safeguards of public development banks and development finance institutions for coverage, harmonization, and alignment with best practice. We used Institute of New Structural Economics and Agence Française de Développement's global database to identify development banks that invest in high-biodiversity-footprint infrastructure and have over US$500 million in assets. Of the 155 banks, 42% (n=65) had biodiversity safeguards. Of the existing safeguards, 86% (56 of 65) were harmonized with International Finance Corporation (IFC) Performance Standard 6 (PS6). The IFC PS6 (and by extension the 56 safeguard policies harmonized with it) had high alignment with international best practice in biodiversity impact mitigation, whereas the remaining 8 exhibited partial alignment, incorporating few principles that clarify the conditions for effective biodiversity offsetting. Given their dual role in setting benchmarks and leveraging private finance, infrastructure financiers in development finance need to adopt best-practice biodiversity safeguards if the tide of global biodiversity loss is to be stemmed. The IFC PS6, if strengthened, can act as a useful template for other financier safeguards. The high degree of harmonization among safeguards is promising, pointing to a potential for diffusion of practices.

Energetic connectivity of diverse elasmobranch populations - implications for ecological resilience.

Understanding the factors shaping patterns of ecological resilience is critical for mitigating the loss of global biodiversity. Throughout aquatic environments, highly mobile predators are thought to serve as important vectors of energy between ecosystems thereby promoting stability and resilience. However, the role these predators play in connecting food webs and promoting energy flow remains poorly understood in most contexts. Using carbon and nitrogen isotopes, we quantified the use of several prey resource pools (small oceanic forage, large oceanics, coral reef, and seagrass) by 17 species of elasmobranch fishes (n = 351 individuals) in The Bahamas to determine their functional diversity and roles as ecosystem links. We observed remarkable functional diversity across species and identified four major groups responsible for connecting discrete regions of the seascape. Elasmobranchs were responsible for promoting energetic connectivity between neritic, oceanic and deep-sea ecosystems. Our findings illustrate how mobile predators promote ecosystem connectivity, underscoring their functional significance and role in supporting ecological resilience. More broadly, strong predator conservation efforts in developing island nations, such as The Bahamas, are likely to yield ecological benefits that enhance the resilience of marine ecosystems to combat imminent threats such as habitat degradation and climate change.

Tracking the global application of conservation translocation and social attraction to reverse seabird declines

The global loss of biodiversity has inspired actions to restore nature across the planet. Translocation and social attraction actions deliberately move or lure a target species to a restoration site to reintroduce or augment populations and enhance biodiversity and ecosystem resilience. Given limited conservation funding and rapidly accelerating extinction trajectories, tracking progress of these interventions can inform best practices and advance management outcomes. Seabirds are globally threatened and commonly targeted for translocation and social attraction ("active seabird restoration"), yet no framework exists for tracking these efforts nor informing best practices. This study addresses this gap for conservation decision makers responsible for seabirds and coastal management. We systematically reviewed active seabird restoration projects worldwide and collated results into a publicly accessible Seabird Restoration Database. We describe global restoration trends, apply a systematic process to measure success rates and response times since implementation, and examine global factors influencing outcomes. The database contains 851 active restoration events in 551 locations targeting 138 seabird species; 16% of events targeted globally threatened taxa. Visitation occurred in 80% of events and breeding occurred in 76%, on average 2 y after implementation began (SD = 3.2 y). Outcomes varied by taxonomy, with the highest and quickest breeding response rates for Charadriiformes (terns, gulls, and auks), primarily with social attraction. Given delayed and variable response times to active restoration, 5 y is appropriate before evaluating outcomes. The database and results serve as a model for tracking and evaluating restoration outcomes, and is applicable to measuring conservation interventions for additional threatened taxa.

Student conceptions of the production of cow's milk-An exploratory interview study with 6th- and 10th-grade students.

