Incorporating explicit geospatial data shows more species at risk of extinction than the current Red List.
Abstract
The IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Red List classifies species
according to their risk of extinction, informing global to local conservation decisions.
Unfortunately, important geospatial data do not explicitly or efficiently enter this
process. Rapid growth in the availability of remotely sensed observations provides
fine-scale data on elevation and increasingly sophisticated characterizations of land
cover and its changes. These data readily show that species are likely not present
within many areas within the overall envelopes of their distributions. Additionally,
global databases on protected areas inform how extensively ranges are protected. We
selected 586 endemic and threatened forest bird species from six of the world's most
biodiverse and threatened places (Atlantic Forest of Brazil, Central America, Western
Andes of Colombia, Madagascar, Sumatra, and Southeast Asia). The Red List deems 18%
of these species to be threatened (15 critically endangered, 29 endangered, and 64
vulnerable). Inevitably, after refining ranges by elevation and forest cover, ranges
shrink. Do they do so consistently? For example, refined ranges of critically endangered
species might reduce by (say) 50% but so might the ranges of endangered, vulnerable,
and nonthreatened species. Critically, this is not the case. We find that 43% of species
fall below the range threshold where comparable species are deemed threatened. Some
210 bird species belong in a higher-threat category than the current Red List placement,
including 189 species that are currently deemed nonthreatened. Incorporating readily
available spatial data substantially increases the numbers of species that should
be considered at risk and alters priority areas for conservation.
Type
Journal articlePermalink
https://hdl.handle.net/10161/23542Published Version (Please cite this version)
10.1126/sciadv.1601367Publication Info
Ocampo-Peñuela, Natalia; Jenkins, Clinton N; Vijay, Varsha; Li, Binbin V; & Pimm,
Stuart L (2016). Incorporating explicit geospatial data shows more species at risk of extinction than
the current Red List. Science advances, 2(11). pp. e1601367. 10.1126/sciadv.1601367. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/23542.This is constructed from limited available data and may be imprecise. To cite this
article, please review & use the official citation provided by the journal.
Collections
More Info
Show full item recordScholars@Duke
Binbin Li
Assistant Professor of Environmental Science at Duke Kunshan University
Dr. Binbin Li is the Assistant Professor of Environmental Sciences of the Environmental
Research Center at Duke Kunshan University. She holds a secondary appointment with
Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University. Her research focuses on loss
of biodiversity, endangered and endemic species conservation such as giant pandas,
priority setting and management of protected areas, and promotion of innovative technology,
markets and policies to solve conservation problems and local commu
Stuart L. Pimm
Doris Duke Distinguished Professor of Conservation Ecology in the Nicholas School
of the Environment and Earth Sciences
Stuart Pimm is a world leader in the study of present-day extinctions and what can
be done to prevent them. His research covers the reasons why species become extinct,
how fast they do so, the global patterns of habitat loss and species extinction and,
importantly, the management consequences of this research. Pimm received his BSc degree
from Oxford University in 1971 and his Ph.D. from New Mexico State University in 1974.
Pimm is the author of over 350 scientific papers and five books. He i
Alphabetical list of authors with Scholars@Duke profiles.

Articles written by Duke faculty are made available through the campus open access policy. For more information see: Duke Open Access Policy
Rights for Collection: Scholarly Articles
Works are deposited here by their authors, and represent their research and opinions, not that of Duke University. Some materials and descriptions may include offensive content. More info