Red list of endangered species

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As IUCN Red List , or only Red List , the original original Red Data Book is called by the World Conservation Union International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources lists published (IUCN) world from extinction of endangered animal and plant species and, from this use derived from other lists of endangered species with similar objectives. Lists with geographical or taxonomic restrictions, which are also called the Red List, are published by the IUCN as well as by other international organizations, states, political divisions such as federal states or by nature conservation associations . Today, in addition to Red Lists of endangered species, there are also such endangered biotope types .

Red lists are considered scientific expert reports on the risk of extinction of species, which legislators and authorities are supposed to use as the basis for their actions in relation to species , nature and environmental protection . Only in a few countries, such as Switzerland, are they legally effective.

National and regional lists

Red lists published by states or federal states for their area have a regional reference and therefore a different meaning than the international red lists of the IUCN. They can deal with geographical features and enable species protection on site to be presented more comprehensively.

In Germany, the national red lists are published by the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation in Bonn. The current six-volume red list of endangered animals, plants and fungi in Germany has been published since 2009 . The Red List of Breeding Birds in Germany is published by the National Committee of the Red List of Birds on behalf of the German Council for Bird Protection . The 5th version of November 20, 2016 is currently available. All federal states publish their own red lists; they are issued by the ministries or state authorities responsible for environmental and nature conservation. According to the principle that “endangerment does not mean protection”, the Red Lists in Germany only have the status of expert reports; they serve as a source of information for the legislature and the authorities.

In Austria, the national Red Lists are published by the Federal Environment Agency. Several Austrian federal states publish regional red lists.

In Switzerland, the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) publishes the national red lists. Here, the Red Lists have been a legally effective instrument for nature and landscape protection since 1991 according to Article 14 Paragraph 3 of the Federal Ordinance on Nature Conservation and Landscape Protection: "Biotopes are designated as worthy of protection due to (...) the endangered and rare plant and animal species that live in are listed in the Red Lists issued or recognized by the FOEN ”.

An increasing number of other states are publishing national red lists. There are also red lists of intergovernmental organizations such as the European Union and HELCOM . So far, the IUCN has published several regionally limited lists, such as the freshwater fauna of East Africa.

history

IUCN

In 1962 the IUCN published the 1st International Red List, which was initially called the Red Data Book . It was published by S. Boyle, Sir P. Scott , B. Grzimek, and others. The name Red Data Book goes back to the insurance catalog for missing ships of the London insurance company Lloyds . The first version contained detailed descriptions of 211 species of mammals and 312 species of birds.

In the 2nd version, which appeared from 1966 to 1971, 528 species of mammals, 628 species of birds, 119 species of reptiles and 34 species of amphibians were classified. In addition, the division into four different hazard categories was made for the first time. The 3rd edition appeared in 1972. The 4th edition appeared in 1981 and contained 305 mammals, 258 birds, 90 reptiles, 40 amphibians and, for the first time, 193 fish species. From the 5th edition in 1982, separate lists were drawn up for individual groups of animals (e.g. primates and butterflies). From the 6th edition in 1988, the species descriptions were deleted from the list. Further editions appeared in 1990, 1992, 1994 and 1996. In 1992, the current classification of species into eight categories was introduced (EX, EW, CR, EN, VU, NT, LC, DD). Invertebrates were classified for the first time in 1994: 1205 species of molluscs and 1184 species of insects.

The last book edition was published in 1996 and contained 5205 species, 1891 of which were invertebrates. In addition, the EX category was listed for the first time.

The first online edition (animals only) appeared in 1996; Plants were also recorded for the first time in 1998. In 2000 the first Red List appeared, which contained plants and animals.

The 2007 edition of the IUCN contained 16,308 threatened species. The following table shows by way of example what percentage of the species in a group known today was classified as threatened by the IUCN:

Endangered Species Worldwide
group Number of species studied threatened by it
Conifers 607 34%
Amphibians 6771 40%
Mammals 5801 25%
Birds 11133 14%
Cartilaginous fish 1116 30%
Reef-building corals not apparent 33%
Selected crustaceans not apparent 27%

These four groups were also the only ones whose threat status was based on an evaluation of all or at least most of the species.