The production of food and the associated livestock farming contribute significantly to climate change and the global loss of biodiversity, hindering the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). To promote responsible consumption and production of food (SDG 12), ensuring that students understand the production of our food, the associated livestock farming, and the interrelatedness of production and consumption is essential. Thus, Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is an important tool for achieving the SDGs. To develop effective teaching and learning strategies to educate students about the production of food from livestock, it is important to identify students' existing conceptions of this topic. Thus, this study examined sixth-grade (n = 4; M Age = 12 years; SD Age = 0.7 years; 50% female) and tenth-grade students' (n = 4; M Age = 16 years; SD Age = 0 years; 50% female) conceptions of milk production, focusing on dairy farming, the milking process and techniques, and the production of cow's milk. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with students from Osnabrück (Lower Saxony) to elicit student conceptions. The evaluation of the students' conceptions was carried out using qualitative content analysis. The results largely indicated that both sixth and tenth graders had realistic conceptions of dairy farming and the milking process and techniques. However, some students also expressed romanticized conceptions of pasture grazing and calf rearing. In addition, unrealistic statements regarding the formation of milk were identified. The conceptions of the sixth and tenth graders were compared, and with a few exceptions, no significant differences were found between the two cohorts. However, the tenth graders tended to have more differentiated conceptions about milk production than the sixth graders. In conducting the analysis, it became clear that students' conceptions of the production of milk are influenced by individual primary experiences with dairy farms. Finally, based on these results, educational recommendations for the school teaching framework in the context of ESD and implications for further research are presented.

Taxonomical and functional analysis of four arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi populations obtained from a Ricinus communis rhizospheric Cr(VI) polluted soil

In a global context of climate change and loss of biodiversity, phytoremediation appears as a viable strategy to recover polluted soil. Phytoremediation is defined as a strategy to recover polluted soils by means of plants and the associated microorganisms. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are one of the most widespread soil microorganisms, they live in symbiosis with 70% of terrestrial plants. In the symbiotic relation, the fungal partner incorporates carbohydrates and lipids facilitated by the plant and the plant incorporates minerals facilitated by the fungal partner. Then, the inclusion of AMF in phytoremediation strategies should become a priority, not only because the presence of AMF will help the plant to adapt to the polluted soil but also because it could enhance the incorporation of carbon to the soil. In addition, the actual context of global biodiversity loss prioritizes the study of local populations in order to promote the incorporation of the local biodiversity to soil management, that includes phytoremediation. In the present work we aimed to taxonomically characterise four AMF populations obtained from Ricinus communis rhizospheric Cr(VI) polluted soil. In addition, we aimed to study the symbiosis and the mineral uptake of some elements, including phosphorus and chromium, in R. communis plants associated with each AMF population and re-exposed to Cr(VI). We found that three AMF populations grouped near Rhizophagus and one near Paraglomus accessions and that the four AMF populations were tolerant to the re-exposure to 8 ppm Cr(VI) substrate concentration. Finally, from the mineral content analysis, our results strongly suggest that Paraglomus sp., a taxon which appeared earlier in the evolution of AMF, was the population that best adapted to the re-exposure of 8 ppm Cr(VI). Thus, we suggest that future phytoremediation studies should include taxa from this early diverged genus.

Gandhi's Economic Approach to Rural Areas

Gandhi's ideas on the rural economy are a shining example of Gandhism, which is fundamentally centred on the creation of a rural lifestyle that is independent and based on solid and sustainable development. In Gandhiji's view, this idea of a rural swaraj would be a democracy in which both independence and cooperation would be present. Gandhiji thought that a cottage industry centred on the village would give it economic power, prevent output from becoming uneven, and liberate rural life from the aspects of exploitation. Gandhiji's vision for rural industries was built around the manufacturing of khadi. Gandhiji incorporated the spinning wheel in his creative work for this reason. Gandhiji equated the leather trade with labour pride rather than disdain, which supports the rural economy. Gandhiji counsels the general populace to make use of commodities produced in rural areas to boost the rural economy and increase demand for the products of village industries. Gandhiji believed that the government's responsibility in this situation should include both financial assistance and the growth of the cooperative institution. Gandhiji saw the farmer as the cornerstone of the rural economy, which is why it served as the foundation for his major campaign. Gandhiji had a vision of the perfect village, where the residents would be healthy, intellectual, and sociable. Gandhiji's beliefs are still relevant today. Some examples are the promotion of Khadi, the idea of the PURA (Rural-Urban) Mission, the Start-up campaign, Mudra Banking, Skill India, the Swachh Bharat Mission, etc. Looks creative. Gandhiji's well-known adage, “Nature can meet all our wants but not our greed,” is a direct criticism of global warming and biodiversity loss. Day of Nonviolence, Green GNP, and Sustainable Development Gandhian thinking itself appear to be the source of inspiration for the global movement toward the idea of philosophy. In actuality, Gandhi's philosophy is founded on the idea of Sarvodaya and is built on life, truth, and morality, which are everlasting truths.

