Improving species status assessments under the U.S. Endangered Species Act and implications for multispecies conservation challenges worldwide

Noss, Reed F.; Cartwright, Jennifer M.; Estes, Dwayne; Witsell, Theo; Elliott, Gregg O.; Adams, Daniel S.; Albrecht, Matthew A.; Boyles, Ryan; Comer, Patrick J.; Doffitt, Chris; Faber-Langendoen, Don; Hill, JoVonn G.; Hunter, William C.; Knapp, Wesley M.; Marshall, Michael E.; Singhurst, J R; Tracey, Christopher; Walck, Jeffrey L.; Weakley, Alan S.

doi:10.1111/cobi.13777

Cited by 20 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 60 publications

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“…This is the scale at which national red lists, which support many country-level conservation decisions, are made [ 38 ]. Nevertheless, in some regions, challenges, such as lack of resources or standardized methods for regional assessments, are especially salient [ 39 ]. Provisional assessments provided by automated methods such as ours can also be used to inform conservation policy and action on DD and NE species, which are currently often given little weight, if any.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Automated assessment reveals that the extinction risk of reptiles is widely underestimated across space and phylogeny

et al. 2022

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The Red List of Threatened Species, published by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), is a crucial tool for conservation decision-making. However, despite substantial effort, numerous species remain unassessed or have insufficient data available to be assigned a Red List extinction risk category. Moreover, the Red Listing process is subject to various sources of uncertainty and bias. The development of robust automated assessment methods could serve as an efficient and highly useful tool to accelerate the assessment process and offer provisional assessments. Here, we aimed to (1) present a machine learning–based automated extinction risk assessment method that can be used on less known species; (2) offer provisional assessments for all reptiles—the only major tetrapod group without a comprehensive Red List assessment; and (3) evaluate potential effects of human decision biases on the outcome of assessments. We use the method presented here to assess 4,369 reptile species that are currently unassessed or classified as Data Deficient by the IUCN. The models used in our predictions were 90% accurate in classifying species as threatened/nonthreatened, and 84% accurate in predicting specific extinction risk categories. Unassessed and Data Deficient reptiles were considerably more likely to be threatened than assessed species, adding to mounting evidence that these species warrant more conservation attention. The overall proportion of threatened species greatly increased when we included our provisional assessments. Assessor identities strongly affected prediction outcomes, suggesting that assessor effects need to be carefully considered in extinction risk assessments. Regions and taxa we identified as likely to be more threatened should be given increased attention in new assessments and conservation planning. Lastly, the method we present here can be easily implemented to help bridge the assessment gap for other less known taxa.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Automated assessment reveals that the extinction risk of reptiles is widely underestimated across space and phylogeny

et al. 2022

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“…The challenge with developing guidance for selecting species based on qualitative proxies such as common geographies, threats, or ecosystem dependence (Jewell, 2000; Noss et al, 2021) is that ecological patterns and processes are scale dependent (Levin, 1992). At what point are species' habitat requirements similar enough to expect that a multispecies assessment may achieve an agency's objective to maximize efficiency?…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has expressed a commitment to incorporate ecosystem‐level approaches into Endangered Species Act (ESA) management (USFWS, 1994) and researchers have called for ecosystem‐level assessments (Noss et al, 2021), the cornerstone of the ESA remains listing determinations for individual species or populations because these establish all subsequent protections under the Act. At the same time, the recent USFWS methodology for prioritizing the large number of candidate species and the resulting multi‐year national listing workplan (USFWS, 2016b) suggest an urgent need to find efficiencies in the assessments that support these decisions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multispecies approaches to status assessments in support of endangered species classifications

Fitzgerald

Freeman

Maloney

et al. 2022

Conservat Sci and Prac

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Multispecies risk assessments have developed within many international conservation programs, reflecting a widespread need for efficiency. Under the United States Endangered Species Act (ESA), multispecies assessments ultimately lead to species‐level listing decisions. Although this approach provides opportunities for improved efficiency, it also risks overwhelming or biasing the assessment process and would benefit from clear guidance for practitioners. We reviewed multispecies assessments conducted between 1993 and 2019 for ESA listing decisions to identify the ecological basis for combining species, the assessment approach used, and the policy factors influencing their efficacy. We identified 42 cases covering 359 species. Most assessments (81%) included two to five species, although the maximum was 82. A common theme involved grouping narrow endemics or habitat specialists based on taxonomic relatedness, similar distributions, and common threats to persistence. All assessments included a combined threats analysis, but few employed a common species' response model or expert elicitation process. Although ESA risk assessments are distinct from policy decisions, most assessments (50%) supported decisions that all species warranted endangered status. Available guidance has generally emphasized ecological similarity as the key attribute leading to successful multispecies assessments. The challenge with consistently selecting species based on qualitative proxies such as common distributions or threats to persistence is that ecological patterns and processes are scale dependent. Focusing instead on the assessment methods and their potential for bias and increased efficiency may provide a stronger basis for developing consistent and transparent guidance.

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“…Species exist in communities and ecosystems and their interactions with other species and processes will vary with their abundance. • To simplify consideration of conservation needs and actions for large groups of species, consider clustering species according to shared ecosystem types or geophysical habitats, shared threats, or shared functional traits (Clark and Harvey 2002;Kooyman and Rossetto 2008;Noss et al 2021).…”

Section: Challenges For Natural Areas In the Twenty-first Centurymentioning

confidence: 99%

Natural Areas in the Twenty-First Century

Noss,

Aplet,

Comer

et al. 2024

Natural Areas Journal

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Improving species status assessments under the U.S. Endangered Species Act and implications for multispecies conservation challenges worldwide

Abstract: Species status assessments can be improved by an ecosystem-based approach that groups imperiled species by shared habitats and threats.

Cited by 20 publications

References 60 publications

Automated assessment reveals that the extinction risk of reptiles is widely underestimated across space and phylogeny

Automated assessment reveals that the extinction risk of reptiles is widely underestimated across space and phylogeny

Multispecies approaches to status assessments in support of endangered species classifications

Natural Areas in the Twenty-First Century

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