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RAMAS RapidList: Preliminary Red List Assessment Tool

 
RAMAS RapidList is a simple program that provides a fast and approximate determination of the threat status of a species. RAMAS Rapid List requires a very limited set of input data, and gives the likely threat status of the taxon as one of the following three categories:
  • Likely Threatened: Likely to be in one of the IUCN Red List categories of Critically Endangered (CR), Endangered (EN), or Vulnerable (VU).
  • Likely Not Threatened: Likely to be in the IUCN Red List categories of Least Concern (LC) or Near Threatened (NT).
  • Likely Data Deficient: Likely to be in the IUCN Red List category of Data Deficient (DD).
RAMAS Rapid List is based on RAMAS Red List, which implements IUCN threatened species criteria. These rules for assigning species into categories representing different level of threat are based on information about such characteristics as number and distribution of individuals, fluctuations and decline in abundance and distribution, and risk of extinction. The data are entered into the program in four pages (windows):
  • Taxonomy: Species name, and taxonomic details (family, order, class, etc.)
  • Assessment: Names of assessors and evaluators; date and type of assessment.
  • Ecology: Generation length, life history information, distribution and counties of occurrence, habitats, threats, conservation measures, etc.
  • Data and Status: Data on population size, trends, and distribution used by the program to calculate the status (see below). This is the main window for entering the relevant data.

Using the program

For each of the parameters in the "Data and Status" window, select one of the choices (such as "20 to 19,999 km2"). The edit box on the far right will then contain the corresponding range (interval) of values. For example, if you selected "20 to 19,999 km2" for Extent of Occurrence (EOO), the edit box will contain [20,19999].

If you have additional information, we strongly recommend that you edit this value to reflect that information. For example, if you know that EOO is about 2000 km2, you can enter this information in one of the following ways:

  • 2000 if you are quite sure of the value;
  • [1000,3000] if you believe it is between 1000 and 3000 km2, but you are not sure of the exact value;
  • [1000,2000, 3000] if you believe it is between 1000 and 3000 km2, and your best guess is that it is 2000 km2.
Note if you specify more than one value (e.g., an interval), you have to separate them with commas and enclose them in square brackets.

We strongly recommend:
  • Try to specify as many parameters as possible, do not leave any parameters "ignored".
  • Whenever you have information, enter a value in the edit box on the right (see above), instead of selecting one of the choices on the left.
The last three parameters (Continuing decline, Extreme fluctuations, and Severely fragmented) are logical (true-false) parameters. For the values of these parameters, you can enter "yes", "no", "true", "false", or "truth(x)", where x is a number ranging from 0 (false) to 1 (true).

Next, click on the "Calculate" button. The program will display the likely threat status and the criteria that are likely to be met. It is important to remember that this status is only a preliminary assessment.

Next, click on the "Save to File" button. This will save the information in two different files:

  1. The information will be added to a file named RapidList.CSV file. You can open this file using a spreadsheet program such as Microsoft Excel.
  2. The information will be saved in a RAMAS Red List Taxon File. The file extension (type) will be RED, and the program will ask for a filename. You can open this file in RAMAS Red List for making a full Red List assessment.
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©2007 by Applied Biomathematics

Date modified: 9-7-07