Although climate change receives a lot of attention, it is but one of many ongoing and growing threats to biodiversity. In our lab we take an integrative approach to understanding threats to vulnerable species. Our goal is to identify these threats, develop methods to predict their effect and potential future intensity, and design tools to help conservationists ameliorate threats.
Example publications
Morelli*, T.L., Smith*, A.B., Mancini, A.N., Balko, E. A., Borgenson, C., Dolch, R., Farris, Z., Federman, S., Golden, C.D., Holmes, S., Irwin, M., Jacobs, R.L., Johnson, S., King, T., Lehman, S., Louis, E.E. Jr., Murphy, A., Randriahaingo, H.N.T., Lucien, Randriannarimanana, H.L.L., Ratsimbazafy, J., Razafindratsima, O.H., and Baden, A.L. 2020. The fate of Madagascar’s rainforest habitat. Nature Climate Change 10:89-96. * Equal contribution article | “behind the paper” | Washington Post | National Geographic | The Conversation | EurekAlert! | ScienceDaily
Frances, A., Smith, A.B., and Khoury, C. 2018. Conservation status and threat assessments for North American crop wild relatives. Pp. 189-208 in North American Crop Wild Relatives: Conservation and Use (Springer, New York). pre-print | book
Kitzes, J., Berlow, E., Conlisk, E., Erb, K., Iha, K., Martinez, N., Newman, E.A., Plutzar, C., Smith, A.B., and Harte, J. 2017. Consumption-based conservation targeting: Linking biodiversity loss to upstream demand through a global wildlife footprint. Conservation Letters 10:531-538. open access | kudos
Hernández-Yáñez, H., Kos, J.T., Bast, M.D., Griggs, J.L., Hage, P.A., Killian, A.,Whitmore, M.B., Loza, M. L., Smith, A.B. 2016. A systematic assessment of threats affecting the rare plants of the United States. Biological Conservation 203:260-267. article page | kudos | St. Louis Public Radio 90.7 KWMU | Inside Science
Huntley, B., Foden, W.B., Smith, A.B., Platts, P., Watson, J. and Garcia, R.A. 2016. Chapter 5. Using CCVAs and interpreting their results. In W.B. Foden and B.E. Young, editors. IUCN SSC Guidelines for Assessing Species’ Vulnerability to Climate Change. Version 1.0. Occasional Paper of the IUCN Species Survival Commission No. 59. Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK. pp 33–48. web site & pdf
Huntley, B., Foden, W.B., Pearce-Higgins, J., and Smith, A.B. 2016. Chapter 6. Understanding and working with uncertainty. In W.B. Foden and B.E. Young, editors. IUCN SSC Guidelines for Assessing Species’ Vulnerability to Climate Change. Version 1.0. Occasional Paper of the IUCN Species Survival Commission No. 59. Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK. pp 49–56. web site & pdf
Ulrey, C., Quiantana-Ascencio, P.F., Kauffman, G., Smith, A.B., and Menges, E.S. 2016. Life at the top: Long-term demography, microclimatic refugia, and responses to climate change for a high-elevation southern Appalachian endemic plant. Biological Conservation 200:80-92. article
Smith, A.B., Long, Q.G., and Albrecht, M.A. 2016. Shifting targets: spatial priorities for ex situ plant conservation depend on interactions between current threats, climate change, and uncertainty. Biodiversity & Conservation 25:905-922. article
Brandt, L., He, H., Iverson, L., Thompson, F., Butler, Patricia, Handler, S., Janowiak, M., Swanston, C., Albrecht, M., Blume-Weaver, R., Dijak, B., Deizman, P., DePuy, J., Dinkel, G., Fei, S., Jones-Farrand, T., Leahy, M., Matthews, S., Nelson, P., Oberle, B., Perez, J., Peters, M., Prasad, A., Schneiderman, J.E., Shuey, J., Smith, A.B., Studyvin, C., Tirpak, J., Walk, J., Wang, W., Watts, L., Weigel, D., Westin, S. 2014. Central Hardwoods ecosystem vulnerability assessment and synthesis: A report from the Central Hardwoods Climate Change Response Framework project. General Technical Report NRS-124, Newtown Square, PSA, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station. open access