A national-scale dataset for threats impacting Australia's imperiled flora and fauna
Ward, Michelle, Carwardine, Josie, Yong, Chuan J., Watson, James E.M., Silcock, Jennifer, Taylor, Gary S., Lintermans, Mark, Gillespie, Graeme R., Garnett, Stephen T., Woinarski, John, Tingley, Reid, Fensham, Rod J., Hoskin, Conrad J., Hines, Harry B., Roberts, J. Dale, Kennard, Mark J., Harvey, Mark S., Chapple, David G., and Reside, April E. (2021) A national-scale dataset for threats impacting Australia's imperiled flora and fauna. Ecology and Evolution, 11 (17). pp. 11749-11761.
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Abstract
Australia is in the midst of an extinction crisis, having already lost 10% of terrestrial mammal fauna since European settlement and with hundreds of other species at high risk of extinction. The decline of the nation's biota is a result of an array of threatening processes; however, a comprehensive taxon-specific understanding of threats and their relative impacts remains undocumented nationally. Using expert consultation, we compile the first complete, validated, and consistent taxon-specific threat and impact dataset for all nationally listed threatened taxa in Australia. We confined our analysis to 1,795 terrestrial and aquatic taxa listed as threatened (Vulnerable, Endangered, or Critically Endangered) under Australian Commonwealth law. We engaged taxonomic experts to generate taxon-specific threat and threat impact information to consistently apply the IUCN Threat Classification Scheme and Threat Impact Scoring System, as well as eight broad-level threats and 51 subcategory threats, for all 1,795 threatened terrestrial and aquatic threatened taxa. This compilation produced 4,877 unique taxon–threat–impact combinations with the most frequently listed threats being Habitat loss, fragmentation, and degradation (n = 1,210 taxa), and Invasive species and disease (n = 966 taxa). Yet when only high-impact threats or medium-impact threats are considered, Invasive species and disease become the most prevalent threats. This dataset provides critical information for conservation action planning, national legislation and policy, and prioritizing investments in threatened species management and recovery.
| Item ID: | 70146 |
|---|---|
| Item Type: | Article (Research - C1) |
| ISSN: | 2045-7758 |
| Keywords: | Australian threatened species, EPBC Act, IUCN Threat Classification Scheme, IUCN Threat Impact Scoring System, Threat impacts, Threatened species |
| Copyright Information: | This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.© 2021 The Authors. Ecology and Evolution published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. |
| Funders: | National Environmental Science Programme (NESP) |
| Date Deposited: | 14 Feb 2022 01:58 |
| FoR Codes: | 41 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES > 4104 Environmental management > 410401 Conservation and biodiversity @ 50% 41 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES > 4104 Environmental management > 410407 Wildlife and habitat management @ 50% |
| SEO Codes: | 18 ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT > 1806 Terrestrial systems and management > 180601 Assessment and management of terrestrial ecosystems @ 50% 18 ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT > 1806 Terrestrial systems and management > 180606 Terrestrial biodiversity @ 50% |
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