I’ve grown wary of using metrics of functional diversity and rarity to guide conservation planning. In this paper I explain why, and discuss three promising approaches for accounting for functionality in the identification of global conservation priorities. (1/7) 🌐 - ThreadSky

ana-sl-rodrigues.bsky.social • 46 days ago

I’ve grown wary of using metrics of functional diversity and rarity to guide conservation planning. In this paper I explain why, and discuss three promising approaches for accounting for functionality in the identification of global conservation priorities. (1/7) 🌐

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ana-sl-rodrigues.bsky.social•46 days ago

I argue that there is no empirical or theoretical basis for using macroecological indices to inform global priorities for conserving ecosystem functionality. A main limitation of these indices is that they are general, whereas functionality is necessarily context-specific. (2/7)

ana-sl-rodrigues.bsky.social•46 days ago

The IUCN Red List of Ecosystems is a global framework for assessing and monitoring the conservation status of ecosystems. Each assessment investigates the ecosystem-specific functional symptoms of collapse, including through environmental degradation or the disruption of biotic processes. (3/7)

ana-sl-rodrigues.bsky.social•46 days ago

Key Biodiversity Areas are sites that contribute significantly to the global persistence of biodiversity. Identified through standardized criteria, including 2 that take functionality into account: C (addressing ecosystem-level functionality) & D (focused on species-level biological processes) (4/7)

ana-sl-rodrigues.bsky.social•46 days ago

The IUCN Green Status of Species is a global standard for assessing species' recovery. By fostering the conservation of species’ ecological functions across their range and the recovery of such functions where lost, it integrates conservation at the species' and ecosystem levels. (5/7)

ana-sl-rodrigues.bsky.social•46 days ago

These three recently developed standards – IUCN Red List of Ecosystems, Key Biodiversity Areas and IUCN Green Status of Species – all build on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, and thus on the legacy of Georgina Mace. (6/7)

ana-sl-rodrigues.bsky.social•46 days ago

This paper is one of 19 contributions in an Open Access issue of the Phil Transactions of the Royal Society of London, on ‘Bending the curve towards nature recovery: building on Georgina Mace's legacy for a biodiverse future’, based on a Royal Society discussion meeting held in June 2023. (7/7)

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