Overview
The global biodiversity crisis stems from a cascading series of extirpations driving species toward extinction. Addressing this crisis requires methods for early detection of extinction at local scales, where communities can mobilise conservation efforts. We present a method for the detection of species extirpation, harnessing biological specimens, community science, and targeted surveys. Our framework aligns with IUCN extinction criteria and provides a practical means of testing the hypothesis of extinction. By streamlining the integration of data into a practical framework for inference, our approach overcomes key challenges in inferring local extinction risk, supporting efforts to detect and mitigate biodiversity loss.
We need systems that allow communities to track biodiversity change locally, to curb biodiversity loss at its source.
Galiano Island local Shauna Anderson documenting a population of Trifolium dichotomum on Mount Galiano on 5 June 2022. The species had last been reported from the island based on a herbarium collection made by Harvey Janszen in 1981, and thus had gone undocumented for more than forty years.