Darwin Plus SO Red Listing - British Antarctic Survey - Project
The IUCN Red List is the international standard for conservation, a crucial tool to communicate threats to species, which can be applied to all species and ecosystems. Molluscs represent a … Molluscs represent a diverse group with commercial and ecological significance in almost all habitats, from reef-forming mussels to pelagic schools of squid. The first Red List for Antarctic and Subantarctic marine molluscs, for the British Antarctic Territory, Falkland Islands, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands, funded by Darwin Plus, will provide conservation tools for both these and global UKOTs.Inclusion on the Red List provides a robust baseline conservation value; re-assessments are done routinely but may be urgently prompted by a change in habitat status. Marine species remain dramatically under-represented in Red List assessments: of 120,000 species assessed to date, only 15% are marine species (mostly fish and seabirds), and only 212 assessed marine species occur in the Southern Ocean.Completion of formal Red List assessments for species found in the three OT areas and after IUCN quality control checks, publication on the IUCN website (. Producing a simple easy-to-apply roadmap to facilitate future assessments in these and other UKOTs by compiling data relevant to the assessment process in this region. We will document a practical protocol for assessment, streamlined for this region, that can be applied to Southern Ocean molluscs and other marine invertebrates.Hybrid training workshop to include the project partners and additional stakeholders (e.g., Falklands Conservation, Shallow Marine Surveys Group) and any other scientists from other UKOTs und South American countries. The workshop will provide training to any stakeholders willing to take on future additional assessments or re-assessments of any UKOT species, to continue the UKOT Red Listing project beyond the scope of this one-year programme.
