A quantitative global review of species population monitoring

Moussy C. Burfield I.J. Stephenson P.J. Newton A.F.E. Butchart S.H.M. Sutherland W.J. Gregory R.D. McRae L. Bubb P. Roesler I. Ursino C. Wu Y. Retief E.F. Udin J.S. Urazaliyev R. Sánchez-Clavijo L.M. Lartey E. Donald P.F.
February 2022 John Wiley and Sons Inc

Conservation Biology
2022 #36 Issue 1

Species monitoring, defined here as the repeated, systematic collection of data to detect long-term changes in the populations of wild species, is a vital component of conservation practice and policy. We created a database of nearly 1200 schemes, ranging in start date from 1800 to 2018, to review spatial, temporal, taxonomic, and methodological patterns in global species monitoring. We identified monitoring schemes through standardized web searches, an online survey of stakeholders, in-depth national searches in a sample of countries, and a review of global biodiversity databases. We estimated the total global number of monitoring schemes operating at 3300–15,000. Since 2000, there has been a sharp increase in the number of new schemes being initiated in lower- and middle-income countries and in megadiverse countries, but a decrease in high-income countries. The total number of monitoring schemes in a country and its per capita gross domestic product were strongly, positively correlated. Schemes that were active in 2018 had been running for an average of 21 years in high-income countries, compared with 13 years in middle-income countries and 10 years in low-income countries. In high-income countries, over one-half of monitoring schemes received government funding, but this was less than one-quarter in low-income countries. Data collection was undertaken partly or wholly by volunteers in 37% of schemes, and such schemes covered significantly more sites and species than those undertaken by professionals alone. Birds were by far the most widely monitored taxonomic group, accounting for around half of all schemes, but this bias declined over time. Monitoring in most taxonomic groups remains sparse and uncoordinated, and most of the data generated are elusive and unlikely to feed into wider biodiversity conservation processes. These shortcomings could be addressed by, for example, creating an open global meta-database of biodiversity monitoring schemes and enhancing capacity for species monitoring in countries with high biodiversity. Article impact statement: Species population monitoring for conservation purposes remains strongly biased toward a few vertebrate taxa in wealthier countries.

biodiversity surveillance , ciencia ciudadana , citizen science , megadiverse countries , países megadiversos , population trends , sesgo taxonómico , taxonomic bias , tendencias poblacionales , vigilancia de la biodiversidad

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BirdLife International, Cambridge, United Kingdom
IUCN SSC Species Monitoring Specialist Group, Gingins, Switzerland
Science & Economic Knowledge Unit, IUCN, Gland, Switzerland
Department of Zoology, Conservation Science Group, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
RSPB Centre for Conservation Science, Bedfordshire, United Kingdom
Centre for Biodiversity & Environment Research, Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, London, United Kingdom
Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, London, United Kingdom
UN Environment World Conservation Monitoring Centre, Cambridge, United Kingdom
Scientific Department, Aves Argentinas, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Nanjing Institute of Environmental Sciences, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Nanjing, China
Science and Innovation Programme, BirdLife South Africa, Johannesburg, South Africa
Burung Indonesia, Bogor, Indonesia
Association for the Conservation of Biodiversity of Kazakhstan, Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan
Instituto de Investigación de Recursos Biológicos Alexander von Humboldt, Bogotá, Colombia
Ghana Wildlife Society, Accra, Ghana

BirdLife International
IUCN SSC Species Monitoring Specialist Group
Science & Economic Knowledge Unit
Department of Zoology
RSPB Centre for Conservation Science
Centre for Biodiversity & Environment Research
Institute of Zoology
UN Environment World Conservation Monitoring Centre
Scientific Department
Nanjing Institute of Environmental Sciences
Science and Innovation Programme
Burung Indonesia
Association for the Conservation of Biodiversity of Kazakhstan
Instituto de Investigación de Recursos Biológicos Alexander von Humboldt
Ghana Wildlife Society

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