Iberian lynx

A special focus of the presentation of the IUCN Red List 2008 was placed on mammals . In the first comprehensive study of this type after more than ten years (which involved 1,800 scientists from 130 countries), at least 1,141 of 5,488 mammal species (21 percent) are classified as "threatened" (categories CR, EN or VU).

The researchers even consider 188 species to be critically endangered , such as the Iberian lynx , of which only 84 to 143 adults still live.

The number of species that are actually threatened could be even higher as insufficient information is available on around 840 other mammal species. This would make it possible that up to 36 percent of all species of mammals are threatened.

The IUCN Red Lists are updated and updated at irregular intervals, but at least twice a year. The current red list is available on the IUCN website.

Development in Germany

The first annotated lists of endangered plant and bird species were published in Germany in 1951, 1966 and 1967. They contained protection instructions and can be seen as forerunners of the Red Lists.

In 1971 the first Red List designated as such was published in Germany: It was a list of the German section of the International Council for Bird Conservation . In 1974 the first Red List of Flowering Plants was published. In 1977 the first Red List of Animals and Plants in the Federal Republic was published as a collective work.

The German Red Lists have largely used the IUCN's hazard criteria since the 1970s. Since 1986 there have been repeated discussions about adapting the system of criteria used. Not only should the current risk of extinction of a species be shown in terms of a status description, but a comprehensive risk analysis should also be carried out at the species level, including long-term developments. Since the 1990s, the further development of the methodology used to draw up Red Lists has led to the fact that the Red Lists in Germany differ from those of the IUCN to a far greater extent than the different designations of the hazard categories express.

In 1996 (plants) and 1998 (animals) the last two nationwide Red Lists were published in one volume each; some of them are still valid. For the first time, the list of plants included all species occurring in an inventory, regardless of their endangered status.

The eight-volume Red List of Endangered Animals, Plants and Fungi in Germany , published from 2009, is also a comprehensive species directory for all species groups of animals and fungi. For the first time, uniform hazard criteria were applied across all groups of organisms, which differ significantly from those of the IUCN. At the species level, short-term population trends are presented for the first time as an aid to assessing species protection measures , Germany's responsibility for protection on a global or European scale, the last records of extinct or lost species, and their status as neobiota. In addition, information on the endangerment status in the federal states and the major natural regions is also included for many species. Several groups of species, such as the predator flies , centipedes , millipedes , woodlice and earthworms , were assessed for the first time.

Today in Germany the aim is for the national Red Lists as well as for those of the federal states to appear every ten years and for breeding birds five years. A list of the current national Red List can be found on the website of the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation.

Development in Switzerland

The first Swiss Red List appeared in 1977 with the Red List of Birds. In 1982, in addition to a revision of this list, the red lists of amphibians and reptiles and vascular plants were published. And 1990 followed lists Segetal- and ruderals , the crane flies , butterflies, dragonflies and fish and lampreys . All of these lists have been prepared by experts and published as brochures or scientific publications.

The Red Lists received official recognition at the end of the 1980s with the establishment of the Federal Office for the Environment, Forests and Landscape (SAEFL), a forerunner of today's Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) , and in 1991 with the new biotope protection article of the Nature and Homeland Protection Ordinance, Biotopes characterized as worthy of protection because of their species listed in the Red Lists. Under these new framework conditions, the Federal Office published a red list of ferns and flowering plants in 1991 . In 1994 an anthology followed with eleven Red Lists, which covered 2,400 invertebrates and 376 vertebrate species .

Since 1999, the creation of Switzerland's Red Lists has been combined in the Red List program of the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN), and the IUCN criteria have been applied consistently since 2000. The aim was to make the Red Lists comparable for different countries or groups of organisms, without questioning the quality of previously published lists.

