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A global ecological signal of extinction risk in terrestrial vertebrates
Author(s) -
Munstermann Maya J.,
Heim Noel A.,
McCauley Douglas J.,
Payne Jonathan L.,
Upham Nathan S.,
Wang Steve C.,
Knope Matthew L.
Publication year - 2022
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.13852
Subject(s) - threatened species , extinction (optical mineralogy) , ecology , vertebrate , biology , arboreal locomotion , biodiversity , near threatened species , habitat , paleontology , biochemistry , gene
To determine the distribution and causes of extinction threat across functional groups of terrestrial vertebrates, we assembled an ecological trait data set for 18,016 species of terrestrial vertebrates and utilized phylogenetic comparative methods to test which categories of habitat association, mode of locomotion, and feeding mode best predicted extinction risk. We also examined the individual categories of the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List extinction drivers (e.g., agriculture and logging) threatening each species and determined the greatest threats for each of the four terrestrial vertebrate groups. We then quantified the sum of extinction drivers threatening each species to provide a multistressor perspective on threat. Cave dwelling amphibians ( p < 0.01), arboreal quadrupedal mammals (all of which are primates) ( p < 0.01), aerial and scavenging birds ( p < 0.01), and pedal (i.e., walking) squamates ( p < 0.01) were all disproportionately threatened with extinction in comparison with the other assessed ecological traits. Across all threatened vertebrate species in the study, the most common risk factors were agriculture, threatening 4491 species, followed by logging, threatening 3187 species, and then invasive species and disease, threatening 2053 species. Species at higher risk of extinction were simultaneously at risk from a greater number of threat types. If left unabated, the disproportionate loss of species with certain functional traits and increasing anthropogenic pressures are likely to disrupt ecosystem functions globally. A shift in focus from species‐ to trait‐centric conservation practices will allow for protection of at‐risk functional diversity from regional to global scales.