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Ex situ management as insurance against extinction of mammalian megafauna in an uncertain world
Author(s) -
Farhadinia Mohammad S.,
Johnson Paul J.,
Zimmermann Alexandra,
McGowan Philip J.K.,
Meijaard Erik,
StanleyPrice Mark,
Macdonald David W.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
conservation biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.2
H-Index - 222
eISSN - 1523-1739
pISSN - 0888-8892
DOI - 10.1111/cobi.13496
Subject(s) - megafauna , extinction (optical mineralogy) , ex situ conservation , threatened species , convention on biological diversity , geography , endangered species , iucn red list , ecology , environmental resource management , biodiversity , biology , habitat , environmental science , pleistocene , paleontology , archaeology
The persistence of endangered species may depend on the fate of a very small number of individual animals. In situ conservation alone may sometimes be insufficient. In these instances, the International Union for Conservation of Nature provides guidelines for ex situ conservation and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) indicates how ex situ management can support the CBD's objectives by providing insurance policies for species. The circumstances that justify its use are uncertain. To evaluate the current in situ extinction risk and ex situ management of 43 critically endangered species of mammalian megafauna, we used nonmetric multidimensional scaling and geopolitical variables related to governance, economics, and national policy within their extant ranges. We then fitted generalized additive models to assess the contribution of each variable to the ordination. Fifteen (almost one‐third) of the world's terrestrial mammalian megafauna are not the subject of any ex situ management. Seventy‐three percent of these taxa occur in areas characterized by political uncertainty, such as border zones or areas affected by armed conflicts, mainly in Africa and the Middle East. A further 23% of taxa in ex situ programs do not meet sustainability criteria for inbreeding avoidance. Strategic conservation planning, such as the One Plan approach, may improve ex situ management for these taxa. Given the escalating trend in threats afflicting megafauna, ex situ management should be considered more rigorously, particularly in politically unstable regions, to achieve CBD Target 12 (prevent extinction of threatened species).