By 2010, of the 45,890 known species in Switzerland, 10,350 had been rated for the Red Lists, of which 3741 were classified as endangered or regionally extinct, that is 36 percent. At this point in time 27 Red Lists were available. In addition to all classes of vertebrates, 15 groups of invertebrates, vascular plants, mosses , chandelier algae, large mushrooms, tree lichens and ground lichens were assessed.

In contrast to Germany and Austria, only a few cantonal or regional red lists were drawn up in Switzerland, for example in 1983 for the Aletsch region and 1986 for the canton of Aargau. By 2010, one or more red lists had been published for the cantons of Basel-Stadt, Basel-Land, Vaud, Geneva, Aargau, Schaffhausen and Zurich. The reasons for largely dispensing with regional Red Lists were initially the small size of the country and the fact that the regions were included in the first national Red Lists. Today, the fact that the IUCN's hazard criteria are adapted to larger spatial units is considered to be a major reason.

Based on the Red Lists, a Blue List of successfully preserved or funded animal and plant species with funded species that have been removed from the Red List has been sought in Switzerland since 1998 ; the only Blue List developed and published as part of a pilot project included the cantons Aargau, Schaffhausen and Zurich. The aim was to show that promoting biodiversity is worthwhile and that successes can be achieved. The concept of independent Blue Lists has not caught on, but the basic idea is integrated into the Red Lists through references to developments compared to previous editions.

Biotope types

The most important and legally binding lists of biotope types threatened across Europe include the Fauna-Flora-Habitat Directive (FFH Directive for short) and the EU bird protection directive, whose primary aim is to protect biotopes in addition to classic species protection. On the one hand, the biotopes that form the habitats of the species of the Habitats and Birds Directive must be protected and, on the other hand, the biotope types listed in Appendix I of the Habitats Directive - referred to as habitat types in the German version of the directive - as such, regardless of Protection of the species that are associated with the respective biotope type.

For Germany, the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation publishes a red list of endangered biotope types. Only a quarter (25.1%) of the biotope types in Germany can be regarded as safe. This contrasts with 72.2% endangered biotope types, with 48.4% having to be classified as endangered or threatened with complete destruction.

In addition to the Germany-wide risk classification, individual federal states have also drawn up red lists of biotope types, for example Baden-Württemberg or Saxony-Anhalt.

In Austria, the Federal Environment Agency publishes the “Red List of Biotope Types in Austria”. The most recent edition was published in December 2015 and establishes a relationship for the biotope types that can be assigned to the habitat types of the European Fauna-Flora-Habitat Directive. In addition to the Austria-wide risk classification, individual federal states have also drawn up red lists of biotope types, for example Carinthia as early as 1998 with an update in 2012.

Hazard categories

Since the second edition of the IUCN Red Data Book from 1966, the degree of endangerment of individual species has been shown by their classification into different endangerment categories. The first national or regional Red Lists mostly used their own categories, which meant that there was no comparability between different states or regions, or between different taxonomic groups. In the meantime, a standardization of the hazard categories is sought, the IUCN categories are used in many national Red Lists, and the Red Lists of Germany and the German federal states use a uniform system of categories. The long-term retention of categories that have already been introduced simplifies the comparison of the identified degrees of risk over long periods of time.

IUCN

The IUCN Red Lists are based on the scientific assessment by experts for the respective species groups. With the help of quantitative criteria, the probability that a species (or a subordinate taxon such as a subspecies ) will become extinct in the near future is assessed. The classification was initially purely qualitative. A formalized evaluation procedure has been introduced since 1994, the update of which, Version 3.1 from 2001, forms the basis for all newer evaluations. In some groups, however, the current classification is still based on the older criteria from 1994 if they have not yet been reassessed.

For this purpose, the hazard is assessed according to at least one of the following criteria:

  • The population development over the last three generations (or the last ten years, whichever is longer).
  • The size of the range of the species combined with the question of whether the population of the species is declining, the population is highly fragmented and / or fluctuates strongly.
  • The absolute population size of the species combined with a continuous decline.
  • In the case of very small populations, only the population size.
  • A quantitative hazard analysis.

