Page 42 - GIS for Science, Volume 3 Preview

PIONEERING THE USE OF DATA TO DOCUMENT BIODIVERSITY LOSS
Human transformation of our environment is causing widespread biodiversity loss. Destruction and degradation of natural habitats, overexploitation, polluting of freshwater and marine ecosystems, and climate change are contributing to levels of extinctions not seen since an asteroid struck Earth 66 million years ago. Fraying the diverse web of life threatens our own well-being, with disease outbreaks, food and water insecurity, and catastrophic climate events just a few of the consequences. The footprint of human activities is now so pervasive that the fate of nearly all species and ecosystems hinges on our stewardship of the natural world.
A fundamental approach to managing biodiversity is to understand which individual species are most imperiled and then work to prevent their extinction. Many countries have codified the imperative of preventing extinction through endangered species legislation and policy. Effective species conservation requires three basic kinds of information: 1) taxonomic information that allows us to identify and communicate about a species, 2) distribution data that describe where a species occurs, and 3) conservation status information that describes the degree to which a species is imperiled.
The development and application of this foundational data to drive science-based biodiversity conservation is the mission and function of NatureServe, the world’s
first biodiversity information network. NatureServe was formed in the United States almost 50 years ago with the establishment of a network of programs to document the composition, distribution, and conservation status of rare and imperiled species and ecosystems. NatureServe is the hub of this network of biodiversity information programs that today operate in every US state and Canadian province. The use of shared data standards and information management systems across the network has resulted in the most comprehensive database ever created describing which species are imperiled and where they are found. These data are used every day to inform conservation plans, management actions, regulatory decisions, and public policy.
Since its inception, NatureServe has consistently applied new technology to biodiversity data management. Systems for managing shared spatial and tabular data, now in their eighth generation, allow seamless aggregation of observations recorded by field botanists, zoologists, and ecologists across state and national boundaries. These continually updated, range-wide datasets form the basis for generating the basic inputs for conservation action.
As technology has advanced, so has the power of NatureServe network data to inform biodiversity management and conservation decisions. This capability is nowhere more evident than with spatial biodiversity analyses that use the rapidly evolving capacity of GIS technology. From assessing strengths and gaps in our
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Printed US Geological Survey topographic map used to hand-record species occurrences from the Virginia Natural Heritage Program, circa the 1970s.
biodiversity observation data, developing species- habitat relationships, identifying the land management agencies with the greatest responsibility for biodiversity at risk, or evaluating the degree to which protected areas support imperiled species, GIS enables NatureServe to develop and deliver spatially explicit information to advance conservation.
Former NatureServe Chief Botanist Larry Morse computer- izing biodiversity records with punch cards in 1975.