What Role Do Threatened Species Lists Play in New Zealand Conservation?

Abstract

Threatened species' lists have been consistently reviewed as easily misused, inappropriately applied, counterproductive, and reflecting changes in knowledge more often than changes in threat status (Burgman, 2002; de Grammont and Cuaron, 2006; Possingham et al., 2002; Seminoff and Shanker, 2008). However, with limited resources to deal with endangered species, effective conservation decision-making needs a means of determining where priorities lie. The EDGE list of the world's most ?Evolutionary Distinct? and ?Globally Endangered? amphibians ranks New Zealand's endemic Archey's Frog Leiopelma archeyi at the top of its list (www.edgeofexistence.org/ amphibians/top_100.php). What role should this ranking or any other threatened species list play in determining conservation priorities in New Zealand?