Identifying cost?effective recovery actions for a critically endangered species

Facilitating Recovery of Threatened and Endangered Species

Monitoring Rarity: The Critically Endangered Saharan Cheetah as a Flagship Species for a Threatened Ecosystem

Deserts are particularly vulnerable to human impacts and have already suffered a substantial loss of biodiversity. In harsh and variable desert environments, large herbivores typically occur at low densities, and their large carnivore predators occur at even lower densities. The continued survival of large carnivores is key to healthy functioning desert ecosystems, and the ability to gather rel...

Improving the Design of a Conservation Reserve for a Critically Endangered Species

Setting aside protected areas is a key strategy for tackling biodiversity loss. Reserve effectiveness depends on the extent to which protected areas capture both known occurrences and areas likely to support the species. We assessed the effectiveness of the existing reserve network for Leadbeater's Possum (Gymnobelideus leadbeateri) and other forest-dependent species, and compared the existing ...

Species-level view of population structure and gene flow for a critically endangered primate (Varecia variegata)

Lemurs are among the world's most threatened mammals. The critically endangered black-and-white ruffed lemur (Varecia variegata), in particular, has recently experienced rapid population declines due to habitat loss, ecological sensitivities to habitat degradation, and extensive human hunting pressure. Despite this, a recent study indicates that ruffed lemurs retain among the highest levels of ...

An Assessment of Monitoring Efforts in Endangered Species Recovery Plans

Recovery efforts for threatened and endangered species often must be initiated with incomplete data. The outcomes of such efforts are difficult to predict, which makes monitoring the progress of recovery efforts an integral part of the recovery process. We evaluated the role of monitoring in recovery plans for 181 species listed as threatened and endangered under the U.S. Endangered Species Act...