Depending on the characteristics of these criteria, the degree of risk is determined based on threshold values. For example, a smaller population size, a smaller distribution area or a more pronounced decrease in population size lead to the classification of an assessed species in a higher endangerment category. One of the criteria is sufficient in each case (or combination). If a species fulfills the limit values ​​several criteria, then the one used is used after the species has the highest hazard category.

The risk categories of IUCN since 2001:
EX   Extinct (after the year 1500 extinct )
EW   Extinct in the Wild (in nature extinct)
RE   Regionally Extinct (regional extinct)
CR   Critically Endangered (an endangered species)
EN   Endangered (high risk)
VU   Vulnerable (endangered)
NT   Near Threatened (potentially endangered)
LC   Least Concern (not endangered)
DD   Data Deficient (insufficient data basis)
NE   Not Evaluated (not assessed)


The IUCN uses the following categories, which are also used in the national Red Lists of Switzerland, Scandinavian countries, the USA and other countries. The IUCN has determined the endangerment status of around 5 percent of all species described. Vertebrates, especially birds , mammals , amphibians and cartilaginous fish , but also cicadas , conifers and lobsters have been particularly well studied . So far, the fungi have been very poorly investigated , of which only 160 species have been assessed (as of 2019). So there are species groups in the Red List that are clearly underrepresented.

The categories "threatened with extinction" (critically endangered) , "high risk" (endangered) and "at risk" (vulnerable) can be combined to increase the number of "vulnerable" species indicate (threatened).

EX   extinct, there is no living individual left in the world
EW   extinct in nature, there are only individuals in culture, in captivity or in naturalized populations outside the natural range
RE   regionally extinct, in national and regional Red Lists the equivalent of "extinct in nature"
CR   critically endangered, extremely high risk of extinction in nature in the immediate future
EN   Endangered, very high risk of extinction in nature in the immediate future
VU   endangered, high risk of extinction in nature in the immediate future
NT   potentially endangered, the assessment did not lead to classification in the categories critically endangered, endangered or endangered, but the threshold values ​​were only just undercut or will likely be exceeded in the near future
LC   not endangered, the assessment did not result in classification into the categories critically endangered, critically endangered, endangered or potentially endangered
DD   insufficient data basis, the available information is insufficient for an assessment of the risk of extinction
NE   not assessed, the species exists, but no assessment has been made, for example for invasive species

Germany

Categorization of the BfN for the creation of a red list for areas in Germany

The endangerment of species is reflected in the classification in the red list categories developed by the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN). Mean:

0   extinct or lost
1   from the extinction threatened
2   endangered
3   endangered
G   Endangerment of unknown extent
R   extremely rare
V   Warning list (still not at risk, various factors could lead to a risk in the next ten years)
*   safe
D   Insufficient data
  not rated

The lists reflect the hazard situation in Germany or the relevant federal state. This is particularly important for category 0. This means here that the species has become extinct in the corresponding region. Since there are only extremely few endemic species in Germany , other populations usually exist elsewhere. In contrast to the IUCN category, it is “only” local extinction.

In contrast to this, older editions of the national Red Lists or those of the federal states indicate a status:

4   potentially endangered (only for Red Lists of the federal states; should be replaced by R in future)
*   occurring (indigenous or archaeophytic ) and not endangered
n   neophyte ; newly naturalized in the respective federal state (after 1492)
u   inconsistent nature; not permanently naturalized in the respective federal state
#   may be expected, but not yet proven
-   Not occurring in the respective area

Comparison of the hazardous situations in Europe

Fern and flowering plants

rank Country endangered / extinct
1 Albania 3%
1 Greece 3%
3 Croatia 4%
3 Belarus (Belarus) 4%
5 Bulgaria 5%
5 Ireland 5%
5 Slovenia 5%
8th Estonia 6%
9 Iceland 8th %
9 Romania 8th %
11 Ukraine 9%
11 Hungary 9%
13 Norway 10%
14th Bosnia Herzegovina 11%
14th Italy 11%
14th Lithuania 11%
17th Denmark 12%
17th Poland 12%
19th Great Britain 13%
20th Latvia 14%
21st Liechtenstein 16%
21st Malta 16%
21st Sweden 16%
21st Spain 16%
25th Belgium 26%
25th Netherlands 26%
27 Germany 28%
28 Switzerland 32%
29 Luxembourg 35%
29 Austria 35%
31 Czech Republic 50%
32 Finland 61%
33 Slovakia 77%

