IUCN SSC New World Marsupial Specialist Group

2016-2017 Report

Gabriel Martin

Chair Mission statement Acknowledgements Gabriel Martin The New World Marsupials Specialist Group is We are thankful with IUCN SSC for all support an international network of specialists who given to us. Location/Affiliation undertake research on American marsupials Centro de Investigación Esquel de Montaña y which mission is to generate information on Targets for the quadrennium 2017-2020 marsupial biology, identify gaps in their Estepa Patagónica (CIEMEP), CONICEP-UNPSJB, Conservation action Argentina knowledge, and provide evaluations for their Conservation activities: generate a conserva- effective conservation and management. tion plan for New World marsupials, combining Number of members geographic information with ecological, Main activities by Key Priority Area 18 physiological and other natural history data, (2016 & 2017) which should set a framework to identify areas Barometer of life of taxonomic singularity and richness, increase L Red List our knowledge on different ecological traits i. During this period our target was to reassess (e.g., reproduction, feeding), and help define all New World marsupial species. This implied species where conservation efforts should be an agreement on a set taxonomy, which in- implemented. creased the number of species from the previ- ous assessment from 104 to 111. Of these new Projected impact for the quadrennium species, four correspond to new taxonomic ar- 2017-2020 rangements by splitting, but three are new spe- Information on the natural history of New World cies discovered and described in recent years. marsupials is increasing, as more researchers These new species were mostly assessed as turn their attention to them. The generation of Least Concern (LC), but two of them were as- a conservation plan should allow us to identify sessed as Vulnerable (VU). The status of five areas where more research is needed, and species changed from the last reassessment, provide sound information/data for a better with two species moving from Least Concern understanding of the natural history of New (LC) to Near Threatened (NT), two moving to World marsupials in general, and their conser- less threatened categories (i.e., from VU to NT, vation needs in particular. and from NT to LC), and one to Data Deficient (DD). Overall, the number of taxa in the less threatened categories has slightly increased, and so has our information on Data Deficient taxa (from 17 to 15 species). Although the per- centages are small, this shows that our knowl- edge of each species is increasing, allowing us a more precise reassessment. (KSR #1) Summary of activities (2016-2017)

Key Priority Area ratio: 1/7 Key Priority Areas addressed:

• Barometer of life (1 activity) Main KSRs addressed: 1 KSR: Key Species Result

Silky Shrew Opossum (Caenolestes fuliginosus), Least Concern Photo: NWMSG archives