Multinational evaluation of genetic diversity indicators for the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.

Under the recently adopted Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, 196 Parties committed to reporting the status of genetic diversity for all species. To facilitate reporting, three genetic diversity indicators were developed, two of which focus on processes contributing to genetic diversity conservation: maintaining genetically distinct populations and ensuring populations are large enough to maintain genetic diversity. The major advantage of these indicators is that they can be estimated with or without DNA-based data. However, demonstrating their feasibility requires addressing the methodological challenges of using data gathered from diverse sources, across diverse taxonomic groups, and for countries of varying socio-economic status and biodiversity levels. Here, we assess the genetic indicators for 919 taxa, representing 5271 populations across nine countries, including megadiverse countries and developing economies. Eighty-three percent of the taxa assessed had data available to calculate at least one indicator. Our results show that although the majority of species maintain most populations, 58% of species have populations too small to maintain genetic diversity. Moreover, genetic indicator values suggest that IUCN Red List status and other initiatives fail to assess genetic status, highlighting the critical importance of genetic indicators.

GABB: A global dataset of alpine breeding birds and their ecological traits.

Alpine ecosystems represent varied climates and vegetation structures globally, with the potential to support rich and functionally diverse avian communities. High mountain habitats and species are under significant threat from climate change and other anthropogenic factors. Yet, no global database of alpine birds exists, with most mountain systems lacking basic information on species breeding in alpine habitats, their status and trends, or potential cryptic diversity (i.e., sub-species distributions). To address these critical knowledge gaps, we combined published literature, regional monitoring schemes, and expert knowledge from often inaccessible, data-deficient mountain ranges to develop a global list of alpine breeding bird species with their associated distributions and select ecological traits. This dataset compiles alpine breeding records for 1,310 birds, representing 12.0% of extant species and covering all major mountain regions across each continent, excluding Antarctica. The Global Alpine Breeding Bird dataset (GABB) is an essential resource for research on the ecological and evolutionary factors shaping alpine communities, as well as documenting the value of these high elevation, climate-sensitive habitats for conserving biodiversity.