The 2022 edition of World Wildlife Day focuses on the importance of recovering key species for ecosystem restoration, seeking to draw attention to the conservation status of some of the most critically endangered species of wild fauna and flora. By enabling collaborations between researchers across borders, COST Actions are strategic bubbles of innovation tackling climate change issues and helping advancing research around biodiversity conservation.
Based on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, it is suggested that over a million species are risking extinction. In parallel, humanity relies on nature as the source of its livelihood and economic opportunities. As timing gets more critical, the need to go beyond conservation tactics and enable the restoration of damaged ecosystems becomes crucial. To put this in motion, advancing research on a broad range of activities is necessary to address restoration in a complete and comprehensive manner. This article features the activities of three COST Actions covering topics from genetic diversity to protecting wild and aquatic species.
Supporting genetic diversity
“Ecosystem restoration is intimately connected to our capacity to make rapid and effective interventions targeting the many species contributing to ecosystem functions. In this respect, a central role is played by genetic diversity maintained within any single species.”
Cristiano Vernesi, Chair of COST Action on Genetic monitoring of wild and captive populations (G-BiKE).
A species can cope with the multiple threats posed by climate and land use change only if provided with enough genetic diversity. Unfortunately, this basic level of biodiversity – the genetic diversity – has been overlooked in each of the major policies related to biodiversity management and protection such as those ratified by the parties of the Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD).
COST Action G-BiKE is actively involved in introducing genetic diversity and how it can be measured and monitored in the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework of CBD, to be signed later this summer.
The Action managed to introduce significant changes to the zero draft, specifically referring to genetic diversity. For an ecosystem restoration to be successful in the long term, it is crucial that it promotes nature-based solutions (e.g., gene flow) sustaining enough genetic diversity within the main key species of that ecosystem.
Protecting bats to support ecosystems
Bat conservation is significant when it comes to ecosystems restoration, due to this species importance for agriculture and biodiversity preservation.
COST Action CLIMBATS assesses how climate change is already affecting bats and what characteristics make certain bat species more sensitive than others to its impact. This Action aims at understanding how climate change will affect bat distribution and the ecosystem services they deliver. More specifically, CLIMBATS also works at modelling how climate change will change bat species distribution across Europe in the future and how this will influence insectivores in farmland.
This knowledge is critical to implement appropriate management of bat populations under climate change and preserve the highly valuable contribution they provide to agriculture and human health.
Tracking aquatic species to better understand and protect underwater ecosystems
Protection and restoration also derive from tracking wild species. When it comes to underwater species, it is vital to build a stronger knowledge on the dynamics of aquatic animals as they move between different habitats during their life. Animal tracking provides valuable data that helps the understanding of these species movement and relates it to ecosystem functioning and dynamics.
“As some species need to move over large distances, crossing jurisdictional borders, to complete their life cycle; fostering international collaborations is a strong asset to support species/habitat management and conservation.”
Dr Jan Rubens, Chair of COST Action The European Aquatic Animal Tracking Network.
The European Tracking Network‘s mission is to track aquatic animals across Europe to better understand, protect and manage them. More specifically, it works at closing the gap of international collaboration on research activities using biotelemetry to study aquatic animals and answer management-related questions.
More information
– COST Action European Tracking Network
– COST news on 2021 World Wildlife Day: COST Actions on forest management and sustaining ecosystems