The intersection of marine and coastal conservation and nature-based solutions to climate change: Governance insights from Indian Ocean small island States

Despite an array of global interventions, climate change and biodiversity loss remain pressing environmental problems. Nations in the global south, and in particular small island developing states (SIDS), are frequently more vulnerable to climate change than other nations. Furthermore, these nations rely heavily on biodiversity for sustenance, livelihoods and economies. Yet, capacity and resources to address the challenges are often limited. Finding effective and efficient ways to respond to both climate change and biodiversity loss is, therefore, critical. This research explores natured-based solutions (NbS) to climate change and how these can simultaneously support marine and coastal biodiversity conservation. The paper focuses on international law and specifically the commitments made by Indian Ocean SIDS in their Nationally Determined Contribution documents (NDCs) submitted under the Paris Agreement. The commitments in these NDCs provide a foundation for climate change action, and now must be implemented if goals are to be achieved.

Assessment of the genetic diversity of Chinese freshwater mussels and refuge areas in the Yangtze River floodplain

Abstract Freshwater mussels are one of the most diverse and endangered faunas worldwide. Owing to the continuing global biodiversity loss, it is essential to identify and protect populations that are not severely affected by human disturbances and ensure that natural genetic diversity is not inevitably lost. The generation of baseline genetic diversity data will help guide species conservation and restoration plans in the Yangtze River Basin where freshwater mussels are facing multiple threats and where strong declines have been observed. The genetic diversity of freshwater mussels was assessed using 818 mtDNA cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COI), 565 28S rRNA and 509 COI + 28S datasets, and refuge areas in the Yangtze River floodplain were predicted using a Maxent habitat suitability model. The results showed that the genetic diversity of Aculamprotula spp., Sinosolenaia carinata, Cuneopsis rufescens, Lamprotula cornuumlunae, Lanceolaria lanceolata, Ptychorhynchus pfisteri, Schistodesmus spp. and Sinohyriopsis cumingii was lower than that of other freshwater mussels, which indicated that the conservation status of these species should be prioritized. The habitat suitability modelling showed that Poyang Lake and Dongting Lake basins (lakes and tributary rivers connected to the Yangtze River mainstem) present the most suitable habitats for freshwater mussels, indicating that lateral hydrological connectivity may be the most important factor in maintaining the genetic diversity of Chinese freshwater mussels. Consequently, Poyang Lake and Dongting Lake basins should be established as protected areas. This study provides valuable information for the conservation and management of freshwater mussel biodiversity in the Yangtze River basin, which will not only help conserve this vulnerable group but will also provide wider benefits to freshwater ecosystems.

The effects of habitat heterogeneity, as measured by satellite image texture, on tropical forest bird distributions

Global biodiversity loss is most pronounced in the tropics. Monitoring of broad-scale patterns of habitat is essential for biodiversity conservation. Image texture measures derived from satellite data are proxies for habitat heterogeneity, but have not been tested in tropical forests. Our goal was to evaluate image texture to predict tropical forest bird distributions across Thailand for different guilds. We calculated a suite of texture measures from cumulative productivity (1-km fPAR-MODIS data) for Thailand's forests, and assessed how well texture measures predicted distributions of 86 tropical forest bird species in relation to body size, and nesting guild. Finally, we compared the predictive performance of combining (a) satellite image texture measures, (b) habitat composition, and (c) habitat fragmentation. We found that texture measures predicted occurrences of tropical forest birds well (AUC = 0.801 ± 0.063). Second-order homogeneity was the most predictive texture measure. Our models based on texture were significantly better for birds with larger body size (p < 0.05), but did not differ among nesting guilds (p > 0.05). Models that combined texture with habitat composition measures (AUC = 0.928 ± 0.038) outperformed models that combined fragmentation with habitat composition measures (AUC = 0.905 ± 0.047) (p < 0.05). The incorporation of texture, composition, and fragmentation variables significantly improved model accuracy over texture-only models (AUC = 0.801 ± 0.063 to AUC = 0.938 ± 0.034; p < 0.05). We suggest that texture measures are a valuable tool to predict bird distributions at broad scales in tropical forests.

