International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources

About: International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources is a nonprofit organization based out in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Biodiversity & Population. The organization has 1317 authors who have published 1870 publications receiving 97588 citations.

Using Red List Indices to measure progress towards the 2010 target and beyond.

Abstract: The World Conservation Union (IUCN) Red List is widely recognized as the most authoritative and objective system for classifying species by their risk of extinction. Red List Indices (RLIs) illustrate the relative rate at which a particular set of species change in overall threat status (i.e. projected relative extinction-risk), based on population and range size and trends as quantified by Red List categories. RLIs can be calculated for any representative set of species that has been fully assessed at least twice. They are based on the number of species in each Red List category, and the number changing categories between assessments as a result of genuine improvement or deterioration in status. RLIs show a fairly coarse level of resolution, but for fully assessed taxonomic groups they are highly representative, being based on information from a high proportion of species worldwide. The RLI for the world's birds shows that that their overall threat status has deteriorated steadily during the years 1988–2004 in all biogeographic realms and ecosystems. A preliminary RLI for amphibians for 1980–2004 shows similar rates of decline. RLIs are in development for other groups. In addition, a sampled index is being developed, based on a stratified sample of species from all major taxonomic groups, realms and ecosystems. This will provide extinction-risk trends that are more representative of all biodiversity.

Improvements to the Red List Index.

Abstract: The Red List Index uses information from the IUCN Red List to track trends in the projected overall extinction risk of sets of species. It has been widely recognised as an important component of the suite of indicators needed to measure progress towards the international target of significantly reducing the rate of biodiversity loss by 2010. However, further application of the RLI (to non-avian taxa in particular) has revealed some shortcomings in the original formula and approach: It performs inappropriately when a value of zero is reached; RLI values are affected by the frequency of assessments; and newly evaluated species may introduce bias. Here we propose a revision to the formula, and recommend how it should be applied in order to overcome these shortcomings. Two additional advantages of the revisions are that assessment errors are not propagated through time, and the overall level extinction risk can be determined as well as trends in this over time.

Agroforestry and Biodiversity Conservation – Traditional Practices, Present Dynamics, and Lessons for the Future

Abstract: The environmental services that agroforestry practices can provide, and especially their potential contribution to the conservation of biodiversity, have only recently attracted wider at- tention among agroforestry and conservation scientists. This new view is consistent with the eco- system approach to natural resource management advocated by the Convention on Biological Diversity. This collection of six papers, which is based on a Workshop held in June-July 2004, brings together studies of biodiversity impacts of traditional agroforestry practices from Central and South America, Africa and Asia. The contributions highlight the considerable potential of traditional agroforestry practices to support biodiversity conservation, but also show their limits. These include the importance of sufficient areas of natural habitat and of appropriate hunting regulations for maintaining high levels of biodiversity in agroforestry land use mosaics, as well as the critical role of markets for tree products and of a favourable policy environment for agro- forestry land uses. In combination the case studies suggest that maintaining diversity in approaches to management of agroforestry systems, along with a pragmatic, undogmatic view on natural resource management, will provide the widest range of options for adapting to changing land use conditions.

Mechanisms underpinning climatic impacts on natural populations: altered species interactions are more important than direct effects.

Abstract: Shifts in species' distribution and abundance in response to climate change have been well documented, but the underpinning processes are still poorly understood. We present the results of a systematic literature review and meta-analysis investigating the frequency and importance of different mechanisms by which climate has impacted natural populations. Most studies were from temperate latitudes of North America and Europe; almost half investigated bird populations. We found significantly greater support for indirect, biotic mechanisms than direct, abiotic mechanisms as mediators of the impact of climate on populations. In addition, biotic effects tended to have greater support than abiotic factors in studies of species from higher trophic levels. For primary consumers, the impact of climate was equally mediated by biotic and abiotic mechanisms, whereas for higher level consumers the mechanisms were most frequently biotic, such as predation or food availability. Biotic mechanisms were more frequently supported in studies that reported a directional trend in climate than in studies with no such climatic change, although sample sizes for this comparison were small. We call for more mechanistic studies of climate change impacts on populations, particularly in tropical systems.

Environmental correlates of food chain length

Abstract: In 113 community food webs from natural communities, the average and maximal lengths of food chains are independent of primary productivity, contrary to the hypothesis that longer food chains should arise when more energy is available at their base Environmental variability alone also does not appear to constrain average or maximal chain length Environments that are three dimensional or solid, however, such as a forest canopy or the water column of the open ocean, have distinctly longer food chains than environments that are two dimensional or flat, such as a grassland or lake bottom