Using indices of species' potential range to inform conservation status
Using indices of species' potential range to inform conservation status
复制标题
使用物种潜在范围指数来了解保护状况
DOI：
10.1016/j.ecolind.2021.107343
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发表时间：
2021
影响因子：
6.9
通讯作者：
Mason T
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Mason T
对保护状况的评估通常基于短期灭绝风险，但比较物种现状的指标（例如，丰度或分布）与潜在基线的关系日益得到承认。在保护立法中使用基线受到如何确定和解释基线的模糊性的阻碍，导致不一致的应用。在这里，我们探讨了使用物种的潜在范围作为一种一致的手段，量化基线评估物种的分布，保护状态的一个关键组成部分。以英国（GB）的繁殖鸟类为案例研究，我们模拟了在没有人类土地利用的模拟世界中，鸟类物种将在今天出现的地方。我们计算了将这些潜在的无人类范围与实现的范围进行对比的指数。我们的分析显示，42%的GB鸟类的实现范围比潜在范围更宽，28%的实现范围比潜在范围更窄。这些指数可能会导致重新评估目前的保护优先事项。18种被GB区域IUCN红色名录指定为“最不受关注”状态的物种比潜在范围窄得多，这表明它们的范围比目前公认的红色名录标准更退化。其中一些物种没有受到积极的保护管理，可能是更高优先级的候选人。我们的方法提供了一个系统的方法，量化范围基线，不依赖于变量的历史数据或专家意见，从而提供了一个步骤，在解决一个主要的当代问题，在保护评估：如何设置基线保护一致。所产生的见解也具有更广泛的科学和文化意义，揭示了在没有历史人类影响的情况下，物种今天可能存在的地方。这可以用来确定有针对性的恢复行动可能导致历史上灭绝的物种回归的地区，甚至是新的殖民者。
Assessments of conservation status are typically based on short-term extinction risk, but the value of indicators that compare the current state of species (e.g., abundance or distribution) to potential baselines is increasingly recognised. The use of baselines in conservation legislation is hindered by ambiguity in how baselines should be determined and interpreted, leading to inconsistent application. Here, we explored the use of species’ potential ranges as a consistent means of quantifying baselines for assessing species’ distributions, a key component of conservation status. Using breeding birds of Great Britain (GB) as a case study, we simulated where bird species would be expected to occur today in a modelled world without human land use. We calculated indices that contrasted these potential human-free ranges with realised ranges. Our analyses revealed that 42% of GB birds have wider realised than potential ranges and 28% have narrower realised than potential ranges. These indices could lead to reassessments of current conservation priorities. Eighteen species assigned ‘least concern’ status by the GB regional IUCN Red List had much narrower realised than potential ranges, suggesting that their ranges are in a more degraded state than currently recognised by Red List criteria. Some of these species are not under active conservation management and could be candidates for higher prioritisation. Our approach provides a systematic means of quantifying range baselines that is not reliant on variable historic data or expert opinion and, thereby, provides a step forward in resolving a major contemporary problem in conservation assessment: how to set baselines in conservation consistently. The insights produced are also of wider scientific and cultural relevance, revealing where species would likely exist today in the absence of historic human impacts. This could be used to identify areas where targeted restoration actions might lead to the return of historically extirpated species, or even to novel colonists.