title: Global conservation priorities for marine turtles.
abstract: Where conservation resources are limited and conservation targets are diverse, robust yet flexible priority-setting frameworks are vital. Priority-setting is especially important for geographically widespread species with distinct populations subject to multiple threats that operate on different spatial and temporal scales. Marine turtles are widely distributed and exhibit intra-specific variations in population sizes and trends, as well as reproduction and morphology. However, current global extinction risk assessment frameworks do not assess conservation status of spatially and biologically distinct marine turtle Regional Management Units (RMUs), and thus do not capture variations in population trends, impacts of threats, or necessary conservation actions across individual populations. To address this issue, we developed a new assessment framework that allowed us to evaluate, compare and organize marine turtle RMUs according to status and threats criteria. Because conservation priorities can vary widely (i.e. from avoiding imminent extinction to maintaining long-term monitoring efforts) we developed a "conservation priorities portfolio" system using categories of paired risk and threats scores for all RMUs (n = 58). We performed these assessments and rankings globally, by species, by ocean basin, and by recognized geopolitical bodies to identify patterns in risk, threats, and data gaps at different scales. This process resulted in characterization of risk and threats to all marine turtle RMUs, including identification of the world's 11 most endangered marine turtle RMUs based on highest risk and threats scores. This system also highlighted important gaps in available information that is crucial for accurate conservation assessments. Overall, this priority-setting framework can provide guidance for research and conservation priorities at multiple relevant scales, and should serve as a model for conservation status assessments and priority-setting for widespread, long-lived taxa.
authors.affiliation: IUCN/SSC Marine Turtle Specialist Group, Arlington, Virginia, United States of America. b.wallace@conservation.org
authors.forename: Bryan P
authors.initials: BP
authors.lastname: Wallace
authors.forename: Andrew D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: DiMatteo
authors.forename: Alan B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Bolten
authors.forename: Milani Y
authors.initials: MY
authors.lastname: Chaloupka
authors.forename: Brian J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Hutchinson
authors.forename: F Alberto
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Abreu-Grobois
authors.forename: Jeanne A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Mortimer
authors.forename: Jeffrey A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Seminoff
authors.forename: Diego
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Amorocho
authors.forename: Karen A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Bjorndal
authors.forename: Jérôme
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bourjea
authors.forename: Brian W
authors.initials: BW
authors.lastname: Bowen
authors.forename: Raquel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Briseño Dueñas
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Casale
authors.forename: B C
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: Choudhury
authors.forename: Alice
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Costa
authors.forename: Peter H
authors.initials: PH
authors.lastname: Dutton
authors.forename: Alejandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fallabrino
authors.forename: Elena M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Finkbeiner
authors.forename: Alexandre
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Girard
authors.forename: Marc
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Girondot
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hamann
authors.forename: Brendan J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Hurley
authors.forename: Milagros
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: López-Mendilaharsu
authors.forename: Maria Angela
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Marcovaldi
authors.forename: John A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Musick
authors.forename: Ronel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Nel
authors.forename: Nicolas J
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Pilcher
authors.forename: Sebastian
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Troëng
authors.forename: Blair
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Witherington
authors.forename: Roderic B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Mast
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources / Q000379:methods*; D017753:Ecosystem; D053476:Extinction, Biological; D005260:Female; D005843:Geography; D007391:International Cooperation; D008297:Male; D009792:Oceans and Seas; D012306:Risk; D018570:Risk Assessment; D013045:Species Specificity; D014426:Turtles