Audubon researchers publish key study to conserve bird diversity in the Neotropics

Scientist from the Latin America and the Caribbean group on the Nationwide Audubon Society, have printed a brand new examine within the journal Scientific Knowledge, making publicly obtainable validated prevalence information and distribution maps for 713 hen species of conservation concern within the Neotropics. This effort gives a strong scientific basis to help the event of future species distribution fashions and to strengthen ongoing monitoring and conservation initiatives, such because the Conserva Aves Initiative.

The Neotropical area is residence to roughly 4,600 hen species, representing practically 41% of world avian variety. Regardless of this extraordinary richness, the area is present process fast habitat loss and degradation, resulting in a major decline in biodiversity. Almost 30% of Neotropical hen species are experiencing inhabitants declines or have been categorized as being at excessive threat of extinction, based on international and nationwide assessments. “Establishing strategic conservation efforts to safeguard Neotropical birdlife has develop into a vital precedence—and doing so requires a strong basis of dependable data,” says Jhan C. Carrillo-Restrepo, spatial information guide at Audubon and lead writer of the examine

In gentle of those challenges, having correct data on species distributions is important to information efficient conservation choices. This requires high-quality prevalence information as a baseline for producing dependable maps. To fulfill this want, the analysis group carried out a rigorous protocol to flag unsure or outlier information from the citizen science platform eBird (Determine 1), and manually validated over 50,000 information (roughly one-quarter of these finally used). “Over a interval of greater than a yr and a half, we fastidiously reviewed each flagged report one after the other, assessing elements resembling ease of species identification, photographic or audio proof, detailed descriptions, and the observer’s expertise, to find out the validity of every report,” explains Carrillo-Restrepo. This unparalleled effort has produced a extremely curated dataset that may function a basis for future species mapping efforts.

The validated information served as enter for making use of a geospatial mapping workflow—beforehand printed by one of many examine’s co-authors—to construct Space of Habitat (AOH) maps (Determine 2). “AOH maps delineate appropriate habitats inside every species’ recognized vary, incorporating their elevational and habitat preferences. This gives a extra practical approximation of the areas the species truly occupy,” explains Jorge Velásquez-Tibatá, Director of Science for the Latin America and the Caribbean group and senior writer of the examine.

He additionally provides “This clear mapping methodology facilitates the incorporation of skilled suggestions and permits significant comparisons with comparable efforts led by organizations like BirdLife Worldwide” (Determine 3). Because of this, the examine achieved substantial enhancements over earlier maps for 94% of the species evaluated.

The applicability of this validated prevalence information and AOH maps is broad, offering a strong basis for future species distribution fashions and for assessments of pure historical past, extinction threat, habitat threats, and strategic conservation investments. Notably, these maps served as a guiding enter for systematic conservation planning analyses developed for the Conserva Aves initiative, which is catalyzing the creation of over 100 new native protected areas throughout Latin America, masking greater than 2 million hectares (https://conserva-aves.org/).

“Entry to high-quality, expert-validated information is a vital step in enabling concrete conservation actions within the area” says Sebastián Okay. Herzog, Director of Protected Areas technique for the Latin America and the Caribbean group and co-author of the examine. “We hope that this dataset not solely strengthens efforts like Conserva Aves, but additionally serves as an open and reliable useful resource for governments, organizations, and communities working to preserve birds and their habitats all through the area.”

“This challenge highlights how the synergy between citizen science and educational analysis can result in highly effective instruments for safeguarding the feathered treasures of the Neotropics. We’re deeply grateful to the birding group whose information contributions to the eBird platform made this work attainable,” says Daniela Linero-Triana, co-author of the examine.

The full dataset is available as an open resource, designed to be readily accessible for scientists, decision-makers, organizations, and communities dedicated to safeguarding biodiversity. “In any case, if you construct on open information, it simply is smart to share the outcomes brazenly as nicely”, concludes Velásquez-Tibatá.

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