Information technology is becoming one of ecologists' greatest tools to counter the global threat to biodiversity. But only 5% of existing data sets focusing on factors that threaten biodiversity – such as invasive species, logging and the illegal trade in bush meat – meet the golden standard required for credible conservation assessments.
"We live in the Information Age, but are effectively flying blind when it comes to understanding what is threatening biodiversity around the world," says Dr Lucas Joppa, a scientist in the Computational Ecology Group at Microsoft Research and lead author on a new study published in the journal Science today (Friday 22 April 2016).
Dr Joppa and a team of international scientists from 18 organisations reviewed nearly 300 existing biodiversity datasets in terms of five key requirements, the so-called 'golden standard' for biodiversity data. In order to be useful for conservation efforts, the data should be 1) freely available, 2) up to date, 3) repeated, 4) at appropriate spatial resolution and 5) validated for accuracy. They found that only 5% of these data sets met the golden standard.
This means that conservationists do not currently have reliable and accessible data to understand threats to biodiversity. Key information on important threats to biodiversity such as invasive species, logging, bush meat harvesting, and illegal wildlife trade is lacking.
Dr Wendy Foden, a conservation biologist in the Department of Botany and Zoology at Stellenbosch University and one of the co-authors, says the power of information technology should be harnessed to protect biodiversity against catastrophic losses.
"Successful conservation policies and on-the-ground action require understanding of what is threatening biodiversity, where risks are greatest and how quickly these threats are changing. At international level, our study shows gaping holes in data sets on these threats," she says.
She adds, however, that South Africa has several of the most powerful biodiversity-related databases in the world. One of these databases is the Red List of South African Plants, which contains species-by-species information on the threats to South Africa's exceptional plant biodiversity. This database is one of several world-class biodiversity databases maintained by the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI).
"Major threats to South Africa's flora include habitat loss, habitat degradation, invasive alien species and over-harvesting, and 2,719 species were listed as threatened with extinction in 2015," she explains.
There are also datasets covering threats to South Africa's birds, butterflies, reptiles, spiders, frogs and mammals.
Dr Jonathan Hutton, Director of the Luc Hoffman Institute and co-author on the study, says their analysis "can help pioneer a new approach to mapping and measuring the threats facing endangered species and ecosystems". The Hoffman Institute was established in 2012 by WWF International and the MAVA Foundation to address some of the planet's most difficult environmental challenges.
Dr Foden is chair of the International Union for Conservation (IUCN) Species Survival Commission's Climate Change Specialist Group (www.iucn-ccsg.org), and works with Prof Guy Midgley in the Global Change Biology Group in the Department of Botany and Zoology at Stellenbosch University. Previously she headed the IUCN Global Species Programme's Climate Change Unit, based in Cambridge UK.
Notes to Editors:
Joppa, L, O'Connor, B, Visconti, P, et al. (2016) Filling data gaps for threats to biodiversity was published in Science on 22 April 2016.
More information, including a copy of the paper, can be found online at the Science press package at http://www.eurekalert.org/jrnls/sci. You will need your user ID and password to access this information.
For further information contact:
Lucas Joppa
Lead Author
Nature & Computing Group, Microsoft Research
lujoppa@microsoft.com
Tel: +1 425 326 8376
Dr Wendy Foden
Department of Botany and Zoology, Stellenbosch University
fodenw@sun.ac.za
fodenw@gmail.com.
Skype: wendyfoden
Tel: +27 81 845 8902
Camellia Williams
Communications Officer
UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre
camellia.williams@unep-wcmc.org
Tel: +44 (0)1223 814656
Tanya Petersen
Communications
Luc Hoffmann Institute
tpetersen@wwfint.org
Tel: +41 79 912 2447
Photo of small green tree frog in Amani forest: Brian van Wilgen
