Safeguarding fish, plant and pollinator biodiversity: How the Albuquerque BioPark Species Survival Hub is expanding the conservation reach of zoos and aquaria
By Anna Walker, Clayton Meredith, and Tim Lyons, New Mexico BioPark Society.
The New Mexico BioPark Society (NMBPS) Species Survival Hub has employed three full-time staff members, who are working closely with the IUCN Species Survival Commission (IUCN SSC) to conserve threatened species by applying the Assess, Plan, and Act conservation cycle. Clayton Meredith, Tim Lyons, and Anna Walker are based at the Albuquerque (ABQ) BioPark, a zoo, botanic garden, and aquarium, which brings in over a million visitors every year.
Albuquerque BioPark SSO Team
As a Species Survival Hub, we work with relevant SSC Specialist Groups to support red list assessment efforts for target taxa, including freshwater fishes, medicinal plants, and invertebrate pollinators. To date, we have contributed to over 1,500 red list assessments and have taken a lead role in providing technical red list support and training to experts within the SSC network. Our work is broad in scope and has contributed to the understanding of extinction risk for fireflies, butterflies, and medicinal plants in North America, moths in the Hawaiian Islands, and freshwater fishes throughout Mexico, Latin America, the Caribbean, and Southeast Asia. We contribute further to the conservation of these groups by publishing reports on key findings to aid in conservation priority setting. We are also trained in conservation planning facilitation, allowing us to develop holistic conservation plans with input from a broad range of stakeholders.
Moreover, as an Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) accredited facility, we have the capacity to implement crucial conservation actions, such as providing ex-situ conservation facilities, participating in AZA SAFE programs, and contributing to research. For example, as a result of our involvement in a comprehensive red list assessment of Mexico’s freshwater fish species, the BioPark’s Aquatic Conservation Facility (ACF) became home to several species of threatened Goodeids. Also known as Splitfins, these small-bodied fishes are largely endemic to the Central Mexican Plateau, where most species have suffered from competition with invasive species and habitat loss. One of the species housed at the ACF, the Tequila Splitfin (Zoogoneticus tequila), was once extinct in the wild and continues to rely on reintroduction efforts to bolster population numbers. Thanks to the dedicated staff at the ACF, our facility now provides an extra safeguard for this species. Other action component projects we support include citizen science-driven butterfly monitoring and rare plant seed collection.
Ameca Splendens - BioPark’s Aquatic Conservation Facility (ACF)
In the few years that the NMBPS Species Survival Hub has been operational, we have built relationships with allies both inside the IUCN SSC and across the global conservation community at large. Access to this community, combined with technical expertise, and our ability to facilitate each step of the Assess, Plan, Act cycle for species conservation enables us to act as an organizational center in support of existing and future conservation initiatives. We are equipped to provide key red list assessment training, support, and coordination to develop Species Survival Hubs, and link those engaged in National and Global Red Listing projects to the resources they need. We look forward to incorporating proven conservation approaches with innovative solutions to expand the current capacity for conservation assessment, planning, and action across the globe. We are committed to reversing current trends in biodiversity loss.
(11/13/2020)