A Horizon Scan of Global Conservation Issues for 2016

Sutherland, William J.; Broad, Steven; Caine, Jacqueline; Clout, M. N.; Dicks, Lynn V.; Doran, Helen; Entwistle, Abigail; Fleishman, Erica; Gibbons, David W.; Keim, Brandon; LeAnstey, Becky; Lickorish, Fiona A.; Markillie, Paul; Monk, Kathryn A.; Mortimer, Diana; Ockendon, Nancy; Pearce‐Higgins, James W.; Peck, Lloyd S.; Pretty, Jules; Rockström, Johan; Spalding, Mark; Tonneijck, Femke H.; Wintle, Bonnie; Wright, Katherine E.

doi:10.1016/j.tree.2015.11.007

Cited by 66 publications

(48 citation statements)

References 59 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…The methods used to identify issues were consistent with our previous annual horizon scans [1,6,[9][10][11][12][13]. The 25 core participants in the horizon scan (the authors) applied an inclusive, transparent, and repeatable process that is a modification of the Delphi technique [14,15].…”

Section: Identification Of Issuesmentioning

confidence: 98%

A 2018 Horizon Scan of Emerging Issues for Global Conservation and Biological Diversity

Sutherland

Butchart

Connor

et al. 2018

Trends in Ecology & Evolution

Self Cite

127

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

We present the results of our eighth annual horizon scan of emerging issues likely to affect global biological diversity, the environment, and conservation efforts in the future. The potential effects of these novel issues might not yet be fully recognized or understood by the global conservation community, and the issues can be regarded as both opportunities and risks. A diverse international team with collective expertise in horizon scanning, science communication, and conservation research, practice, and policy reviewed 100 potential issues and identified 15 that qualified as emerging, with potential substantial global effects. These issues include new developments in energy storage and fuel production, sand extraction, potential solutions to combat coral bleaching and invasive marine species, and blockchain technology. Aims of Horizon ScanningWe have conducted an annual horizon scan of global conservation issues since 2010 with the aim of highlighting, by consensus, emerging topics that are not yet widely known in the conservation community but could have substantial effects on biological diversity worldwide in the medium to long term. Our iterative, transferable process of horizon scanning, which is designed to be both transparent and democratic, is carried out by a team with a wide range of experiences and areas of expertise.Our aim has been to focus attention and stimulate debate about these subjects, potentially leading to new research foci, policy developments, or business innovations. These responses should help to facilitate better-informed forward-planning. It is difficult to gauge the direct effects of our horizon scans on the research, policy, or business communities, except through personal communication and hearsay. However, several topics recognized in our previous horizon scans Trends This is the eighth such annual horizon scan.An international team with expertise in horizon scanning, science communication, and conservation research, practice, and policy identified 15 issues, following widespread consultation and a Delphi-like scoring process to identify the most important.The issues were wide ranging, and include sand extraction, blockchain technology, use of robotics to combat invasive species, and new developments in energy storage and fuel production. There is now substantial action on this issue internationally, with several governments, including those of the USA and the UK, introducing legislative bans on microbeads in cosmetics and detergents, and many cosmetics companies voluntarily committing to halt their use of microplastics by 2020 [2,3]. New research on the effects of microbeads has revealed biological responses in both terrestrial and aquatic environments, with evidence demonstrating that microplastics reduce the survival and fitness of earthworms Lumbricus terrestris [4] and facilitate the accumulation of sorbed organic pollutants in fish [5]. Discussion of the use of gene editing to control invasive species or disease vectors, raised in our 2014 horizon scan [6], has increased...

show abstract

Section: Identification Of Issuesmentioning

confidence: 98%

A 2018 Horizon Scan of Emerging Issues for Global Conservation and Biological Diversity

