Data from: Remotely sensed data informs red list evaluations and conservation priorities in southeast Asia

The IUCN Red List has assessed the global distributions of the majority of the world’s amphibians, birds and mammals. Yet these assessments lack explicit reference to widely available, remotely-sensed data that can sensibly inform a species’ risk of extinction. Our first goal is to add additional quantitative data to the existing standardised process that IUCN employs. Secondly, we ask: do our results suggest species of concern—those at considerably greater risk than hitherto appreciated? Thirdly, these assessments are not only important on a species-by-species basis. By combining distributions of species of concern, we map conservation priorities. We ask to what degree these areas are currently protected and how might knowledge from remote sensing modify the priorities? Finally, we develop a quick and simple method to identify and modify the priority setting in a landscape where natural habitats are disappearing rapidly and so where conventional species’ assessments might be too slow to respond. Tropical, mainland Southeast Asia is under exceptional threat, yet relatively poorly known. Here, additional quantitative measures may be particularly helpful. This region contains over 122, 183, and 214 endemic mammals, birds, and amphibians, respectively, of which the IUCN considers 37, 21, and 37 threatened. When corrected for the amount of remaining natural habitats within the known elevation preferences of species, the average sizes of species ranges shrink to <40% of their published ranges. Some 79 mammal, 49 bird, and 184 amphibian ranges are <20,000km2—an area at which IUCN considers most other species to be threatened. Moreover, these species are not better protected by the existing network of protected areas than are species that IUCN accepts as threatened. Simply, there appear to be considerably more species at risk than hitherto appreciated. Furthermore, incorporating remote sensing data showing where habitat loss is prevalent changes the locations of conservation priorities.IUCN红色名录（IUCN Red List）已完成全球绝大多数两栖类、鸟类与哺乳类物种的全球分布评估。然而现有评估未明确纳入广泛可用的遥感数据，而此类数据可为物种灭绝风险评估提供科学依据。本研究的首要目标是为国际自然保护联盟（IUCN）现行的标准化评估流程补充更多定量数据。其次，我们试图探究：本研究结果是否揭示了比此前认知中面临更高灭绝风险的受关注物种？再者，此类评估的价值不止于单一物种层面：通过整合受关注物种的分布范围，可绘制区域保护优先级地图，我们将进一步探究当前保护地网络对这些优先级区域的覆盖程度，以及遥感数据如何改变保护优先级的划定逻辑。最后，针对自然栖息地快速消失、传统物种评估响应滞后的景观，我们开发了一套快速简便的方法，用于识别并调整保护优先级设置。东南亚大陆热带地区正面临异常严峻的生态威胁，且相关基础研究相对匮乏，在此类区域补充定量评估手段尤为必要。该区域分别拥有超过122种、183种和214种特有哺乳类、鸟类与两栖类，其中IUCN认定分别有37种、21种和37种处于受威胁状态。经依据物种已知的海拔偏好对剩余自然栖息地面积进行校正后，物种分布范围的平均面积缩减至已公布范围的40%以下。约有79种哺乳类、49种鸟类和184种两栖类的分布范围小于20000平方千米——这一面积阈值正是IUCN认定多数其他物种处于受威胁状态的标准。相较于IUCN认定的受威胁物种，此类物种并未得到现有保护地网络的更好保护。简言之，当前面临灭绝风险的物种数量远多于此前的认知。此外，纳入显示栖息地流失高发区域的遥感数据，还会改变保护优先级的划定区域。