Conservation status assessments of species-rich tropical taxa in the face of data availability limitations: insights from Sulawesi Begonia
Species conservation assessments using the criteria outlined by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature Red List can be compromised by limited data availability. Species-rich tropical plant taxa with numerous microendemics are particularly problematic. This study focusses on the Begon...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2024
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| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10356/179580 |
| _version_ | 1811685938952142848 |
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| author | Thomas, Daniel C. Ardi, Wisnu H. Chong, Yu Hong Thomas, Philip Hughes, Mark |
| author2 | School of Biological Sciences |
| author_facet | School of Biological Sciences Thomas, Daniel C. Ardi, Wisnu H. Chong, Yu Hong Thomas, Philip Hughes, Mark |
| author_sort | Thomas, Daniel C. |
| collection | NTU |
| description | Species conservation assessments using the criteria outlined by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature Red List can be compromised by limited data availability. Species-rich tropical plant taxa with numerous microendemics are particularly problematic. This study focusses on the Begonia flora of the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, comprised of 65 herbaceous species mainly found in rainforest habitats. Sixty-two species are Sulawesi endemics, including 20 species restricted to limestone karst landscapes. Forty-eight species are represented by fewer than 10 herbarium collections. Here, we outline and discuss an approach that, despite these data limitations, allows meaningful conservation assessments by integrating analyses of occurrences, data primarily based on remote sensing approaches, including forest landscape integrity, forest cover loss, and land cover, and extent of suitable habitat estimation. The results indicate that most Sulawesi Begonia species are narrow endemics whose rainforest habitats have substantially deteriorated in the last two decades: 27 species are assessed as Critically Endangered, 24 as Endangered, six as Vulnerable, five as Least Concern, and three species are Data Deficient. Conservation action, including extension of the protected area network in Sulawesi with emphasis on areas of old-growth forest and limestone karst landscapes, and strengthening of ex-situ living collections, is recommended. |
| first_indexed | 2024-10-01T04:52:29Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | ntu-10356/179580 |
| institution | Nanyang Technological University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-10-01T04:52:29Z |
| publishDate | 2024 |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | ntu-10356/1795802024-08-12T15:31:58Z Conservation status assessments of species-rich tropical taxa in the face of data availability limitations: insights from Sulawesi Begonia Thomas, Daniel C. Ardi, Wisnu H. Chong, Yu Hong Thomas, Philip Hughes, Mark School of Biological Sciences National Parks Board Medicine, Health and Life Sciences Begoniaceae Endangered species Species conservation assessments using the criteria outlined by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature Red List can be compromised by limited data availability. Species-rich tropical plant taxa with numerous microendemics are particularly problematic. This study focusses on the Begonia flora of the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, comprised of 65 herbaceous species mainly found in rainforest habitats. Sixty-two species are Sulawesi endemics, including 20 species restricted to limestone karst landscapes. Forty-eight species are represented by fewer than 10 herbarium collections. Here, we outline and discuss an approach that, despite these data limitations, allows meaningful conservation assessments by integrating analyses of occurrences, data primarily based on remote sensing approaches, including forest landscape integrity, forest cover loss, and land cover, and extent of suitable habitat estimation. The results indicate that most Sulawesi Begonia species are narrow endemics whose rainforest habitats have substantially deteriorated in the last two decades: 27 species are assessed as Critically Endangered, 24 as Endangered, six as Vulnerable, five as Least Concern, and three species are Data Deficient. Conservation action, including extension of the protected area network in Sulawesi with emphasis on areas of old-growth forest and limestone karst landscapes, and strengthening of ex-situ living collections, is recommended. Published version 2024-08-12T02:23:34Z 2024-08-12T02:23:34Z 2024 Journal Article Thomas, D. C., Ardi, W. H., Chong, Y. H., Thomas, P. & Hughes, M. (2024). Conservation status assessments of species-rich tropical taxa in the face of data availability limitations: insights from Sulawesi Begonia. Scientific Reports, 14(1), 14007-. https://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-64319-7 2045-2322 https://hdl.handle.net/10356/179580 10.1038/s41598-024-64319-7 38890332 2-s2.0-85196303967 1 14 14007 en Scientific Reports © 2024 The Author(s). Open Access. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. application/pdf |
| spellingShingle | Medicine, Health and Life Sciences Begoniaceae Endangered species Thomas, Daniel C. Ardi, Wisnu H. Chong, Yu Hong Thomas, Philip Hughes, Mark Conservation status assessments of species-rich tropical taxa in the face of data availability limitations: insights from Sulawesi Begonia |
| title | Conservation status assessments of species-rich tropical taxa in the face of data availability limitations: insights from Sulawesi Begonia |
| title_full | Conservation status assessments of species-rich tropical taxa in the face of data availability limitations: insights from Sulawesi Begonia |
| title_fullStr | Conservation status assessments of species-rich tropical taxa in the face of data availability limitations: insights from Sulawesi Begonia |
| title_full_unstemmed | Conservation status assessments of species-rich tropical taxa in the face of data availability limitations: insights from Sulawesi Begonia |
| title_short | Conservation status assessments of species-rich tropical taxa in the face of data availability limitations: insights from Sulawesi Begonia |
| title_sort | conservation status assessments of species rich tropical taxa in the face of data availability limitations insights from sulawesi begonia |
| topic | Medicine, Health and Life Sciences Begoniaceae Endangered species |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10356/179580 |
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