Rikki

Wildlife conservationists Rikki Gumbs and James Rosindell discuss the huge amounts of evolutionary history that are under threat from human activity during this Reddit AMA – part of 51Թ Lates Online: Back to Nature

Evolutionaryhistoryisa measureofhowgenetically distinct aspeciesis. Those with largeamountsof unique evolutionary history often have little tono close living relatives. They are often ‘alone’ontheir branchof the evolutionary tree of life.

GumbsHowever,this way ofcategorisingspeciesis not just anovelfeature of theirgeneticpast. Itcan determinespecies’vulnerability to population losstoday,andtell us what theirextinctionmight mean for theecosystemstheyinhabit.Also,the greater the diversity of the tree of life,the more it tends tobenefit humanity.

As a result, evolutionary history has become a handy tool for conservation prioritisation. Previously unheralded species like Pangolins and Tapirs are being highlighted for protection due to their unique importance to their fragile ecosystems.

Buthowcan we better quantify the tree of life and measure thenumber of years ofevolutionary years threatened by theimpact of Gumbshumanactivity?In 2007, the “EDGE of Existence” programme was launched todojust this andidentifysome of themost under-threat species.As part ofthisprogramme,our team workon “EDGE lists”to identify key species, and thenwork withconservationists to implement conservation action.

During this Ask Me Anything session hosted on the sub thread, wildlife conservationists Rikki Gumbs and James Rosindell will take the public’s questions on:

  • biodiversity loss
  • conversation prioritisation
  • experiences working in the field and with local communities
  • and also, what we all, as individuals, can do to protect these valuable species through our own daily lives and consumer choices.

For a bit more information on Rikki and James’ work, some useful links are below. If you are new to Reddit but keen to take part, here is a useful

51Թ Lates Online

This event is part of 51Թ Lates Online: Back to Nature. Tune in to explore cutting-edge science and engineering in our week-long digital celebration of science from 27 July to 2 August.

51Թ Lates Online are most suitable for over 18s.

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