ConR: An R package to assist large‐scale multispecies preliminary conservation assessments using distribution data

Abstract

The Red List Categories and the accompanying five criteria developed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) provide an authoritative and comprehensive methodology to assess the conservation status of organisms. Red List criterion B, which principally uses distribution data, is the most widely used to assess conservation status, particularly of plant species. No software package has previously been available to perform large‐scale multispecies calculations of the three main criterion B parameters [extent of occurrence (EOO), area of occupancy (AOO) and an estimate of the number of locations] and provide preliminary conservation assessments using an automated batch process. We developed ConR, a dedicated R package, as a rapid and efficient tool to conduct large numbers of preliminary assessments, thereby facilitating complete Red List assessment. ConR (1) calculates key geographic range parameters (AOO and EOO) and estimates the number of locations sensu IUCN needed for an assessment under criterion B; (2) uses this information in a batch process to generate preliminary assessments of multiple species; (3) summarize the parameters and preliminary assessments in a spreadsheet; and (4) provides a visualization of the results by generating maps suitable for the submission of full assessments to the IUCN Red List. ConR can be used for any living organism for which reliable georeferenced distribution data are available. As distributional data for taxa become increasingly available via large open access datasets, ConR provides a novel, timely tool to guide and accelerate the work of the conservation and taxonomic communities by enabling practitioners to conduct preliminary assessments simultaneously for hundreds or even thousands of species in an efficient and time‐saving way.

No one-size-fits-all solution to clean GBIF

“…We first generated species richness maps using 100×100 km grid cells for the raw and filtered datasets respectively, using the package (Töpel et al 2016). We then performed an automated conservation assessment for all study groups based on both datasets using the package (Dauby et al 2017). estimates the EOO, AOO, and the number of locations, and then suggests a preliminary conservation status based on Criterion B of the global IUCN Red List.…”

“…Erroneous records are especially problematic in conservation, where stakes are high. Recently proposed methods for automated conservation assessments could support the formal assessment procedures for the global Red List of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) (Dauby et al 2017; Bachman et al 2011; Pelletier et al 2018). These methods approximate species’ range size, namely the Extent of Occurrence (EOO, which is the area of a convex hull polygon comprising all records of a species), the Area of Occupancy (AOO, which is the sum of the area actually occupied by a species, calculated based on a small-scale regular grid), and the number of locations for a preliminary conservation assessment following IUCN Criterion B (“Geographic range”).…”

New taxonomic and conservation status of Ossiculum (Vandeae, Orchidaceae), a highly threatened and narrow-endemic angraecoid orchid from Central Africa

“…We imported georeferenced specimen data into the ConR package (Dauby et al 2017) to calculate the area of occupancy (AOO) and extent of occurrence (EOO). The cell size for AOO was set 2 × 2 km as recommended by IUCN (2017).…”

A taxonomic revision of the Neotropical genus Cremastosperma (Annonaceae), including five new species

“…We calculated the extent of occurrence (EOO) and area of occupancy (AOO) per species using ConR (Dauby et al 2017), using these summaries in addition to the nature of the known distributions of each species to propose preliminary conservation status for all species of Cremastosperma following the IUCN Red List Category Criteria (IUCN 2012). Following IUCN (2012), we adopt a precautionary attitude to applying criteria.…”