Abstract Detail

Conservation Biology

AuBuchon-Elder, Taylor [1], Minx, Patrick [2], Bookout, Bess [3], Kellogg, Elizabeth [4].

Conservation assessment at scale: semi-automated workflows for preliminary assessments using Andropogoneae as a case study.

The current rate of global biodiversity loss creates a pressing need to increase efficiency and throughput of extinction risk assessments in plants. Large-scale, preliminary conservation assessments can play a fundamental role so that researchers and practitioners can set priorities for more in-depth investigation. The IUCN Red List criteria are widely used to determine extinction risks of plant and animal life. Here, we use The Red List’s Criterion B, Geographic Range Size, to provide preliminary conservation assessments of a large tribe of grasses, the Andropogoneae, with ~1100 species. We use georeferenced occurrence data derived from the Botanical Information and Ecology Network (BIEN) and automate individual species assessments using ConR to demonstrate efficacy and accuracy in using time-saving tools for conservation research. We compare our results to those from the IUCN-authorized assessment tool, GeoCAT, and find that the two tools largely agree on which taxa are of least concern (>90%) or possibly threatened (<10%), highlighting that automating assessments with ConR is a viable strategy for preliminary conservation assessments of large plant groups.

1 - Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, 975 N. Warson Rd., 975 N. Warson Rd., St. Louis, MO, 63132, United States
2 - Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, 975 N. Warson Rd., St. Louis, MO, 63132, United States
3 - 1601 Stewart Ct, 1601 Stewart Ct, Manhattan, KS, 66502, United States
4 - Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, 975 North Warson Road, St. Louis, MO, 63132, United States

Keywords:
Andropogoneae
IUCN conservation status.

Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Number: CB4007
Abstract ID:332
Candidate for Awards:None