Protecting megafauna: group-specific threats and conservation strategies

Megafauna are amongst the most threatened species on our planet. Understanding threats to megafauna is important to plan effective protection. Previous studies identified threats to these species, but did not define the level of risk. In this paper, I have investigated the megafauna threat level and the associated conservation measures. First, I have used a semi-quantitative approach to define megafauna species based on body mass, trophic level and system (e.g. marine, land). My initial data includes more than 24,076 species, accounting for 96.2% of the IUCN Red List data for mammals, reptiles and birds (including sub-species and sub-populations). Second, I estimated the IUCN Threat Impact Score (TIS) on the species defined as megafauna (n = 404). Finally, based on the TIS and other parameters, I investigated the most threatened megafauna to pinpoint conservation priorities and strategies for their respective functional groups. Results show that megafauna conservation priorities are category-specific. For instance, each category of species (e.g. terrestrial predator) is sensitive to specific threats and requires various levels of protection depending on a variety of parameters (e.g. spatial scale, number of threats). I propose category-specific conservation priorities and a global strategy based on six pillars of action to improve megafauna protection: education and awareness; sanctions; regulated eco-tourism, coordination; data; and climate change.