Correction: Batch-produced, GIS-informed range maps for birds based on provenanced, crowd-sourced data inform conservation assessments

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0259299.].

Batch-produced, GIS-informed range maps for birds based on provenanced, crowd-sourced data inform conservation assessments

Accurate maps of species ranges are essential to inform conservation, but time-consuming to produce and update. Given the pace of change of knowledge about species distributions and shifts in ranges under climate change and land use, a need exists for timely mapping approaches that enable batch processing employing widely available data. We develop a systematic approach of batch-processing range maps and derived Area of Habitat maps for terrestrial bird species with published ranges below 125,000 km2 in Central and South America. (Area of Habitat is the habitat available to a species within its range.) We combine existing range maps with the rapidly expanding crowd-sourced eBird data of presences and absences from frequently surveyed locations, plus readily accessible, high resolution satellite data on forest cover and elevation to map the Area of Habitat available to each species. Users can interrogate the maps produced to see details of the observations that contributed to the ranges. Previous estimates of Areas of Habitat were constrained within the published ranges and thus were, by definition, smaller-typically about 30%. This reflects how little habitat within suitable elevation ranges exists within the published ranges. Our results show that on average, Areas of Habitat are 12% larger than published ranges, reflecting the often-considerable extent that eBird records expand the known distributions of species. Interestingly, there are substantial differences between threatened and non-threatened species. Some 40% of Critically Endangered, 43% of Endangered, and 55% of Vulnerable species have Areas of Habitat larger than their published ranges, compared with 31% for Near Threatened and Least Concern species. The important finding for conservation is that threatened species are generally more widespread than previously estimated.

Conservation resource allocation, small population resiliency, and the fallacy of conservation triage

Some conservation prioritization methods are based on the assumption that conservation needs overwhelm current resources and not all species can be conserved; therefore, a conservation triage scheme (i.e., when the system is overwhelmed, species should be divided into three groups based on likelihood of survival, and efforts should be focused on those species in the group with the best survival prospects and reduced or denied to those in the group with no survival prospects and to those in the group not needing special efforts for their conservation) is necessary to guide resource allocation. We argue that this decision-making strategy is not appropriate because resources are not as limited as often assumed, and it is not evident that there are species that cannot be conserved. Small population size alone, for example, does not doom a species to extinction; plants, reptiles, birds, and mammals offer examples. Although resources dedicated to conserving all threatened species are insufficient at present, the world's economic resources are vast, and greater resources could be dedicated toward species conservation. The political framework for species conservation has improved, with initiatives such as the UN Sustainable Development Goals and other international agreements, funding mechanisms such as The Global Environment Facility, and the rise of many nongovernmental organizations with nimble, rapid-response small grants programs. For a prioritization system to allow no extinctions, zero extinctions must be an explicit goal of the system. Extinction is not inevitable, and should not be acceptable. A goal of no human-induced extinctions is imperative given the irreversibility of species loss.

Distribution of the introduced parasitic fly Philornis downsi (Diptera, Muscidae) in the Galapagos Islands

The avifauna of the Galapagos islands is characterized by a small number of endemic species, including the 13 species of Darwin's finches. The introduced fly parasite Philornis downsi reduces nestling survival and growth rate of altricial birds, and can cause mortality and morbidity of the nestlings. We examined the occurrence of Philornis downsi among islands and at different elevations. The parasite was found in nests from 11 of 13 islands sampled. The two islands on which P. downsi was not found were Espa�ola and Genovesa, both arid islands with no humid highlands and distant from the centre of the archipelago. Parasite infection intensity was greater in nests at higher elevations, and on islands that have moist highlands, which may serve as a reservoir for the files. A full understanding of the fly's ecology may permit the development of eradication or control methods, or at least mitigation of its effects on the birds.

Aves, The Galapagos Islands, Ecuador

Although the Galapagos avifauna has been described previously, it is necessary to list, clarify, and update the previously published records of birds occurring in the archipelago, and to clarify some recent records that are erroneous or were presented with none or few details. The list of breeding (including endemic species and subspecies and non-endemic breeding species) and regular migrant species totals only 88 species, although including the 57 vagrant species, the number is 145 species. However, endemism in Galapagos is quite high, with half (50%) of the regular avifauna being endemic at the species or subspecies level. If only land birds are considered, the endemism levels are much higher, with 70% of land bird species being endemic, and 58% of the “regular” seabirds being endemic as well. It is hoped this article will stimulate other ornithologists and observers who may have additional records to come forth with their information. 

Genetic variation within and among fragmented populations of lesser prairie-chickens (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus)

As a result of recurrent droughts and anthropogenic factors, the range of the lesser prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus) has contracted by 92% and the population has been reduced by approximately 97% in the past century, resulting in the smallest population size and most restricted geographical distribution of any North American grouse. We examined genetic variation through DNA sequence analysis of 478 base pairs of the mitochondrial genome and by assaying allelic variation at five microsatellite loci from lesser prairie-chickens collected on 20 leks in western Oklahoma and east-central New Mexico. Traditional population genetic analyses indicate that lesser prairie-chickens maintain high levels of genetic variation at both nuclear and mitochondrial loci. Although some genetic structuring among lesser prairie-chicken leks was detected within Oklahoma and New Mexico for both nuclear and mitochondrial loci, high levels of differentiation were detected between Oklahoma and New Mexico populations. Nested-clade analysis of mitochondrial haplotypes revealed that both historic and contemporary processes have influenced patterns of haplotype distributions and that historic processes have most likely led to the level of differentiation found between the Oklahoma and New Mexico populations.