Biological & Biomedical Seminar | Donald Miles, Nov. 14

The Biological Sciences & Biomedical Sciences Research Seminar Series features Dr. Donald Miles discussing "Morphological correlates of extinction risk in reptiles and birds" on Nov. 14 at 4 p.m. in Irvine 159.

Miles is professor of Biological Sciences at Ohio University.

For more information, contact Dr. Sergio Alvarado Serrano .

Abstract: The integrity of regional and local biological diversity is under siege as a result of multiple anthropogenic threats. The ability of conservation biologists to ascertain the extinction risk of a species to these threats requires data on changes in distribution, abundance, life history, and ecology. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) uses these data to appraise the threat status for a species. However, many species remain data deficient (DD) or unassessed. Here, I use 14 morphological traits related to locomotor function, habitat, and feeding to predict the threat status of over 400 species of lizards in the infraorder Iguania. I used an artificial neural network (ANN) approach to generate a classification function based on the morphological traits of species with an assigned IUCN threat status. The network approach identified a model with a classification accuracy of 87.4%. Moreover, the ANN model predicted >18% of DD/not assessed species were at risk of extinction. The predicted assessments were supported by other sources of threat status, for example, Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species appendices. Because of the functional link between morphology, performance, and ecology, an ecomorphological approach may be a useful tool for rapid assessment of DD or poorly known species.