Global Dependence Analysis on Indonesian Palm Oil Production and Its Effect on Environmental Security Using the Copenhagen School Approach

Increasing international demand is related to global dependency on Indonesian palm oil, forcing Indonesia to increase its palm oil production, resulting in environmental concern. A combination of quantitative and qualitative methods with the Copenhagen School approach is used. On average from 2010-2020, Indonesia exported palm oil to Asia (64.72%), the EU (16.29%), Africa (13.59%), America (5.30%), and Oceania (0.07%). According to the Copenhagen School perspective, there are potential environmental security threats to the international world. One aspect of the environment that is suffering is forested due to deforestation, related fires, damage to ecosystems, and species that are essential contributors to global climate change and loss of biodiversity, as well as poor local and regional air quality. Involvement in the human rights sector, terrorist activities, smuggling, and tax evasion are also evident. Indonesian palm oil production provides economic benefits through international trade and at the same time threatens global environmental security.

Transdisciplinary transformative change: an analysis of some best practices and barriers, and the potential of critical social science in getting us there

Biodiversity experts now widely acknowledge that transformative change is best supported through transdisciplinary collaborations. Yet, such collaborations rarely successfully occur in major biodiversity research institutions and those that do rarely achieve the paradigmatic effects they aim to deliver. To gain some insight into this global phenomenon, we surveyed Swiss-based researchers and non-academic stakeholders addressing global change and biodiversity. In this article, we connect our findings to global patterns in transdisciplinary transformative change initiatives (TTCIs) and heuristically divide collaboration barriers into two categories: lack of resources and lack of vital functional elements. Two of the major themes that emerged from this research were the continued difficulties with (1) establishing a common ‘language’, understanding, and goals, and (2) meaningful pluralization of knowledge in transdisciplinary collaborations aimed at addressing global change and biodiversity loss. The former is widely cited in the literature as contributing to the failure of TTCIs in the form of incoherent problem-framing, while the latter is often identified as contributing to the lack of structural transformative change (e.g., paradigmatic shifts) in completed initiatives. Another major theme reflected in TTCI literature was limited time. Moreover, based on our own extensive inter- and transdisciplinary experience, we agree with other experts that there is a persistent lack of understanding of the potential contributions of critical social science (CSS) to TTCIs. We thus argue that enhancing resource availability for TTCIs, especially tools for improving CSS literacy, could save time and support both problem-framing alignment and delivery of the structural/paradigmatic changes we aspire to.

Publication trends in global biodiversity research on protected areas

One of the main strategies to reduce the global loss of biodiversity has been the establishment of protected areas (PAs). High quality biodiversity knowledge is essential to successfully design PAs and PA networks, and to assess their conservation effectiveness. However, biodiversity knowledge is taxonomically and geographically biased. Even though PAs are typically more intensively surveyed than surrounding landscapes, they cannot avoid biodiversity knowledge shortfalls and biases. To investigate this, we performed a systematic literature review to assess publication trends in global biodiversity research taking place in PAs. Our data indicate that animals are more studied than plants, with vertebrates overrepresented in relation to invertebrates. Biodiversity in PAs has been mainly measured taxonomically (species richness or species diversity), while functional and phylogenetic diversity have rarely been considered. Finally, as predicted, there was a geographic bias towards European and USA terrestrial protected areas. These observed trends mirror more general studies of biodiversity knowledge shortfalls and could have direct negative consequences for conservation policy and practice. Reducing these biases and shortfalls is essential for more effective use of limited conservation resources.

An Overview of Ecological Indicators of Fish to Evaluate the Anthropogenic Pressures in Aquatic Ecosystems: From Traditional to Innovative DNA-Based Approaches

In order to halt the loss of global biodiversity and considering the United Nations Decade for Ocean Conservation Agenda, increasing efforts to improve biomonitoring programs and assessment of ecosystem health are needed. Aquatic environments are among the most complex to monitor, requiring an array of tools to assess their status and to define conservation targets. Although several parameters need to be considered for a comprehensive ecological status assessment, it is important to identify easy-to-apply high-resolution monitoring methods. Shifts in fish composition and abundance are often good indicators of ecosystem health status in relation to anthropogenic activities. However, traditional monitoring methods are strictly related to the habitat under study and cannot be applied universally. This review summarizes the importance of ecological indicators for aquatic environments subjected to anthropogenic stressors, with a particular focus on fish communities and transitional water ecosystems. We describe the main characteristics of both traditional and novel methods for fish monitoring, highlighting their advantages and shortcomings in an attempt to identify simple and reliable ways for a correct evaluation of the dynamics of aquatic ecosystems.

