The EDGE2 protocol: Advancing the prioritisation of Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered species for practical conservation action

• Published in: PLoS biology Vol. 21; no. 2; p. e3001991
• Main Authors: Gumbs, Rikki, Gray, Claudia L, Böhm, Monika, Burfield, Ian J, Couchman, Olivia R, Faith, Daniel P, Forest, Félix, Hoffmann, Michael, Isaac, Nick J B, Jetz, Walter, Mace, Georgina M, Mooers, Arne O, Safi, Kamran, Scott, Oenone, Steel, Mike, Tucker, Caroline M, Pearse, William D, Owen, Nisha R, Rosindell, James
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 28.02.2023; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Analysis; Animals; Biodiversity; Biological diversity conservation; Biological effects; Biological Evolution; Biology and Life Sciences; Computer and Information Sciences; Consensus View; Conservation; Ecology and Environmental Sciences; Endangered & extinct species; Endangered Species; Evolution; Extinction; Extinction (Biology); Humanities; Mammals; Methods; Phylogenetics; Phylogeny; Protection and preservation; Reptiles & amphibians; Species extinction; Threatened species; Wildlife conservation; United States; United Kingdom
• ISSN: 1545-7885; 1544-9173; 1545-7885
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3001991

The conservation of evolutionary history has been linked to increased benefits for humanity and can be captured by phylogenetic diversity (PD). The Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered (EDGE) metric has, since 2007, been used to prioritise threatened species for practical conservation that embody large amounts of evolutionary history. While there have been important research advances since 2007, they have not been adopted in practice because of a lack of consensus in the conservation community. Here, building from an interdisciplinary workshop to update the existing EDGE approach, we present an "EDGE2" protocol that draws on a decade of research and innovation to develop an improved, consistent methodology for prioritising species conservation efforts. Key advances include methods for dealing with uncertainty and accounting for the extinction risk of closely related species. We describe EDGE2 in terms of distinct components to facilitate future revisions to its constituent parts without needing to reconsider the whole. We illustrate EDGE2 by applying it to the world's mammals. As we approach a crossroads for global biodiversity policy, this Consensus View shows how collaboration between academic and applied conservation biologists can guide effective and practical priority-setting to conserve biodiversity.