{"title":"Is the general threatened status of four mammal groups affected by taxonomic changes over time?","authors":"Giovanni Amori , Luca Luiselli","doi":"10.1016/j.jnc.2024.126736","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The geographic range is a critical factor in assessing species’ threatened status on the IUCN Red List. A smaller geographic range increases the likelihood of a species being classified as threatened. Taxonomic revisions, which can split a widely distributed taxon into multiple smaller-range species, may elevate the threatened status for these newly recognized species. While taxonomic splitting is thought to increase the perceived threatened status of species, data on birds suggest the opposite, with newly recognized species being less threatened. No similar analysis has been conducted for mammals until now. This study compares the relationship between the number of recognized and threatened species in four mammalian orders (Carnivora, Cetartiodactyla, Chiroptera, and Rodentia) between 2005 and 2022. It was found that increases in species numbers due to taxonomic revisions correlated with increases in threatened species, particularly in Primates and Cetartiodactyla. The overall threatened status of these groups changed over time, with Primates and Cetartiodactyla becoming more threatened, while Rodentia became less threatened. We emphasize the need for consistent criteria in IUCN assessments to avoid biases, and we recommend that changes in the threatened status should only occur with robust evidence.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":54898,"journal":{"name":"Journal for Nature Conservation","volume":"82 ","pages":"Article 126736"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2000,"publicationDate":"2024-09-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal for Nature Conservation","FirstCategoryId":"93","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1617138124001857","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
The geographic range is a critical factor in assessing species’ threatened status on the IUCN Red List. A smaller geographic range increases the likelihood of a species being classified as threatened. Taxonomic revisions, which can split a widely distributed taxon into multiple smaller-range species, may elevate the threatened status for these newly recognized species. While taxonomic splitting is thought to increase the perceived threatened status of species, data on birds suggest the opposite, with newly recognized species being less threatened. No similar analysis has been conducted for mammals until now. This study compares the relationship between the number of recognized and threatened species in four mammalian orders (Carnivora, Cetartiodactyla, Chiroptera, and Rodentia) between 2005 and 2022. It was found that increases in species numbers due to taxonomic revisions correlated with increases in threatened species, particularly in Primates and Cetartiodactyla. The overall threatened status of these groups changed over time, with Primates and Cetartiodactyla becoming more threatened, while Rodentia became less threatened. We emphasize the need for consistent criteria in IUCN assessments to avoid biases, and we recommend that changes in the threatened status should only occur with robust evidence.
期刊介绍:
The Journal for Nature Conservation addresses concepts, methods and techniques for nature conservation. This international and interdisciplinary journal encourages collaboration between scientists and practitioners, including the integration of biodiversity issues with social and economic concepts. Therefore, conceptual, technical and methodological papers, as well as reviews, research papers, and short communications are welcomed from a wide range of disciplines, including theoretical ecology, landscape ecology, restoration ecology, ecological modelling, and others, provided that there is a clear connection and immediate relevance to nature conservation.
Manuscripts without any immediate conservation context, such as inventories, distribution modelling, genetic studies, animal behaviour, plant physiology, will not be considered for this journal; though such data may be useful for conservationists and managers in the future, this is outside of the current scope of the journal.