Use of instant controlled pressure drop technology for the preservation of edible insects' (yellow mealworm) quality: assessment of microbial inactivation.

The world population is expanding, and with it, so is the need for proteins for the food and feed sectors. Conventional livestock production is correlated with negative environmental repercussions such as global warming, land degradation, and biodiversity loss. The nutritional content of edible insects is comparable to that of conventional meat, and insect farming offers various environmental advantages over livestock production, making it a favorable sustainable protein resource. However, to be placed on the market, insects should be processed, and their microbial load should be within the accepted range of the European Commission regulation (EU) 2021/882. The purpose of this research is to investigate the use of instant controlled pressure drop (DIC) technology for the microbial inactivation of yellow mealworm larvae. This innovative decontamination treatment was compared to blanching in hot water, the conventional processing method. We also investigated the impacts on enzymatic browning. Results showed that the application of rapid (20s) DIC treatment at 0.3MPa allowed reducing the total aerobic count and the total yeast and mold count of larvae below the thresholds authorized by the commission regulation. Pressure, temperature, and number of cycle factors were found to have significant effects on the decontamination, while the treatment time had no effect for most treatments. In regard to blanching, we were able to get the authorized load at 90°C for 360s. Decimal reduction times for DIC and blanching treatments were found to be 3.8s and 67.8s for total aerobic count, and 3s and 57s for total yeast and mold count, respectively. Furthermore, DIC-treated larvae showed a significant increase in juice color brightness, which could be traced back to the oxidative enzymatic inactivation of larvae, whereas there was a slight difference between blanched and untreated larvae juice colors.

The Post‐2020 Global Biodiversity Framework: How did we get here, and where do we go next?

AbstractDecember 2022 finally saw the historic agreement of the Kunming‐Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KM‐GBF), a landmark framework that sets to halt and reverse global biodiversity loss by remedying the multifaceted drivers behind biodiversity declines around the planet. The KM‐GBF follows on from the Aichi targets, which aimed to prevent further biodiversity loss through a concerted effort between 2010 and 2020, but which were not successfully achieved. The KM‐GBF builds on the drivers of biodiversity losses rather than their outcomes and sets a suite of targeted and measurable actions to reconcile losses. Developing the framework faced considerable challenges, especially in the face of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, and issues were often resolved at the very last moment. Consequently, compromises had to be made, useful elements were left out, or removed from the KM‐GBF to achieve consensus, and some will need to be reflected in other ways, or incorporated into indicators. The final agreed KM‐GBF includes 4 goals and 23 targets in addition to a package of annexes including a monitoring framework to set targets and benchmark progress. Particularly challenging issues included the flagship target of ‘30 × 30’ of protecting 30% of land, freshwater, coastal, and high‐sea in a representative way by 2030, which will require both new mechanisms and funding streams to enact effectively. Digital sequence information and funding mechanisms also presented major hurdles in the agreement of the KM‐GBF. Ultimately, the success of the new GBF depends on implementation and mainstreaming. New targets can only be achieved through the inclusion of all sectors, clear communication, and effective funding mechanisms to guide change and provide the means to implement it. Furthermore, while common but differentiated responsibility is crucial to implementation, impacts of inaction are disproportionate in developing economies, and more resources and support are needed to enable them to develop sustainably and meet targets. This highlights the urgent need for action if we are to achieve the new targets and secure a future for all life on earth.

Review of the impacts of invasive alien vertebrates on biodiversity

<p indent="0mm">Alien species invasion is one of the major causes of global biodiversity loss. As the top predators of the food web, invasive alien vertebrates have dominant impacts on the native species population, community structure, and ecosystem functions. Nevertheless, within China, there is a lack of a systematic review of the impact of invasive alien vertebrates on biodiversity. Based on an intensive and systematic literature review, we summarize the direct (e.g., predation, competition, reproductive interference, and gene pollution) and indirect (e.g., disease transmission and habitat modifications) impacts of invasive alien vertebrates on the native biota across population, community, ecosystem, and biogeography levels. We particularly focus on the impacts of invasive alien species on island ecosystems, protected areas, and regions along the “Belt and Road Initiative,” which are located in biodiversity-conservation hotspots and are extremely sensitive to biological invasions. Accounting for the requirement of biosecurity system construction in China and the international frontier of discipline development, we finally summarize the recent research progress, the directions of future studies, and the potential conservation and management strategies for invasive alien vertebrates in China.

