The IUCN Red List provides an authorative and comprehensive methodology for assessing the conservation status of a species. As yet, only a tiny fraction of known species have been assessed according to the Red List criteria, and tools for accelerating preliminary assessments are needed.
This paper introduces a new R package–ConR–for conducting large-scale, preliminenary multispecies conservation assessments based on sets of species distribution data from e.g. GBIF. Using four functions operating on datasets of species occurrences, ConR returns estimates for extent of occurence (EOO), area of occupancy (AOO), number of locations–all main parameters of Red List criterion B–as well as a preliminary threat category with details of the subcriteria this is based on. If desired, ConR will return images visualizing the results graphically, useful for including in a formal submission to the IUCN.
Providing means of carrying out preliminary Red List assessments simulatanously for hundreds or even thousands of spieces, ConR is novel, timely tool for conservation communities.