The proportion of plants native to a given country that have to be listed in a hazard category or have already become extinct ranges from 3% in Albania and Greece to 77% in Slovakia.

The Red Lists in Albania , Greece , Belarus , Croatia , Slovenia , Ireland , Bulgaria , Estonia , Romania , Iceland , Hungary and the Ukraine indicate that fern and flowering plants are less than 10% endangered or extinct .

With over 30% endangered or extinct fern and flowering plants, Switzerland , Austria , Luxembourg , the Czech Republic , Finland and Slovakia bring up the rear in Europe.

Mammals

The endangerment situation for mammals is grouped in the comparison of the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation:

  • 0-25% endangered / extinct mammal species: Bulgaria, Finland, Ireland, Norway, Hungary.
  • 26–50% endangered / extinct mammal species: Andorra, Belgium, Denmark, France, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, Spain.
  • 51–75% endangered / extinct mammal species: Germany, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Austria, Switzerland, Slovakia, Slovenia, the Czech Republic.

See also

literature

  • Miloš Anděra, Vladimir Zadraž: Endangered Animals . Werner Dausien, Hanau 1998, ISBN 3-7684-2800-1 .
  • Evzen Kus, Vaclav Pfleger: Rare and threatened animals . Gondrom, Prague 2000, ISBN 3-8112-1830-1 .
  • Dietmar Mertens: Extinct and Endangered Animals . Tessloff, Nürnberg 2005, ISBN 3-7886-0296-1 ( What is what. Volume 56).
  • Francesco Salvadori, Pierro Cozzaglio: Rare Animals . Unipart, Stuttgart 1992, ISBN 3-8122-3077-1 .
  • Kerstin Viering, Roland Knauer: picture atlas endangered animal species . Naumann & Gobel Verlagsgesellschaft mbH, Cologne 2012, ISBN 978-3-625-13359-9 .

