Assessing the Relevance of Herbarium Collections as Tools for Conservation Biology

Nualart, Neus; Ibáñez, Neus; Soriano, Ignasi; López‐Pujol, Jordi

doi:10.1007/s12229-017-9188-z

Cited by 72 publications

(50 citation statements)

References 131 publications

(121 reference statements)

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“…Historically, the primary function of herbaria has been to serve as an institution of taxonomy, allowing users to construct classifications of plants, verify identifications, determine the ranges and morphological characteristics of species, and develop local and regional floras (Greve et al, 2016). Over time, new uses for specimens have arisen, and now more than ever, they are being used in ways that collectors rarely imagined (Pyke & Ehrlich, 2010; Lavoie, 2013; Willis et al, 2017a,b; Nualart et al ., 2017; Rudin et al, 2017). Accordingly, attempts to assess and categorize biases inherent in these collections have been made (Rich & Woodruff, 1992; Geri et al , 2013; Schmidt-Lebuhn et al, 2013; Meyer et al, 2016; Stropp et al, 2016).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Widespread sampling biases in herbaria revealed from large-scale digitization

Daru

Park

Primack

et al. 2017

Preprint

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SUMMARYNon-random collecting practices may bias conclusions drawn from analyses of herbarium records. Recent efforts to fully digitize and mobilize regional floras offer a timely opportunity to assess commonalities and differences in herbarium sampling biases.We determined spatial, temporal, trait, phylogenetic, and collector biases in ∼5 million herbarium records, representing three of the most complete digitized floras of the world: Australia (AU), South Africa (SA), and New England (NE).We identified numerous shared and unique biases among these regions. Shared biases included specimens i) collected close to roads and herbaria; ii) collected more frequently during spring; iii) of threatened species collected less frequently; and iv) of close relatives collected in similar numbers. Regional differences included i) over-representation of graminoids in SA and AU and of annuals in AU; and ii) peak collection during the 1910s in NE, 1980s in SA, and 1990s in AU. Finally, in all regions, a disproportionately large percentage of specimens were collected by a few individuals. These mega-collectors, and their associated preferences and idiosyncrasies, may have shaped patterns of collection bias via ‘founder effects’.Studies using herbarium collections should account for sampling biases and future collecting efforts should avoid compounding these biases.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Widespread sampling biases in herbaria revealed from large-scale digitization

Daru

Park

Primack

et al. 2017

Preprint

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“…When accurately identified and interpreted, specimens provide baseline information about the distribution of individual plant species and often the assemblage of species occurring at a location. Although most herbaria were established, developed, and curated with taxonomy and systematics as primary motivations, their potential for use in conservation has been recognized for decades, and recently the range of documented conservation uses for specimens has grown rapidly (Lavoie 2013;Greve et al 2016;Nualart et al 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Enhancement of conservation knowledge through increased access to botanical information

Canteiro

Barcelos

Filardi

et al. 2019

Conservation Biology

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Herbarium specimens are increasingly recognized as an important resource for conservation science and virtual herbaria are making specimens freely available to a wider range of users than ever before. Few virtual herbaria are designed with conservation use as a primary driver. Exceptionally, Brazil's Reflora Virtual Herbarium (RVH) was created to increase knowledge and conservation of the Brazilian flora. The RVH is closely integrated with the Flora of Brazil 2020 platform on which Brazil's new national Flora is under construction. Both resources are accessible via the Reflora home page and thousands of users move seamlessly between these Reflora resources. To understand how the Reflora resources are currently used and their impact on conservation science, we conducted a literature review and an online survey. We searched for publications of studies in which Reflora resources were used and publications resulting from Brazilian researchers who were part of Reflora's research and mobility program. The survey contained multiple choice questions and questions that required a written response. We targeted Reflora webpage visitors with the survey to capture a wider range of Reflora users than the literature review. Reflora resources were used for a variety of conservation‐relevant purposes. Half the 806 scientific publications in which Reflora was cited and 81% of the 1069 survey respondents accessing Reflora resources mentioned conservation‐relevant research outputs. Most conservation‐relevant uses of the Reflora resources in scientific publications were research rather than implementation focused. The survey of Reflora users showed conservation uses and impacts of virtual herbaria were more numerous and diverse than the uses captured in the literature review. Virtual herbaria are vital resources for conservation science, but they must document use and impacts more comprehensively to ensure sustainability.

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“…The utility of natural history collections (NHCs) for conservation research has long been recognized (Ponder et al 2001;Gaubert et al 2006). Although some authors have outlined the limitations of data derived from NHCs in quantitative (Meyer et al 2016) and qualitative (Graham et al 2004;Daru et al 2018) terms, emphasizing gaps, biases, and uncertainties in taxonomic, geographic, and temporal dimensions of such data, the irreplaceable value of NHCs to research on the future of life on Earth is increasingly recognized (Lavoie 2013;Nualart et al 2017). Calls for accelerated digital access to NHCs are frequently justified by their relevance to conservation (e.g., Greve et al 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Harnessing the potential of integrated systematics for conservation of taxonomically complex, megadiverse plant groups

Lughadha

Staggemeier

Vasconcelos

et al. 2019

Conservation Biology

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The value of natural history collections for conservation science research is increasingly recognized, despite their well‐documented limitations in terms of taxonomic, geographic, and temporal coverage. Specimen‐based analyses are particularly important for tropical plant groups for which field observations are scarce and potentially unreliable due to high levels of diversity‐amplifying identification challenges. Specimen databases curated by specialists are rich sources of authoritatively identified, georeferenced occurrence data, and such data are urgently needed for large genera. We compared entries in a monographic database for the large Neotropical genus Myrcia in 2007 and 2017. We classified and quantified differences in specimen records over this decade and determined the potential impact of these changes on conservation assessments. We distinguished misidentifications from changes due to taxonomic remodeling and considered the effects of adding specimens and georeferences. We calculated the potential impact of each change on estimates of extent of occurrence (EOO), the most frequently used metric in extinction‐risk assessments of tropical plants. We examined whether particular specimen changes were associated with species for which changes in EOO over the decade were large enough to change their conservation category. Corrections to specimens previously misidentified or lacking georeferences were overrepresented in such species, whereas changes associated with taxonomic remodeling (lumping and splitting) were underrepresented. Among species present in both years, transitions to less threatened status outnumbered those to more threatened (8% vs 3%, respectively). Species previously deemed data deficient transitioned to threatened status more often than to not threatened (10% vs 7%, respectively). Conservation scientists risk reaching unreliable conclusions if they use specimen databases that are not actively curated to reflect changing knowledge.

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Assessing the Relevance of Herbarium Collections as Tools for Conservation Biology

Cited by 72 publications

References 131 publications

Widespread sampling biases in herbaria revealed from large-scale digitization

Widespread sampling biases in herbaria revealed from large-scale digitization

Enhancement of conservation knowledge through increased access to botanical information

Harnessing the potential of integrated systematics for conservation of taxonomically complex, megadiverse plant groups

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