Data from: Incorporating explicit geospatial data shows more species at risk of extinction than the current Red List

The IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Red List
classifies species according to their risk of extinction, informing global
to local conservation decisions. Unfortunately, important geospatial data
do not explicitly or efficiently enter this process. Rapid growth in the
availability of remotely sensed observations provides fine-scale data on
elevation and increasingly sophisticated characterizations of land cover
and its changes. These data readily show that species are likely not
present within many areas within the overall envelopes of their
distributions. Additionally, global databases on protected areas inform
how extensively ranges are protected. We selected 586 endemic and
threatened forest bird species from six of the world’s most biodiverse and
threatened places (Atlantic Forest of Brazil, Central America, Western
Andes of Colombia, Madagascar, Sumatra, and Southeast Asia). The Red List
deems 18% of these species to be threatened (15 critically endangered, 29
endangered, and 64 vulnerable). Inevitably, after refining ranges by
elevation and forest cover, ranges shrink. Do they do so consistently? For
example, refined ranges of critically endangered species might reduce by
(say) 50% but so might the ranges of endangered, vulnerable, and
nonthreatened species. Critically, this is not the case. We find that 43%
of species fall below the range threshold where comparable species are
deemed threatened. Some 210 bird species belong in a higher-threat
category than the current Red List placement, including 189 species that
are currently deemed nonthreatened. Incorporating readily available
spatial data substantially increases the numbers of species that should be
considered at risk and alters priority areas for conservation.