Publications by authors named "J Luedtke"
Measuring trends in extinction risk: a review of two decades of development and application of the Red List Index.
Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci
January 2025
The Red List Index (RLI) is an indicator of the average extinction risk of groups of species and reflects trends in this through time. It is calculated from the number of species in each category on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, with trends influenced by the number moving between categories when reassessed owing to genuine improvement or deterioration in status. The global RLI is aggregated across multiple taxonomic groups and can be disaggregated to show trends for subsets of species (e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAssessing the extinction risk of species based on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List (RL) is key to guiding conservation policies and reducing biodiversity loss. This process is resource demanding, however, and requires continuous updating, which becomes increasingly difficult as new species are added to the RL. Automatic methods, such as comparative analyses used to predict species RL category, can be an efficient alternative to keep assessments up to date.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- A database was created to track lost and rediscovered tetrapod species, revealing a faster loss rate than rediscovery, especially for amphibians, birds, and reptiles.
- The study highlights specific regions and species types that are at risk of being lost, which can help focus conservation efforts on finding these species.
- It identifies factors that affect rediscovery chances, indicating that some species may remain hidden due to their characteristics or habitats, while others are more likely extinct, guiding future conservation strategies.
Article Synopsis
- - Systematic assessments of species extinction risk are crucial for effective conservation, and the second Global Amphibian Assessment evaluated over 8,000 species for their threat levels.
- - Amphibians are the most at-risk vertebrates, with 40.7% of species globally threatened, and their status has worsened since previous assessments, especially in salamanders and the Neotropics.
- - The major threats contributing to declining amphibian populations include disease, habitat loss, and increasing impacts from climate change, highlighting the urgent need for more conservation funding and initiatives to reverse negative trends.