Conservation status of the world's skinks (Scincidae): Taxonomic and geographic patterns in extinction risk

David Chapple; Uri Roll; Monika Böhm; Rocío Aguilar; Andrew P. Amey; Chris C. Austin; Marleen Baling; Anthony J. Barley; Michael Bates; Aaron Bauer; Daniel G. Blackburn; Phil Bowles; Rafe M. Brown; S.R. Chandramouli; Laurent Chirio; Hal Cogger; Guarino Colli; Werner Conradie; Patrick J. Couper; Mark A. Cowan; Michael D. Craig; Indraneil Das; Aniruddha Datta-Roy; Chris R. Dickman; Ryan J Ellis; Aaron L. Fenner; Stewart Ford; S.R. Ganesh; Michael G. Gardner; Peter Geissler; Graeme R. Gillespie; Frank Glaw; Matthew J. Greenlees; Oliver W. Griffith; L. Lee Grismer; Margaret L. Haines; D. James Harris; S Blair Hedges; Rod A. Hitchmough; Conrad Hoskin; Mark N Hutchinson; Ivan Ineich; Jordi Janssen; Gregory R. Johnston; Benjamin R. Karin; J. Scott Keogh; Fred Kraus; Matthew Lebreton; Petros Lymberakis; Rafaqat Masroor; Peter Mcdonald; Sven Mecke; Jane Melville; Sabine Melzer; Damian R. Michael; Aurélien Miralles; Nicola Mitchell; Nicola J. Nelson; Truong Q. Nguyen; Cristiano de Campos Nogueira; Hidetoshi Ota; Panayiotis Pafilis; Olivier S.G. Pauwels; Ana Perera; Daniel Pincheira-Donoso; Robert Reed; Marco Antonio Ribeiro-Junior; Julia L. Riley; Sarah Rocha; Pamela Rutherford; Ross A. Sadlier; Boaz Shacham; Glenn Shea; Richard Shine; Alex Slavenko; Adam Stow; Joanna Sumner; Oliver J.S. Tallowin; Roy Teale; Omar Torres-Carvajal; Jean-François Trape; Peter Uetz; Kanishka D.B. Ukuwela; Leonie Valentine; James U. van Dyke; Dylan van Winkel; Raquel O Vasconcelos; Miguel Vences; Philipp Wagner; Erik Wapstra; Geoffrey M While; Martin Whiting; Camilla M Whittington; Steve Wilson; Thomas Ziegler; Reid Tingley; Shai Meiri

doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2021.109101

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Conservation status of the world's skinks (Scincidae): Taxonomic and geographic patterns in extinction risk

Journal article

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Conservation status of the world's skinks (Scincidae): Taxonomic and geographic patterns in extinction risk

David Chapple, Uri Roll, Monika Böhm, Rocío Aguilar, Andrew P. Amey, Chris C. Austin, Marleen Baling, Anthony J. Barley, Michael Bates, Aaron Bauer, …

Biological Conservation, Vol.257

05/2021

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2021.109101

Abstract

Reptile

Skink

Taxonomic bias

Extinction risk

IUCN Red List

Lizard Protected areas

Our knowledge of the conservation status of reptiles, the most diverse class of terrestrial vertebrates, has improved dramatically over the past decade, but still lags behind that of the other tetrapod groups. Here, we conduct the first comprehensive evaluation (~92% of the world's ~1714 described species) of the conservation status of skinks (Scincidae), a speciose reptile family with a worldwide distribution. Using International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) criteria, we report that ~20% of species are threatened with extinction, and nine species are Extinct or Extinct in the Wild. The highest levels of threat are evident in Madagascar and the Neotropics, and in the subfamilies Mabuyinae, Eugongylinae and Scincinae. The vast majority of threatened skink species were listed based primarily on their small geographic ranges (Criterion B, 83%; Criterion D2, 13%). Although the population trend of 42% of species was stable, 14% have declining populations. The key threats to skinks are habitat loss due to agriculture, invasive species, and biological resource use (e.g., hunting, timber harvesting). The distributions of 61% of species do not overlap with protected areas. Despite our improved knowledge of the conservation status of the world's skinks, 8% of species remain to be assessed, and 14% are listed as Data Deficient. The conservation status of almost a quarter of the world's skink species thus remains unknown. We use our updated knowledge of the conservation status of the group to develop and outline the priorities for the conservation assessment and management of the world's skink species.

