Testing the accuracy of biological attributes in predicting extinction risk

Autor(es)

Ceretta, Bruna F. ^[1] ; Fogliarini, Carine O. ^[1] ; Giglio, Vinicius J. ^[2] ; Maxwell, Melina F. ^[1] ; Waechter, Luiza S. ^[1] ; Bender, Mariana G. ^[1]

Afiliação do(s) autor(es)

^[1] Univ Fed Santa Maria, Dept Ecol & Evoluc, Marine Macroecol & Conservat Lab, Ave Roraima, 1000, Predio 17 Sala 1140, Santa Maria, RS - Brazil

^[2] Univ Fed Sao Paulo, Inst Mar, Lab Ecol & Conservacao Marinha, Santos, SP - Brazil

• Tipo de documento: Artigo Científico
• Fonte: PERSPECTIVES IN ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION; v. 18, n. 1, p. 12-18, JAN-MAR 2020.
• Citações Web of Science: 0

Resumo

The assessment of species conservation status traditionally relies on population data. In the absence of such data, biological attributes have been applied to predict the degree of species' vulnerability. Our study investigated the accuracy of biological attributes to predict species' vulnerability to extinction by contrasting matches and mismatches between threat predictions and the conservation status of reef fish species in the Brazilian Red List of Threatened Species. We further analyzed the patterns of distribution of threatened species under different attribute categories. The proportion of matches were higher for Elasmobranchii (92%), habitat specialists (88%) and highly mobile species (81%). Also, other attributes as macrocarnivorous and mobile invertivore-based diets, habitat intermediate-generalists, and large body size had over 70% of match in predictions. Fifty-six Brazilian reef fish species share these attributes but are not listed as threatened, which makes them even more vulnerable to future extinctions. Higher proportions of threatened species presenting these biological attributes were found in southeast Brazil (states of Espirito Santo and Sao Paulo). Our study has revealed that biological attributes may serve as an alternative tool to predict reef fish species vulnerability. (C) 2020 Associacao Brasileira de Ciencia Ecologica e Conservacao. Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda. (AU)

• Processo FAPESP: 17/22273-0 - Efeitos ecológicos do mergulho recreativo em áreas marinhas protegidas subtropicais
• Beneficiário: Vinicius Jose Giglio Fernandes
• Modalidade de apoio: Bolsas no Brasil - Pós-Doutorado