Patterns of uncertainty in life-history and extinction risk for Arctic vertebrates
Conserving Arctic wildlife will be challenging given the ongoing environmental changes in the region. In addition, there is a lack of fundamental biological information for many Arctic species, including a dearth of knowledge surrounding conservation threats and the risk of extinction. In this study...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Canadian Science Publishing
2018-12-01
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| Series: | Arctic Science |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2018-0006 |
| _version_ | 1831589106708119552 |
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| author | Cody J. Dey David J. Yurkowski Richard Schuster David S. Shiffman Sarah Joy Bittick |
| author_facet | Cody J. Dey David J. Yurkowski Richard Schuster David S. Shiffman Sarah Joy Bittick |
| author_sort | Cody J. Dey |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Conserving Arctic wildlife will be challenging given the ongoing environmental changes in the region. In addition, there is a lack of fundamental biological information for many Arctic species, including a dearth of knowledge surrounding conservation threats and the risk of extinction. In this study, we gather all available data on research effort and life-history traits to assess the current state of scientific knowledge surrounding 389 Arctic vertebrate species. We also quantify patterns of species evaluation by the IUCN Red List, a global database of conservation risk used to measure success and prioritize resources in many conservation programs. We find that 10% of Arctic vertebrates have been the subject of no peer-reviewed studies during the last 30 years, and that we have little life history knowledge for many species. Arctic marine fishes are especially poorly known with an average of 3.5 (out of six) key life-history traits unknown. In a multivariate analysis, whether an Arctic species had been evaluated by the IUCN Red List was most strongly predicted by research effort and varied among taxonomic groups. In addition, we found that species that have been evaluated by the IUCN Red List continue to receive more research attention than species which have not been evaluated. Protecting all Arctic species may, therefore, require research programs and methods to halt research inertia and shift more attention onto species that are poorly known. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-18T00:36:39Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-9d0d8cda71e34765b2df5b07ada76bdc |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2368-7460 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-18T00:36:39Z |
| publishDate | 2018-12-01 |
| publisher | Canadian Science Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Arctic Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-9d0d8cda71e34765b2df5b07ada76bdc2022-12-21T21:26:59ZengCanadian Science PublishingArctic Science2368-74602018-12-014471072110.1139/as-2018-0006Patterns of uncertainty in life-history and extinction risk for Arctic vertebratesCody J. Dey0David J. Yurkowski1Richard Schuster2David S. Shiffman3Sarah Joy Bittick4Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research, University of Windsor, 401 Sunset Avenue, Windsor, ON N9B 3P4, Canada.Department of Biological Sciences, University of Manitoba, 50 Sifton Road, Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2, Canada.Department of Biology, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, ON K1S 5B6 Canada. Ecosystem Science and Management Program, University of Northern British Columbia, 3333 University Way, Prince George, BC V2N 4Z9 Canada.Earth to Oceans Group, Department of Biological Sciences, 8888 University Drive, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6, Canada.Department of Zoology, Biodiversity Research Centre, University of British Columbia, 2212 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada.Conserving Arctic wildlife will be challenging given the ongoing environmental changes in the region. In addition, there is a lack of fundamental biological information for many Arctic species, including a dearth of knowledge surrounding conservation threats and the risk of extinction. In this study, we gather all available data on research effort and life-history traits to assess the current state of scientific knowledge surrounding 389 Arctic vertebrate species. We also quantify patterns of species evaluation by the IUCN Red List, a global database of conservation risk used to measure success and prioritize resources in many conservation programs. We find that 10% of Arctic vertebrates have been the subject of no peer-reviewed studies during the last 30 years, and that we have little life history knowledge for many species. Arctic marine fishes are especially poorly known with an average of 3.5 (out of six) key life-history traits unknown. In a multivariate analysis, whether an Arctic species had been evaluated by the IUCN Red List was most strongly predicted by research effort and varied among taxonomic groups. In addition, we found that species that have been evaluated by the IUCN Red List continue to receive more research attention than species which have not been evaluated. Protecting all Arctic species may, therefore, require research programs and methods to halt research inertia and shift more attention onto species that are poorly known.https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2018-0006threatened speciesconservationred list |
| spellingShingle | Cody J. Dey David J. Yurkowski Richard Schuster David S. Shiffman Sarah Joy Bittick Patterns of uncertainty in life-history and extinction risk for Arctic vertebrates Arctic Science threatened species conservation red list |
| title | Patterns of uncertainty in life-history and extinction risk for Arctic vertebrates |
| title_full | Patterns of uncertainty in life-history and extinction risk for Arctic vertebrates |
| title_fullStr | Patterns of uncertainty in life-history and extinction risk for Arctic vertebrates |
| title_full_unstemmed | Patterns of uncertainty in life-history and extinction risk for Arctic vertebrates |
| title_short | Patterns of uncertainty in life-history and extinction risk for Arctic vertebrates |
| title_sort | patterns of uncertainty in life history and extinction risk for arctic vertebrates |
| topic | threatened species conservation red list |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2018-0006 |
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