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"Davies, Katharine"
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Extinction risk to the endemic trees of Papua New Guinea
2023
Societal Impact Statement Papua New Guinea has a diverse tree flora. Now for the first time we know that 460 (36%) of its endemic tree species are threatened with extinction in the wild. These trees require immediate conservation action, through a variety of methods. Protection of trees is essential in Papua New Guinea as many people across the country rely on them for their livelihoods. Additionally, the extinction of these species would mean the loss of unique biodiversity. With the majority of forest cover still remaining in Papua New Guinea, it presents an almost unique opportunity to save tree diversity at a large scale and should therefore be at the forefront of the conservation agenda. Summary Papua New Guinea is one of the world's most tree diverse countries, with over 1,200 endemic tree species. However, forests within the country face a range of threats but the impact of these threats on individual tree species has yet to be studied. Without identifying which species are threatened, where they are and their major threats it is not possible to effectively prioritise conservation actions for the trees of Papua New Guinea. The Global Tree Assessment for Papua New Guinea produced International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List assessments for over 90% of tree species endemic to Papua New Guinea. The assessments compiled information on extinction risk, major threats, conservation and research needs for the country's tree flora. Four hundred and sixty tree species are threatened with extinction, including 143 Critically Endangered species. This is 36% of the country's endemic tree flora. The majority of tree species are threatened by annual‐perennial non‐timber crop farming, logging and establishment of wood and pulp plantations. The change in land use instigated by these threats causes lowland tropical/sub‐tropical forest to be the most threatened habitat types for trees. To protect Papua New Guinea's diverse tree flora, a range of conservation activities are required. Both in situ and ex situ conservation efforts, which are species specific, are needed and activities should be supported on a local, national and international level with continued and expanded collaboration between international NGOs and botanists and specialists working in Papua New Guinea. Papua New Guinea has a diverse tree flora. Now for the first time we know that 460 (36%) of its endemic tree species are threatened with extinction in the wild. These trees require immediate conservation action, through a variety of methods. Protection of trees is essential in Papua New Guinea as many people across the country rely on them for their livelihoods. Additionally, the extinction of these species would mean the loss of unique biodiversity. With the majority of forest cover still remaining in Papua New Guinea, it presents an almost unique opportunity to save tree diversity at a large scale and should therefore be at the forefront of the conservation agenda.
Journal Article
Conservation Action Tracker: A tool to identify and monitor conservation actions for tree species
2024
Premise The GlobalTree Portal, hosted by Botanic Gardens Conservation International, provides access to information on the approximately 58,000 tree species worldwide. Included in the GlobalTree Portal is the Conservation Action Tracker, a dynamic and collaborative database to identify and monitor conservation actions for tree species globally. Methods The Conservation Action Tracker collates conservation action information at the species level, including species recovery/action plans, ex situ collections, propagation protocols, in situ management, species protection policy, and education/awareness campaigns. Results To date, the Conservation Action Tracker contains conservation action information for 4126 tree species, including 2161 threatened species, of which 659 are classified as Vulnerable, 783 as Endangered, and 719 as Critically Endangered. It covers conservation action information for at least one tree species in every country; however, more information is needed for 89% of Vulnerable, 87% of Endangered, and 77% of Critically Endangered tree species. Discussion Monitoring species conservation actions can support the prioritization and scaling up of conservation practices by sharing knowledge, increasing collaboration, enabling the identification of conservation gaps, and making the information available to be used by decision‐makers. Tracking conservation actions at the species level is, therefore, essential to guide future conservation efforts. Increasing the amount of data in the Conservation Action Tracker will improve the tool's ability to guide future conservation efforts and avoid the extinction of tree species.
Journal Article
Using the Global Tree Assessment at Multiple Scales of Planning and Action
by
Davies, Katharine
,
Rivers, Malin
,
Shaw, Kirsty
in
Biodiversity
,
Biological diversity
,
Biological diversity conservation
2022
The interlinked biodiversity crisis and challenge of global climate change cannot be addressed without the management of tree species. It is crucial that we use the information now available as a result of the Global Tree Assessment to manage, conserve and restore threatened tree species and tree diversity. With over 17,500 tree species now known to be threatened with extinction, well-planned actions need to be urgently identified and implemented that target multiple species. In this review, we highlight approaches that coordinate and mobilise multi-species conservation at the taxonomic, national, regional and global levels. Only through a considerable scaling up of planning and action will we prevent the extinction of both trees and the associated plants, animals and fungi that depend on them, sustain livelihoods and ensure the ecological health of the planet.
