Publication Details |
Category | Text Publication |
Reference Category | Journals |
DOI | 10.1016/j.biocon.2012.07.015 |
Title (Primary) | The conservation status of the world’s reptiles |
Author | Böhm, M.; Collen, B.; Baillie, J.E.M.; Bowles, P.; Chanson, J.; Cox, N.; Hammerson, G.; Hoffmann, M.; Livingstone, S.R.; Ram, M.; Rhodin, A.G.J.; Stuart, S.N.; van Dijk, P.P.; Young, B.E.; Afuang, L.E.; Aghasyan, A.; García, A.; Aguilar, C.; Ajtic, R.; Akarsu, F.; Alencar, L.R.V.; Allison, A.; Ananjeva, N.; Anderson, S.; Andrén, C.; Ariano-Sánchez, D.; Arredondo, J.C.; Auliya, M.; Austin, C.C., et al. |
Source Titel | Biological Conservation |
Year | 2013 |
Department | NSF |
Volume | 157 |
Page From | 375 |
Page To | 385 |
Language | englisch |
Keywords | IUCN Red List; Extinction risk; Threatened species; Lizards; Snakes; Turtles; Distribution maps |
UFZ wide themes | RU1; |
Abstract | Effective and targeted
conservation action requires detailed information about species, their
distribution, systematics and ecology as well as the distribution of
threat processes which affect them. Knowledge of reptilian diversity
remains surprisingly disparate, and innovative means of gaining rapid
insight into the status of reptiles are needed in order to highlight
urgent conservation cases and inform environmental policy with
appropriate biodiversity information in a timely manner. We present the
first ever global analysis of extinction risk in reptiles, based on a
random representative sample of 1500 species (16% of all currently known
species). To our knowledge, our results provide the first analysis of
the global conservation status and distribution patterns of reptiles and
the threats affecting them, highlighting conservation priorities and
knowledge gaps which need to be addressed urgently to ensure the
continued survival of the world’s reptiles. Nearly one in five reptilian
species are threatened with extinction, with another one in five
species classed as Data Deficient. The proportion of threatened reptile
species is highest in freshwater environments, tropical regions and on
oceanic islands, while data deficiency was highest in tropical areas,
such as Central Africa and Southeast Asia, and among fossorial reptiles.
Our results emphasise the need for research attention to be focussed on
tropical areas which are experiencing the most dramatic rates of
habitat loss, on fossorial reptiles for which there is a chronic lack of
data, and on certain taxa such as snakes for which extinction risk may
currently be underestimated due to lack of population information.
Conservation actions specifically need to mitigate the effects of
human-induced habitat loss and harvesting, which are the predominant
threats to reptiles. |
Persistent UFZ Identifier | https://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=20939&ufzPublicationIdentifier=13203 |
Böhm, M., Collen, B., Baillie, J.E.M., Bowles, P., Chanson, J., Cox, N., Hammerson, G., Hoffmann, M., Livingstone, S.R., Ram, M., Rhodin, A.G.J., Stuart, S.N., van Dijk, P.P., Young, B.E., Afuang, L.E., Aghasyan, A., García, A., Aguilar, C., Ajtic, R., Akarsu, F., Alencar, L.R.V., Allison, A., Ananjeva, N., Anderson, S., Andrén, C., Ariano-Sánchez, D., Arredondo, J.C., Auliya, M., Austin, C.C., et al. (2013): The conservation status of the world’s reptiles Biol. Conserv. 157 , 375 - 385 10.1016/j.biocon.2012.07.015 |