• DOI:10.1038/s41559-019-0826-1
• Corpus ID: 73729029

Essential biodiversity variables for mapping and monitoring species populations

@article{Jetz2019EssentialBV,
  title={Essential biodiversity variables for mapping and monitoring species populations},
  author={Walter Jetz and Melodie A. McGeoch and Robert P. Guralnick and Simon Ferrier and Jan Beck and Mark John Costello and Miguel Fern{\'a}ndez and Gary N. Geller and Petr Keil and Cory Merow and Carsten Meyer and Frank E. Muller‐Karger and Henrique Miguel Pereira and Eugenie C Regan and Dirk S. Schmeller and Eren Turak},
  journal={Nature Ecology \& Evolution},
  year={2019},
  volume={3},
  pages={539-551}
}

• W. Jetz, M. McGeoch, +13 authors E. Turak
• Published 11 March 2019
• Environmental Science
• Nature Ecology & Evolution

Species distributions and abundances are undergoing rapid changes worldwide. This highlights the significance of reliable, integrated information for guiding and assessing actions and policies aimed at managing and sustaining the many functions and benefits of species. Here we synthesize the types of data and approaches that are required to achieve such an integration and conceptualize ‘essential biodiversity variables’ (EBVs) for a unified global capture of species populations in space and time. The inherent heterogeneity and sparseness of raw biodiversity data are overcome by the use of models and remotely sensed covariates to inform predictions that are contiguous in space and time and global in extent. We define the species population EBVs as a space–time–species–gram (cube) that simultaneously addresses the distribution or abundance of multiple species, with its resolution adjusted to represent available evidence and acceptable levels of uncertainty. This essential information enables the monitoring of single or aggregate spatial or taxonomic units at scales relevant to research and decision-making. When combined with ancillary environmental or species data, this fundamental species population information directly underpins a range of biodiversity and ecosystem function indicators. The unified concept we present links disparate data to downstream uses and informs a vision for species population monitoring in which data collection is closely integrated with models and infrastructure to support effective biodiversity assessment.Changes in species distribution and abundance can be captured using essential biodiversity variables (EBVs). Here, the authors synthesize the data and approaches needed for EBVs that allow monitoring of populations in both space and time.