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Abstract Ongoing declines in insect populations have led to substantial concern and calls for conservation action. However, even for relatively well studied groups, like butterflies, information relevant to species‐specific status and risk is scattered across field guides, the scientific literature, and agency reports. Consequently, attention and resources have been spent on a minuscule fraction of insect diversity, including a few well studied butterflies. Here we bring together heterogeneous sources of information for 396 butterfly species to provide the first regional assessment of butterflies for the 11 western US states. For 184 species, we use monitoring data to characterize historical and projected trends in population abundance. For another 212 species (for which monitoring data are not available, but other types of information can be collected), we use exposure to climate change, development, geographic range, number of host plants, and other factors to rank species for conservation concern. A phylogenetic signal is apparent, with concentrations of declining and at‐risk species in the families Lycaenidae and Hesperiidae. A geographic bias exists in that many species that lack monitoring data occur in the more southern states where we expect that impacts of warming and drying trends will be most severe. Legal protection is rare among the taxa with the highest risk values: of the top 100 species, one is listed as threatened under the US Endangered Species Act and one is a candidate for listing. Among the many taxa not currently protected, we highlight a short list of species in decline, includingVanessa annabella,Thorybes mexicanus,Euchloe ausonides, andPholisora catullus. Notably, many of these species have broad geographic ranges, which perhaps highlights a new era of insect conservation in which small or fragmented ranges will not be the only red flags that attract conservation attention.
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Conservation genetics of Sclerocactus in Colorado: the importance of accurate taxonomy to conservation
IntroductionRecent advances in genetic data collection utilizing next-generation DNA sequencing technologies have the potential to greatly aid the taxonomic assessment of species of conservation concern, particularly species that have been difficult to describe using morphology alone. Accurate taxonomic descriptions aided by genetic data are essential to directing limited conservation resources to species most in need.Sclerocactus glaucusis a plant endemic to Western Colorado that is currently listed as Threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). However, in 2023, the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed de-listingS. glaucusfrom the ESA due to recovery of the species. Previous research had found substantial genetic structure between populations in the northern part of theS. glaucusrange relative to the majority of the species distribution. MethodsIn this study we utilized double-digest Restriction-site Associated DNA sequencing (RAD-seq) in order to better understand the genetic structure ofS. glaucus. ResultsOur results indicate thatS. glaucuscontains two distinct evolutionary lineages that warrant recognition at the level of species, with what was previously described asS. glaucusNorth being recognized asSclerocactus dawsoniae. DiscussionThe newly describedS. dawsoniaehas a limited estimated number of individuals, low levels of nucleotide diversity, a very narrow geographic range, and an uneven geographic distribution with most plants being found in a single management area, all of which supports continued direct conservation of this species. In contrast,S. glaucushas a large estimated minimum population size, a broad geographic range that includes numerous protected areas, and adequate levels of genetic diversity. Without further conservation action, a delisting decision forS. glaucuswill simultaneously remove all Endangered Species Act protections forS. dawsoniae. The current work demonstrates the importance of having robust genetic datasets when planning conservation activities for species of concern. Moving forward, we recommend that government stakeholders prioritize supporting genetic studies of endangered species prior to making any changes to listing decisions.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2322260
- PAR ID:
- 10544458
- Publisher / Repository:
- Frontiers in Conservation Science
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Frontiers in Conservation Science
- Volume:
- 4
- ISSN:
- 2673-611X
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.3389/fcosc.2023.1310985
