Phylogenetically-informed priorities for amphibian conservation.
The amphibian decline and extinction crisis demands urgent action to prevent further large numbers of species extinctions. Lists of priority species for conservation, based on a combination of species' threat status and unique contribution to phylogenetic diversity, are one tool for the directi...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2012-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3431382?pdf=render |
| _version_ | 1819025348735533056 |
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| author | Nick J B Isaac David W Redding Helen M Meredith Kamran Safi |
| author_facet | Nick J B Isaac David W Redding Helen M Meredith Kamran Safi |
| author_sort | Nick J B Isaac |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The amphibian decline and extinction crisis demands urgent action to prevent further large numbers of species extinctions. Lists of priority species for conservation, based on a combination of species' threat status and unique contribution to phylogenetic diversity, are one tool for the direction and catalyzation of conservation action. We describe the construction of a near-complete species-level phylogeny of 5713 amphibian species, which we use to create a list of evolutionarily distinct and globally endangered species (EDGE list) for the entire class Amphibia. We present sensitivity analyses to test the robustness of our priority list to uncertainty in species' phylogenetic position and threat status. We find that both sources of uncertainty have only minor impacts on our 'top 100' list of priority species, indicating the robustness of the approach. By contrast, our analyses suggest that a large number of Data Deficient species are likely to be high priorities for conservation action from the perspective of their contribution to the evolutionary history. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-21T05:09:15Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-eb0641586a99428d8c0d0845cc7b325e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-21T05:09:15Z |
| publishDate | 2012-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj.art-eb0641586a99428d8c0d0845cc7b325e2022-12-21T19:15:06ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032012-01-0178e4391210.1371/journal.pone.0043912Phylogenetically-informed priorities for amphibian conservation.Nick J B IsaacDavid W ReddingHelen M MeredithKamran SafiThe amphibian decline and extinction crisis demands urgent action to prevent further large numbers of species extinctions. Lists of priority species for conservation, based on a combination of species' threat status and unique contribution to phylogenetic diversity, are one tool for the direction and catalyzation of conservation action. We describe the construction of a near-complete species-level phylogeny of 5713 amphibian species, which we use to create a list of evolutionarily distinct and globally endangered species (EDGE list) for the entire class Amphibia. We present sensitivity analyses to test the robustness of our priority list to uncertainty in species' phylogenetic position and threat status. We find that both sources of uncertainty have only minor impacts on our 'top 100' list of priority species, indicating the robustness of the approach. By contrast, our analyses suggest that a large number of Data Deficient species are likely to be high priorities for conservation action from the perspective of their contribution to the evolutionary history.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3431382?pdf=render |
| spellingShingle | Nick J B Isaac David W Redding Helen M Meredith Kamran Safi Phylogenetically-informed priorities for amphibian conservation. PLoS ONE |
| title | Phylogenetically-informed priorities for amphibian conservation. |
| title_full | Phylogenetically-informed priorities for amphibian conservation. |
| title_fullStr | Phylogenetically-informed priorities for amphibian conservation. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Phylogenetically-informed priorities for amphibian conservation. |
| title_short | Phylogenetically-informed priorities for amphibian conservation. |
| title_sort | phylogenetically informed priorities for amphibian conservation |
| url | http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3431382?pdf=render |
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