Inferring functional extinction based on sighting records

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2016-04
Authors
Jaric, Ivan
Gessner, Jörn
Solow, Andrew R.
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Acipenser nudiventris
Extinction risk
Recruitment failure
Reproductive failure
Sighting record
Abstract
The term functional extinction is used to describe a permanent failure of reproduction or recruitment in a population. Functional extinction results in a truncation of the age distribution, but this can be very difficult to detect in poorly studied populations. Here, we describe a novel statistical method for detecting functional extinction based on a sighting record of individuals of known or estimated ages. The method is based on a simple population dynamics model and simulation results show that it works well even with limited data. The method is illustrated using a sighting record of the ship sturgeon (Acipenser nudiventris) in the Danube River. The results indicate that this population is functionally extinct, most likely by 2002. Management implications of this finding are discussed.
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© The Author(s), 2016. This is the author's version of the work and is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Biological Conservation 199 (2016): 84-87, doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2016.04.034.
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Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States