Journal Article
Methodology for identifying the potential Alliance for Zero Extinction (AZE) tree species on a global scale
by
Starnes, Thomas
,
Davies, Katharine
,
Rivers, Malin
in
Automation
,
Biodiversity
,
Biodiversity hot spots
2024
There is a biodiversity crisis, and to prevent extinctions the most important sites to be effectively conserved must be identified. Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) include sites of importance for species survival. Alliance for Zero Extinction (AZE) sites, a subset of KBAs, contain ≥95% of the population of highly threatened species. Currently, only 47 tree species have been identified using the AZE criteria. The Global Tree Assessment, assessing the extinction risk of the world's tree species, has enabled trees to be incorporated into KBA and AZE sites. Here we present a methodology to utilize data from the IUCN Red List to identify potential AZE species for trees. This 10‐part methodology identified 2909 tree species as potential AZE species across the world, representing at least 5% of described tree species. As further tree species are assessments are published on the IUCN Red List, this methodology will be important for identifying potential AZE species. The methodology can be applied and adapted to any taxa on the IUCN Red List. This analysis serves as a prioritization mechanism for identifying species in urgent need of conservation action to prevent extinctions. The species identified can feed into national KBA identification efforts. We present a methodology to identify potential Alliance for Zero (AZE) tree species using IUCN Red List data. This methodology consists of ten different pathways and identified 2909 tree species as potential AZE tree species. The methodology can be adapted and applied to other taxa, beyond trees, and the results can feed into national Key Biodiversity Area identification efforts.
Journal Article
Students perspectives on the development and deployment of an AI-enabled service robot in long-term care
by
Hung, Lillian
,
Davies, Katharine
,
Soni, Albin
in
Artificial intelligence
,
Gerontology
,
Long term health care
2025
The need for Artificial Intelligence (AI) in gerontology education is underscored by the potential benefits it offers in addressing loneliness and supporting social connection among older adults in long-term care (LTC) homes. While the workforce in LTC is often overburdened, AI-enabled service robots present possible solutions to enhance residents’ quality of life. However, the incorporation of AI and service robots in current gerontology curricula is lacking, and the views of students on this subject remain largely unexamined. This study aims to fill this gap by capturing the perspectives of university students regarding the deployment of an AI robot, Aether, in LTC environments. In this qualitative study, we conducted focus groups with 22 university students. Our thematic analysis identified three themes: (1) Aether’s anticipated usage in geriatric care: companionship support and complementing the work of staff; (2) Challenges in using Aether: technical and emotional challenges; and (3) Solutions and future possibilities: expanding functionalities and integrating personalization features. Students expressed a positive outlook on the role of AI-enabled robots while also highlighting the necessity of addressing ethical and practical considerations. To effectively integrate AI technology in gerontology education, it is essential to understand and incorporate student perspectives, attitudes, and opinions.
Journal Article
The Progressive Aphasia Communication Toolkit (PACT): a strengths‐based approach to multidomain evaluation for intervention
by
Stark, Brielle C
,
Talbot, Richard
,
Davies, Katharine
in
Aphasia
,
Clinical medicine
,
Cognition & reasoning
2026
INTRODUCTION Assessments of communication for people living with primary progressive aphasia (PwPPA) remain limited. This work describes the development of a strengths‐based, ecologically valid instrument – the Progressive Aphasia Communication Toolkit (PACT). METHODS This work consisted of five experiments: two to develop (Experiments 1 and 2) and three to pilot (Experiments 3 to 5) a novel instrument for PPA. Ninety‐five individuals worldwide contributed to this work: 80 researchers and clinicians, nine PwPPA, and six care partners. RESULTS Experiments 1 and 2 yielded a four‐scale instrument comprising quantitative and qualitative feedback. Experiments 3 to 5 resulted in structural refinement and digitization of the tool, revealed strong PwPPA and care partner acceptance of the PACT, and demonstrated high inter‐rater agreement for general observability (91%) and perceived communication strength (85%). DISCUSSION Current findings indicate that the PACT provides a holistic profile of communication strengths for PwPPA and can guide clinicians in developing functional therapeutic targets. Highlights Instruments to evaluate communicative competence in PwPPA are centered on diagnosis and impairment. Documentation of communication strengths has direct implications for person‐centered care and behavioral intervention. The PACT was developed in partnership with expert clinicians, researchers, PwPPA, and care partners. The PACT captures functional, real‐world communication ability through a structured conversation and provides a shared framework to describe communicative competence across disciplines. Preliminary findings support that the PACT is ecologically valid, minimally burdensome, preferred by PwPPA and care partners, and clinically feasible for clinicians and researchers. Future work will serve to develop cultural‐linguistic adaptations of the PACT and investigate the instrument's validity, reliability, and feasibility as an assessment procedure for PwPPA in a larger sample.
