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A global reptile assessment highlights shared conservation needs of tetrapods.

ABSTRACT: Comprehensive assessments of species' extinction risks have documented the extinction crisis¹ and underpinned strategies for reducing those risks². Global assessments reveal that, among tetrapods, 40.7% of amphibians, 25.4% of mammals and 13.6% of birds are threatened with extinction³. Because global assessments have been lacking, reptiles have been omitted from conservation-prioritization analyses that encompass other tetrapods^4-7. Reptiles are unusually diverse in arid regions, suggesting that they may have different conservation needs⁶. Here we provide a comprehensive extinction-risk assessment of reptiles and show that at least 1,829 out of 10,196 species (21.1%) are threatened-confirming a previous extrapolation⁸ and representing 15.6 billion years of phylogenetic diversity. Reptiles are threatened by the same major factors that threaten other tetrapods-agriculture, logging, urban development and invasive species-although the threat posed by climate change remains uncertain. Reptiles inhabiting forests, where these threats are strongest, are more threatened than those in arid habitats, contrary to our prediction. Birds, mammals and amphibians are unexpectedly good surrogates for the conservation of reptiles, although threatened reptiles with the smallest ranges tend to be isolated from other threatened tetrapods. Although some reptiles-including most species of crocodiles and turtles-require urgent, targeted action to prevent extinctions, efforts to protect other tetrapods, such as habitat preservation and control of trade and invasive species, will probably also benefit many reptiles.

SUBMITTER: Cox N

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9095493 | biostudies-literature | 2022 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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A global reptile assessment highlights shared conservation needs of tetrapods.

Cox Neil N Young Bruce E BE Bowles Philip P Fernandez Miguel M Marin Julie J Rapacciuolo Giovanni G Böhm Monika M Brooks Thomas M TM Hedges S Blair SB Hilton-Taylor Craig C Hoffmann Michael M Jenkins Richard K B RKB Tognelli Marcelo F MF Alexander Graham J GJ Allison Allen A Ananjeva Natalia B NB Auliya Mark M Avila Luciano Javier LJ Chapple David G DG Cisneros-Heredia Diego F DF Cogger Harold G HG Colli Guarino R GR de Silva Anslem A Eisemberg Carla C CC Els Johannes J Fong G Ansel A Grant Tandora D TD Hitchmough Rodney A RA Iskandar Djoko T DT Kidera Noriko N Martins Marcio M Meiri Shai S Mitchell Nicola J NJ Molur Sanjay S Nogueira Cristiano de C CC Ortiz Juan Carlos JC Penner Johannes J Rhodin Anders G J AGJ Rivas Gilson A GA Rödel Mark-Oliver MO Roll Uri U Sanders Kate L KL Santos-Barrera Georgina G Shea Glenn M GM Spawls Stephen S Stuart Bryan L BL Tolley Krystal A KA Trape Jean-François JF Vidal Marcela A MA Wagner Philipp P Wallace Bryan P BP Xie Yan Y

Nature 20220427 7909

Comprehensive assessments of species' extinction risks have documented the extinction crisis1 and underpinned strategies for reducing those risks2. Global assessments reveal that, among tetrapods, 40.7% of amphibians, 25.4% of mammals and 13.6% of birds are threatened with extinction3. Because global assessments have been lacking, reptiles have been omitted from conservation-prioritization analyses that encompass other tetrapods4-7. Reptiles are unusua ...[more]

PMID: 35477765

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A global reptile assessment highlights shared conservation needs of tetrapods.

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A global reptile assessment highlights shared conservation needs of tetrapods.

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