New Zealand Threat Classification System
The New Zealand Threat Classification System is used by the Department of Conservation to assess conservation priorities of species in New Zealand.[1]
The system was developed because the IUCN Red List, a similar conservation status system, had some shortcomings for the unique requirements of conservation ranking in New Zealand.
Categories
Species that are ranked are assigned categories:
- Introduced and Naturalised
These are any species that are deliberately or accidentally introduced into New Zealand.
- Vagrant
Vagrants are taxa that are rare in New Zealand that have made their own way and do not breed successfully.
- Coloniser
These taxa have arrived in new Zealand without human help and reproduce successfully.
- Migrant
Migrant species are those that visit New Zealand as part of their life cycle.
- Data Deficient
This category lists taxa for which insufficient information is available to make as assessment on conservation status.
- Extinct
Taxa for which there is no reasonable doubt that no individuals exist are ranked as extinct. For these lists only species that have become extinct since 1840 are listed.
- Threatened
This category has three major divisions:
- Acutely Threatened
This division is further broken down into:
- Nationally Critical - equivalent to the IUCN category of Critically endangered
- Nationally Endangered - equivalent to the IUCN category of Endangered
- Nationally Vulnerable - equivalent to the IUCN category of Vulnerable
- Chronically Threatened
This has two categories:
- Serious Decline
- Gradual Decline
- At Risk
This has two categories:
- Range Restricted
- Sparse
- Not Threatened
If taxa fit into none of the other categories they are listed in the Not Threatened category.
Qualifiers
A series of qualifiers are used to give additional information on the threat classification:[1]
| EW | Extinct in the Wild | Exists only in cultivation or in captivity |
| CD | Conservation Dependent | Likely to move to a higher threat category if current management ceases |
| DP | Data Poor | Confidence in the listing is low due to the poor data available for assessment |
| RC | Recovering | Total population showing a sustained recovery |
| ST | Stable | Total population stable |
| SO | Secure Overseas | Secure in other parts of its natural range outside New Zealand |
| TO | Threatened Overseas | Threatened in those parts of its natural range outside New Zealand |
| HI | Human Induced | Present distribution is a result of direct or indirect human activity |
| RF | Recruitment Failure | Current population may appear stable but the age structure is such that catastrophic declines are likely in the future |
| EF | Extreme Fluctuations | Extreme unnatural population fluctuations, or natural fluctuations overlaying human-induced declines, that increase the threat of extinction |
| OL | One Location | Found at one location (geographically or ecologically distinct area) in which a single event (e.g. a predator irruption) could soon affect all individuals of the taxon |
See also
References
- ^ a b Molloy, Janice (2002). "Classifying species according to threat of extinction. A system for New Zealand" (pdf). Department of Conservation (New Zealand). Retrieved 2008-02-29.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help)