Journal Article
Raising awareness through the Global Tree Assessment: Extinction risk of six fully assessed tree groups
2023
Societal Impact Statement Trees are essential to life on earth—playing important economic, ecological and cultural roles. However, the world is facing a biodiversity crisis, and to be able to effectively conserve tree species with limited funds, we need to know which tree species are threatened. The Global Tree Assessment has addressed this gap in knowledge through accelerating the production of International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List assessments. Analysing the results of completed taxonomic groups allows for targeted conservation. Here, we explore the extinction risk of six understudied genera with ethnobotanical uses, allowing for conservation priorities to be set. Summary To highlight the ongoing progress of the Global Tree Assessment, a synthesis of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List data has been produced for six genera (Gilbertiodendron, Humiriastrum, Liquidambar, Nectandra, Teijsmanniodendron and Tilia) which have all their tree species assessed. This was used to analyse the extinction risk within these groups with the aim of setting conservation priorities and raising awareness of genera not previously publicised in the Global Tree Assessment. The genera were chosen based on completeness, in terms of number of tree species with published IUCN Red List assessments. IUCN Red List categories, threats and uses from each species' IUCN Red List assessment were analysed. An ex situ survey was also carried out to identify species found in botanic gardens, arboreta and seed banks. Higher threat levels were found in the predominately tropical genera (Gilbertiodendron, Humiriastrum, Nectandra and Teijsmanniodendron) compared with the broadly more temperate genera (Tilia and Liquidambar). Habitat loss due to agriculture is a major threat in all genera with exploitation also a key threat to Gilbertiodendron and Tilia. Gilbertiodendron, Humiriastrum, Nectandra and Teijsmanniodendron have no threatened species conserved in ex situ collections. We have identified a need for a range of conservation measures, including collecting threatened species of these groups for ex situ conservation, to ensure no species becomes extinct. Trees are essential to life on earth—playing important economic, ecological and cultural roles. However, the world is facing a biodiversity crisis, and to be able to effectively conserve tree species with limited funds, we need to know which tree species are threatened. The Global Tree Assessment has addressed this gap in knowledge through accelerating the production of International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List assessments. Analysing the results of completed taxonomic groups allows for targeted conservation. Here, we explore the extinction risk of six understudied genera with ethnobotanical uses, allowing for conservation priorities to be set.
Journal Article
Palestinian Citizen of Israel Reflects On Being a Member of the Knesset
2022
Sami Abu Shehadeh is one of only 10 Palestinians in the 120-member Israeli Knesset (parliament). He recently came on a tour of the U.S. to share what it is like to be a Palestinian citizen of Israel, a perspective that is rarely shared. He also came to touch base with Palestinians living in the U.S., intentionally speaking in locations where there are large numbers of Palestinian Americans, such as New York, Boston, Chicago and the San Francisco Bay Area, where he spoke in Oakland on March 24.
Journal Article
The contrast swallow study: a sub-optimal investigation for identifying pharyngocutaneous fistula following laryngectomy
2025
This article aimed to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of the contrast swallow study and its role in informing management decisions in patients following laryngectomy.
A five-year retrospective case note review on all patients who underwent laryngectomy between April 2018 and July 2023 at a tertiary head and neck cancer centre.
A total of 82 patients met inclusion criteria; 22 had reported radiological evidence of a pharyngocutaneous fistula on contrast swallow study; of these only 1 developed a clinical pharyngocutaneous fistula. Of the 60 with no radiological evidence of a pharyngocutaneous fistula, 3 developed clinical pharyngocutaneous fistulas. This represents a positive predictive value of 5 per cent and a negative predictive value of 95 per cent.
In this cohort, the contrast swallow study was a sub-optimal investigation. The high NPV may support decision-making when there is little clinical suspicion, however the low PPV represents significant over-reporting and may cloud the clinical decision-making process.
Journal Article