Sutherland

Butchart

Connor

et al. 2018

Trends in Ecology & Evolution

Self Cite

127

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In terms of management, genetic techniques to eradicate mosquitos (strains with wingless females, transgenic strains) have recently received much attention (Paupy et al 2009, Sutherland et al 2011, Alphey et al 2013. Some methods developed for mosquitos spread genes through a population despite the genes conferring a reproductive disadvantage, and are meanwhile also explored for alien plants (Hodgins et al 2009).…”

Section: Invasion Stages and Implications For Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Alien species and public health impacts in Europe: a literature review

Schindler¹,

Staska²,

Adam³

et al. 2015

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Impacts of alien species on human health have recently become a major issue in medical research and invasion ecology, but comprehensive assessments of this subject are largely lacking. Here, we provide a literature review of alien species with public health impacts in Europe based on a systematic search in the Thomson Reuters Web of Science. We detected 77 relevant articles, of which 21 were reviews and 56 were original research articles. The taxonomic focus was on vascular plants (n=31 articles) and dipterans (n=25 articles). The original research articles mainly covered the spread of the study species, while early invasion stages (introduction, establishment) as well as impact and management were less investigated. Alien species of health concern in Europe are mostly introduced as contaminants, and mostly originate from climatically similar regions of the Northern Hemisphere. In those cases (36% of all articles) when information on the trend in range and abundance was provided, this trend was mostly increasing. We detected little information on the severity of the impacts (two articles) and the interaction with climate change (three articles). In 15 original articles (28%) specific management measures were suggested, in only one article the socioeconomic costs were assessed. We conclude that European research on human health impacts of alien species is biased towards few species, and that several important aspects such as early invasion stages, severity of impact and its temporal trends, and the scale of the socioeconomic costs caused are poorly understood. Interdisciplinary projects bridging gaps between ecologists medical researchers, socioeconomists and public health authorities are required to link alien species to severity and trends of impacts, which is a crucial requisite for risk assessment and decision making.

show abstract

“…Globally, soil microbes are also a source of discovery in medicine and biotechnology (Bull, 2004;Challis, 2008), and conservation of microbial biodiversity is increasingly discussed (Colwell, 1997;Cockell and Jones, 2009;Sutherland et al, 2010;Bodelier, 2011). Furthermore, a growing literature suggests that the failure of children to be exposed to a diversity of microbes threatens the health of those children, particularly through its relation to allergic and autoimmune diseases (for example, Rook, 2009;Hanski et al, 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Urban stress is associated with variation in microbial species composition—but not richness—in Manhattan

et al. 2015

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The biological diversity and composition of microorganisms influences both human health outcomes and ecological processes; therefore, understanding the factors that influence microbial biodiversity is key to creating healthy, functional landscapes in which to live. In general, biological diversity is predicted to be limited by habitat size, which for green areas is often reduced in cities, and by chronic disturbance (stress). These hypotheses have not previously been tested in microbial systems in direct comparison to macroorganisms. Here we analyzed bacterial, fungal and ant communities in small road medians (average area 0.0008 km 2 ) and larger parks (average area 0.64 km 2 ) across Manhattan (NYC). Bacterial species richness was not significantly different between medians and parks, but community composition was significantly distinct. In contrast, ant communities differed both in composition and richness with fewer ant species in medians than parks. Fungi showed no significant variation in composition or richness but had few shared taxa between habitats or sites. The diversity and composition of microbes appears less sensitive to habitat patchiness or urban stress than those of macroorganisms. Microbes and their associated ecosystem services and functions may be more resilient to the negative effects of urbanization than has been previously appreciated.

show abstract

A Horizon Scan of Global Conservation Issues for 2016

Cited by 66 publications

References 59 publications

A 2018 Horizon Scan of Emerging Issues for Global Conservation and Biological Diversity

A 2018 Horizon Scan of Emerging Issues for Global Conservation and Biological Diversity

Alien species and public health impacts in Europe: a literature review

Urban stress is associated with variation in microbial species composition—but not richness—in Manhattan

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About