Intentional release of native species undermines ecological stability

The massive release of captive-bred native species ("intentional release") is a pervasive method to enhance wild populations of commercial and recreational species. However, such external inputs may disrupt the sensitive species interactions that allow competing species to coexist, potentially compromising long-term community stability. Here, we use theory and long-term data of stream fish communities to show that intentional release destabilizes community dynamics with limited demographic benefit to the enhanced species. Our theory predicted that intentional release intensifies interspecific competition, facilitating the competitive exclusion of unenhanced species that otherwise stably coexist. In parallel, the excessive input of captive-bred individuals suppressed the natural recruitment of the enhanced species via intensified within-species competition. Consequently, the ecological community with the intentional release is predicted to show reduced community density with unstable temporal dynamics. Consistent with this prediction, stream fish communities showed greater temporal fluctuations and fewer taxonomic richness in rivers with the intensive release of hatchery salmon-a major fishery resource worldwide. Our findings alarm that the current overreliance on intentional release may accelerate global biodiversity loss with undesired consequences for the provisioning of ecosystem services.

On the Role of Natural and Induced Landscape Heterogeneity for the Support of Pollinators: A Green Infrastructure Perspective Applied in a Peri-Urban System

Pollinators are key ecosystem components and their conservation represents a critical target for both nature and human health. In a world of increasing urbanisation, cities and peri-urban areas have to be active players in addressing this target, and in-depth knowledge of the effects of the urbanisation gradient and related landscape features on pollinators has to be acquired. Accordingly, an experimental study on the relationships between bee communities and natural vs. human-induced environmental heterogeneity has been carried out in a transitional peri-urban landscape of the Metropolitan area of Rome (Italy). A multi-step procedure was adopted, arranged into plant and bee communities field sampling, detailed mapping of actual and potential ecosystems, and combined processing and modelling of the respective results. The potential contribution of experimental findings to the deployment of a pollinator-friendly Green Infrastructure (GI) has been then explored, with statistical correlations between bee diversity and landscape metrics adopted for defining conservation and restoration actions and a multi-criteria analysis adopted for site prioritisation in the study area. Such a planned GI could represent an effective solution for enhancing resilience and resistance of peri-urban landscapes against land take and agricultural intensification, as local expressions of global biodiversity loss drivers.

Plant conservation assessment at scale: Rapid triage of extinction risks

Societal Impact StatementThe current rate of global biodiversity loss creates a pressing need to increase efficiency and throughput of extinction risk assessments in plants. We must assess as many plant species as possible, working with imperfect knowledge, to address the habitat loss and extinction threats of the Anthropocene. Using the biodiversity database, Botanical Information and Ecology Network (BIEN), and the Andropogoneae grass tribe as a case study, we demonstrate that large‐scale, preliminary conservation assessments can play a fundamental role in accelerating plant conservation pipelines and setting priorities for more in‐depth investigations.Summary The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List criteria are widely used to determine extinction risks of plant and animal life. Here, we used The Red List's criterion B, Geographic Range Size, to provide preliminary conservation assessments of the members of a large tribe of grasses, the Andropogoneae, with ~1100 species, including maize, sorghum, and sugarcane and their wild relatives. We used georeferenced occurrence data from the Botanical Information and Ecology Network (BIEN) and automated individual species assessments using ConR to demonstrate efficacy and accuracy in using time‐saving tools for conservation research. We validated our results with those from the IUCN‐recommended assessment tool, GeoCAT. We discovered a remarkably large gap in digitized information, with slightly more than 50% of the Andropogoneae lacking sufficient information for assessment. ConR and GeoCAT largely agree on which taxa are of least concern (&gt;90%) or possibly threatened (&lt;10%), highlighting that automating assessments with ConR is a viable strategy for preliminary conservation assessments of large plant groups. Results for crop wild relatives are similar to those for the entire dataset. Increasing digitization and collection needs to be a high priority. Available rapid assessment tools can then be used to identify species that warrant more comprehensive investigation.