Global conservation status of the jawed vertebrate Tree of Life

Rikki Gumbs (), Oenone Scott, Ryan Bates, Monika Böhm, Félix Forest, Claudia L. Gray, Michael Hoffmann, Daniel Kane, Christopher Low, William D. Pearse, Sebastian Pipins, Benjamin Tapley, Samuel T. Turvey, Walter Jetz, Nisha R. Owen and James Rosindell
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Rikki Gumbs: Zoological Society of London
Oenone Scott: Imperial College London
Ryan Bates: Zoological Society of London
Monika Böhm: Indianapolis Zoological Society
Félix Forest: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Claudia L. Gray: Zoological Society of London
Michael Hoffmann: Zoological Society of London
Daniel Kane: Zoological Society of London
Christopher Low: University College London
William D. Pearse: Imperial College London
Sebastian Pipins: Imperial College London
Benjamin Tapley: Zoological Society of London
Samuel T. Turvey: Zoological Society of London
Walter Jetz: Yale University
Nisha R. Owen: On the Edge
James Rosindell: Imperial College London

Nature Communications, 2024, vol. 15, issue 1, 1-13

Abstract: Abstract Human-driven extinction threatens entire lineages across the Tree of Life. Here we assess the conservation status of jawed vertebrate evolutionary history, using three policy-relevant approaches. First, we calculate an index of threat to overall evolutionary history, showing that we expect to lose 86–150 billion years (11–19%) of jawed vertebrate evolutionary history over the next 50–500 years. Second, we rank jawed vertebrate species by their EDGE scores to identify the highest priorities for species-focused conservation of evolutionary history, finding that chondrichthyans, ray-finned fish and testudines rank highest of all jawed vertebrates. Third, we assess the conservation status of jawed vertebrate families. We found that species within monotypic families are more likely to be threatened and more likely to be in decline than other species. We provide a baseline for the status of families at risk of extinction to catalyse conservation action. This work continues a trend of highlighting neglected groups—such as testudines, crocodylians, amphibians and chondrichthyans—as conservation priorities from a phylogenetic perspective.

Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-45119-z

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