Web links

Germany

Austria

Switzerland

Italy

United States

Other countries

Individual evidence

  1. Christoph Grüneberg, Hans-Günther Bauer, Heiko Haupt, Ommo Hüppop, Torsten Ryslavy, Peter Südbeck: Red List of Germany's Breeding Birds , 5 version . In: German Council for Bird Protection (Hrsg.): Reports on bird protection . tape 52 , November 30, 2015.
  2. ^ A b Margret Binot-Hafke et al .: Introduction and introduction to the new Red Lists. In: Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (Ed.): Red List of Endangered Animals, Plants and Mushrooms in Germany [= Nature Conservation and Biological Diversity. Issue 70 (1)]. Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN), Bonn 2009, pp. 9–18.
  3. ^ A b Francis Cordillot, Gregor Klaus: Endangered Species in Switzerland. Synthesis of the Red Lists, status 2010 , Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN), Bern 2011 Page no longer available , search in web archives: (PDF; 5.7 MB) , accessed on December 15, 2013.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.bafu.admin.ch
  4. Evžen Kůs, Václav Pfleger: Rare and threatened animals. P. 7, ISBN 3-8112-1830-1 Verlag Gondrom 2000, German 2001.
  5. Miloš Anděra, Vladimir Zadraž: Endangered animals Werner Dausien. Hanau 1998, pp. 14-17, ISBN 3-7684-2800-1 .
  6. IUCN - as of 2019
  7. The animal groups that have been most fully evaluated so far are shown
  8. mbe / ddp / dpa: Red List: Every fourth mammal species is threatened with extinction. In: Spiegel Online . October 6, 2008, accessed April 12, 2020 .
  9. Lynx pardinus in the IUCN Red List 2010
  10. ^ The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources
  11. ^ W. Kreh (1951): Loss and gain of the Stuttgart flora in the last century. Annual books of the Association for Patriotic Natural History in Württemberg 106: 69–124.
  12. R. Drost (1966): List of bird species to be particularly protected in Germany. Reports of the German Section of the International Council for Bird Conservation 6: 47–49.
  13. ^ W. Erz (1967): Particularly endangered bird species in North Rhine-Westphalia. Ornithological Notes 19: 133-138.
  14. ^ German section of the International Council for Bird Protection (DSIRV) (1971): The bird species endangered in the Federal Republic of Germany and the success of protective measures. Reports of the German Section of the International Council for Bird Conservation 11: 31–37.
  15. Herbert Sukopp (1974): “Red List” of the species of fern and flowering plants endangered in the Federal Republic of Germany (1st version). In: Natur und Landschaft 49: 315–322.
  16. Josef Blab, Eugeniusz Nowak, Herbert Sukopp, Werner Trautmann (editor) (1977): Red List of Endangered Animals and Plants in the Federal Republic of Germany. Greven: Kilda publishing house. Naturschutz aktuell 1, 67 p.
  17. Red lists of endangered biotope types, animal and plant species and plant communities. BfN Federal Agency for Nature Conservation
  18. U. Riecken, P. Finck, U. Raths, E. Schröder, A. Ssymank (2006): Red List of Endangered Biotope Types in Germany, 318 p. (Summary as PDF)
  19. Red list of endangered biotope types - current risk situation, overview table. ( Memento of the original from October 20, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (2007) @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.bfn.de
  20. ^ Red list of biotope types in Baden-Württemberg. State Institute for the Environment, Measurements and Nature Conservation Baden-Württemberg (2002) (PDF)
  21. J. Schuboth & Peterson, J. (2004): Red List of Endangered Biotope Types in Saxony-Anhalt. In: Reports of the State Office for Environmental Protection Saxony-Anhalt 39 (PDF)
  22. Information page on the Red List of Biotope Types in Austria. Federal Environment Agency (2015)
  23. Petutschnig, W. (1998): Red List of Endangered Biotope Types in Carinthia, 13 pp. (PDF)
  24. C. Keusch, G. Egger, H. Kirchmeir, M. Jungmeier, W. Petutschnig, S. Glatz, S. Aigner (2012): Update of the Red List of Endangered Biotope Types in Carinthia, 31 pp. (PDF)
  25. ^ The IUCN Red List: Categories and Criteria. International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources
  26. a b c International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (Ed.): IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria: Version 3.1. Second edition . IUCN, Gland (Switzerland) and Cambridge 2012, PDF , accessed December 15, 2013.
  27. ^ IUCN classification standards
  28. ^ A b Francis Cordillot and Gregor Klaus: Endangered Species in Switzerland. Synthesis of the Red Lists, status 2010 , Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN), Bern 2011, Annex 1 page no longer available , search in web archives: PDF; 5.7 MB , accessed December 15, 2013.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.bafu.admin.ch
  29. ^ The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved August 22, 2019 .
  30. Gerhard Ludwig, Heiko Haupt, Horst Gruttke and Margret Binot-Hafke: Methodology of the risk analysis for red lists . In: Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (Ed.): Nature Conservation and Biological Diversity . Münster 2009 ( bfn.de [PDF]).
  31. a b Gerhard Ludwig et al .: Methodology of the risk analysis for red lists . In: Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (Ed.): Red List of Endangered Animals, Plants and Mushrooms in Germany [= Nature Conservation and Biological Diversity, Issue 70 (1)] , Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN), Bonn 2009, pp. 23–71.
  32. Proportion of extinct and endangered fern and flowering plants in Europe. ( Memento of the original from September 29, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (2006), accessed on September 25, 2016. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.bfn.de
  33. Proportions of extinct and endangered mammal species in Europe. ( Memento of the original from September 29, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (2006), requested on September 25, 2016. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.bfn.de