New Tools Could be Crucial to Protect the World's Threatened Species as Extinction Rates Continue

New tools could help our world's threatened species, and they could help preserve biodiversity across the globe. Scientists have found that tools to collect and share information could help stem the loss of Earth's species.

In order to see how new tools might influence conservation effectiveness, the researchers reviewed recent studies in conservation science. They examined the rates of species extinction, distribution and protection in order to see where there were crucial gaps in knowledge, where threats to species are expanding and how best to tailor efforts to be successful.

"As databases coalesce and policymakers have access to greater information, we see real and improving successes for conservation science," said John Gittleman, one of the researchers, in a news release.

In fact, tools like the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Species is one of the chief sources of biodiversity information, and allows scientists to help with conservation efforts. It covers about 71,000 species today; yet with greater investment, it could expand to a staggering 160,000 species.

This tool expansion is needed. After examining the studies, the scientists found that the current rate of extinction, primarily driven by human activity, was about 1,000 times higher than the natural, background extinction rate. This number is particularly alarming, and shows the need for conservation tools.

"Online databases, smart phone apps, crowd sourcing and new hardware are making it easier to collect data on species," said Stuart Pimm, one of the researchers, in a news release. "When combined with data on land use change and the species observations of millions of amateur citizen scientists, they are increasingly allowing closer monitoring of the planet's biodiversity and threats to it. For our success to continue, however, we need to support the expansion of these technologies and develop even more powerful technologies for the future."

New tools are crucial for helping conservation efforts in the future. There are still enormous gaps in knowledge about how many species there are, where they live and their risks of extinction. In fact, only about 13 percent of the world's land area and roughly two percent of the ocean are currently under any kind of legal protection.

"The gap between what we know and don't know about Earth's biodiversity is still tremendous, but technology is playing a major role in closing it and helping us conserve biodiversity more intelligently and efficiently," said Lucas N. Joppa, one of the researchers, in a news release.

The findings are published in the journal Science.