Search results for " Extinction risk"
showing 5 items of 5 documents
Living on the edge: assessing the extinction risk of critically endangered Bonelli’s eagle in Italy
2012
Background: The population of Bonelli’s eagle (Aquila fasciata) has declined drastically throughout its European range due to habitat degradation and unnatural elevated mortality. There are less than 1500 breeding pairs accounted for in Europe, and the species is currently catalogued as Critically Endangered in Italy, where the 22 territories of Sicily, represent nearly 95% of the entire Italian population. However, despite national and European conservation concerns, the species currently lacks a specific conservation plan, and no previous attempts to estimate the risk of extinction have been made. Methodology/Principal Findings: We incorporated the most updated demographic information ava…
The use of ecological traits in extinction risk assessments: A case study on geometrid moths
2008
Identifying ecological traits that make some species more vulnerable than others is vital for predictive conservation science. By identifying these predisposing traits we can predict which species are most prone to decline and gain an understanding of the reasons behind the decline. The aim of this study was to determine the ecological traits that best predict extinction risk and distribution change in Finnish geometrid moths and to develop an understanding of the biological connections between these traits and threats. We found that larval specificity, overwintering stage and flight period length predicted distribution change and extinction risk. There was also an interaction effect betwee…
Predicting the risk of extinction from shared ecological characteristics
2005
Understanding the ultimate causes of population declines and extinction is vital in our quest to stop the currently rampant biodiversity loss. Comparison of ecological characteristics between threatened and nonthreatened species may reveal these ultimate causes. Here, we report an analysis of ecological characteristics of 23 threatened and 72 nonthreatened butterfly species. Our analysis reveals that threatened butterflies are characterized by narrow niche breadth, restricted resource distribution, poor dispersal ability, and short flight period. Based on the characteristics, we constructed an ecological extinction risk rank and predicted which of the currently nonthreatened species are at …
The conservation status of the world's freshwater molluscs
2021
With the biodiversity crisis continuing unchecked, we need to establish levels and drivers of extinction risk, and reassessments over time, to effectively allocate conservation resources and track progress towards global conservation targets. Given that threat appears particularly high in freshwaters, we assessed the extinction risk of 1428 randomly selected freshwater molluscs using the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria, as part of the Sampled Red List Index project. We show that close to one-third of species in our sample are estimated to be threatened with extinction, with highest levels of threat in the Nearctic, Palearctic and Australasia and among gastropods. Threat levels were hi…
Is legal protection sufficient to ensure plant conservation? The Italian Red List of policy species as a case study
2015
AbstractThe conservation of species listed in the Bern Convention and European Directive 1992/43/EEC (so-called policy species) is mandatory for European Union (EU) countries. We assessed the conservation status of Italian policy species, based on the IUCN categories and criteria, to evaluate the effectiveness of existing protection measures at the national level. Among the 203 vascular plants, bryophytes and lichens evaluated, 41.9% are categorized as threatened, and one is already extinct, indicating that the protection measures for policy species are inadequate. Our results for the Italian policy species are consistent with those of an assessment at the EU level. Conservation priorities …