Global Trends and Threats in the Order Scandentia Using: An Assessment Using IUCN Red List Criteria

Abstract

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is the world’s largest conservation organization. Known for their Red List of Threatened Species, the IUCN works with species specialists around the world to classify animals and plants into one of nine categories that indicate the species’ risk of extinction. The Small Mammal Specialist Group (SMSG) is a species specialist group that is focused on reassessing the orders Rodentia, Scandentia, and Eulipotyphla in time for the Global Mammal Assessment next March. I will be aiding the SMSG through an analysis of the Order Scandentia using the IUCN Guidelines for Use of the IUCN Categories and Criteria, through which I will analyze trends and threats in the conservation status of Scandentia. I will also compile known information on their ecology and role in human-wildlife interactions for the SMSG and IUCN. This project will aid the SMSG in reassessing the world’s small mammal species and will eventually be used to update the IUCN Red List. Because the Red List is used worldwide to prioritize conservation projects and funding, the project will have large-scale impacts.