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Title: Conservation status of the world's skinks (Scincidae): Taxonomic and geographic patterns in extinction risk
Creators - without role: David Chapple - Monash University
Uri Roll - Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Monika Böhm - Zoological Society of London
Rocío Aguilar - University of Melbourne
Andrew P. Amey - Queensland Museum
Chris C. Austin - Houston Museum of Natural Science
Marleen Baling - Unitec Institute of Technology
Anthony J. Barley - University of Hawaii System
Michael Bates - University of the Free State
Aaron Bauer - Villanova University
Daniel G. Blackburn - Hartford Financial Services
Phil Bowles - International Union for Conservation of Nature
Rafe M. Brown - University of Kansas
S.R. Chandramouli - Pondicherry University
Laurent Chirio - Wildlife Conservation Society Congo
Hal Cogger - Australian Museum
Guarino Colli - Universidade de Brasília
Werner Conradie - Bayworld Centre for Research and Education
Patrick J. Couper - Queensland Museum
Mark A. Cowan - Government of Western Australia
Michael D. Craig - Murdoch University
Indraneil Das - University of Michigan–Ann Arbor
Aniruddha Datta-Roy - National Institute of Science Education and Research
Chris R. Dickman - University of Sydney
Ryan J Ellis - University of California, Berkeley
Aaron L. Fenner - University of California, Berkeley
Stewart Ford
S.R. Ganesh - Pondicherry University
Michael G. Gardner - University of California, Berkeley
Peter Geissler
Graeme R. Gillespie - Department of Conservation
Frank Glaw - Bavarian State Collection of Zoology
Matthew J. Greenlees - Macquarie University
Oliver W. Griffith - Macquarie University
L. Lee Grismer - Museum of Vertebrate Zoology
Margaret L. Haines - Museum of Vertebrate Zoology
D. James Harris - Universidade do Porto
S Blair Hedges - Temple University
Rod A. Hitchmough - Department of Conservation
Conrad Hoskin - Museum of Vertebrate Zoology
Mark N Hutchinson - South Australian Museum
Ivan Ineich - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
Jordi Janssen - Wildlife Conservation Society Canada
Gregory R. Johnston - Museum für Naturkunde
Benjamin R. Karin - University of California, Berkeley
J. Scott Keogh - University of Michigan–Ann Arbor
Fred Kraus - University of Michigan [Ann Arbor]
Matthew Lebreton - Museums Victoria
Petros Lymberakis - University of Crete
Rafaqat Masroor - Wildlife Conservation Society Canada
Peter Mcdonald - Universidade do Porto
Sven Mecke - Paderborn University
Jane Melville - Flinders University
Sabine Melzer - Temple University
Damian R. Michael - University of the Free State
Aurélien Miralles - Institut de Systématique, Évolution, Biodiversité
Nicola Mitchell - University of Western Australia
Nicola J. Nelson - Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology
Truong Q. Nguyen - Graduate University of Science and Technology [Hanoi]
Cristiano de Campos Nogueira - Universidade de São Paulo
Hidetoshi Ota - University of Hyogo
Panayiotis Pafilis - National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
Olivier S.G. Pauwels - Institute of Natural Sciences
Ana Perera - Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos [Vairao]
Daniel Pincheira-Donoso - Hartford Financial Services
Robert Reed - Museum of Vertebrate Zoology
Marco Antonio Ribeiro-Junior - Tel Aviv University
Julia L. Riley - Stellenbosch University
Sarah Rocha - Centro de Investigación en Nanomateriais e Biomedicina
Pamela Rutherford - Brandon University
Ross A. Sadlier - Australian Museum Research Institute
Boaz Shacham - Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Glenn Shea - University of Sydney
Richard Shine - Macquarie University
Alex Slavenko - University of Sheffield
Adam Stow - Macquarie University
Joanna Sumner - Museums Victoria
Oliver J.S. Tallowin - World Conservation Monitoring Centre
Roy Teale
Omar Torres-Carvajal - La Sierra University
Jean-François Trape - Université de Montpellier, Maladies Infectieuses et Vecteurs : Ecologie, Génétique, Evolution et Contrôle - MIVEGEC
Peter Uetz - Virginia Commonwealth University
Kanishka D.B. Ukuwela - Rajarata University of Sri Lanka
Leonie Valentine - University of Western Australia
James U. van Dyke - La Trobe University
Dylan van Winkel
Raquel O Vasconcelos - Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos [Vairao]
Miguel Vences - Technische Universität Braunschweig
Philipp Wagner - Allwetterzoo Munster
Erik Wapstra - University of Tasmania
Geoffrey M While - University of Tasmania
Martin Whiting - Macquarie University
Camilla M Whittington - University of Sydney
Steve Wilson - Queensland Museum
Thomas Ziegler - University of Cologne
Reid Tingley - Monash University
Shai Meiri - Stellenbosch University
Publication Details: Biological Conservation, Vol.257
Grant note: Funding was provided from the Australian Friends of Tel Aviv-Monash University Research Collaboration Award (to DGC and SM), the Australian Research Council (LP170100012 to DGC and SM; FT200100108 to DGC), an IUCN Species Survival Commission Internal Grant (to DGC and SM), and Israel Science Foundation (406/19; to SM and UR), and a grant from the Rufford Foundation (to Monika Böhm).
Identifiers: 9934203809311
Academic Unit: Maladies Infectieuses et Vecteurs : Ecologie, Génétique, Evolution et Contrôle - MIVEGEC
Language: English
Resource Type: Journal article
Local Fields: mnhn-03963718