The biodiversity of species and their rates of extinction, distribution, and protection - PubMed

Affiliations

• PMID: 24876501
• DOI: 10.1126/science.1246752

Review

The biodiversity of species and their rates of extinction, distribution, and protection

S L Pimm et al. Science. 2014.

Abstract

Recent studies clarify where the most vulnerable species live, where and how humanity changes the planet, and how this drives extinctions. We assess key statistics about species, their distribution, and their status. Most are undescribed. Those we know best have large geographical ranges and are often common within them. Most known species have small ranges. The numbers of small-ranged species are increasing quickly, even in well-known taxa. They are geographically concentrated and are disproportionately likely to be threatened or already extinct. Current rates of extinction are about 1000 times the likely background rate of extinction. Future rates depend on many factors and are poised to increase. Although there has been rapid progress in developing protected areas, such efforts are not ecologically representative, nor do they optimally protect biodiversity.

Similar articles

• Rates of movement of threatened bird species between IUCN red list categories and toward extinction.

  Brooke Mde L, Butchart SH, Garnett ST, Crowley GM, Mantilla-Beniers NB, Stattersfield AJ. Brooke Mde L, et al. Conserv Biol. 2008 Apr;22(2):417-27. doi: 10.1111/j.1523-1739.2008.00905.x. Conserv Biol. 2008. PMID: 18402584

• Can we name Earth's species before they go extinct?

  Costello MJ, May RM, Stork NE. Costello MJ, et al. Science. 2013 Jan 25;339(6118):413-6. doi: 10.1126/science.1230318. Science. 2013. PMID: 23349283 Review.

• When should we save the most endangered species?

  Wilson HB, Joseph LN, Moore AL, Possingham HP. Wilson HB, et al. Ecol Lett. 2011 Sep;14(9):886-90. doi: 10.1111/j.1461-0248.2011.01652.x. Epub 2011 Jul 12. Ecol Lett. 2011. PMID: 21749599

• The silent mass extinction of insect herbivores in biodiversity hotspots.

  Fonseca CR. Fonseca CR. Conserv Biol. 2009 Dec;23(6):1507-15. doi: 10.1111/j.1523-1739.2009.01327.x. Epub 2009 Sep 22. Conserv Biol. 2009. PMID: 19775277

• Extinction debt: a challenge for biodiversity conservation.

  Kuussaari M, Bommarco R, Heikkinen RK, Helm A, Krauss J, Lindborg R, Ockinger E, Pärtel M, Pino J, Rodà F, Stefanescu C, Teder T, Zobel M, Steffan-Dewenter I. Kuussaari M, et al. Trends Ecol Evol. 2009 Oct;24(10):564-71. doi: 10.1016/j.tree.2009.04.011. Epub 2009 Aug 6. Trends Ecol Evol. 2009. PMID: 19665254 Review.

Cited by

• Facilitating giant panda crossings of national highway in Wolong area of Giant Panda National Park amid human activities.

  Zhang H, Shi Z, Feng B, Liu Y, Tang Z, Dong X, Gu X, Qi D, Xu W, Zhou C, Zhang J. Zhang H, et al. Ecol Evol. 2024 Jul 29;14(7):e70067. doi: 10.1002/ece3.70067. eCollection 2024 Jul. Ecol Evol. 2024. PMID: 39076614 Free PMC article.

• New Additions to the Mammal List Documented in the Portuguese Red Data Book.

  Mathias MDL, Mira A, Tapisso J, Pita R, Neves T, Cabral JA, Barros P, Rainho A, Alves PC, Queirós J, Paupério J, Ferreira M, Eira C, Sequeira M, Rodrigues L. Mathias MDL, et al. Animals (Basel). 2024 Aug 29;14(17):2514. doi: 10.3390/ani14172514. Animals (Basel). 2024. PMID: 39272299 Free PMC article.

• Identifying cryptic diversity with predictive phylogeography.

  Espíndola A, Ruffley M, Smith ML, Carstens BC, Tank DC, Sullivan J. Espíndola A, et al. Proc Biol Sci. 2016 Oct 26;283(1841):20161529. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2016.1529. Proc Biol Sci. 2016. PMID: 27798300 Free PMC article.

• A subterranean adaptive radiation of amphipods in Europe.

  Borko Š, Trontelj P, Seehausen O, Moškrič A, Fišer C. Borko Š, et al. Nat Commun. 2021 Jun 17;12(1):3688. doi: 10.1038/s41467-021-24023-w. Nat Commun. 2021. PMID: 34140494 Free PMC article.

• Uniting RNAi Technology and Conservation Biocontrol to Promote Global Food Security and Agrobiodiversity.

  Willow J, Cook SM, Veromann E, Smagghe G. Willow J, et al. Front Bioeng Biotechnol. 2022 Apr 25;10:871651. doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2022.871651. eCollection 2022. Front Bioeng Biotechnol. 2022. PMID: 35547161 Free PMC article.

Publication types

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources

• Full Text Sources

  • Atypon

• Other Literature Sources

  • scite Smart Citations