Abstract:
Although the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria is a widely internationally used system for classifying species at high risk of extinction, the micro-organisms are still practically excluded from the appropriately enlisted taxa. The present paper provides a method, which gives means to assess microalgae threat status much more objectively than it was possible before and in this way to achieve quite high degree of generalization in work with this peculiar group of organisms. The method described below uses the widely accepted standard IUCN Red List system of categories, but proposes their assignment on the basis of a complex application of seven criteria relevant to microalgae and classical data, available for them. These criteria can be interpreted in the same way for all taxonomic groups of algae and for all possible territorial levels (local, national, regional, global). The criteria are denominated with Latin capital letters A-G and each of them has a numerical expression with values (points) ranging between 4 and 1. The final assessment of the threat status is done on the basis of the total amount of points (T), which ranges between 7 and 28. In this way each alga is supplied with a formula (a combination of letters and numbers), which indicates its threat status and in the same time outlines its most critical, “weak spots” on which special attention has to be paid when conservation measures have to be proposed. As it is exemplified in detail in the paper, the formula could be expressed in a table or in a text format, in full or in a short version, depending on the needs of the relevant studies or proposals (e.g. Anabaena lapponica Borge [VU - A3 B4 C4 D2 E2 F2 G3], or Anabaena lapponica Borge [VU - A3 B4 C4 D2 E2 F2 G3 T20], or Anabaena lapponica Borge [VU - T20]), or Anabaena lapponica Borge [VU]).
