The International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species (IUCN Red List) is the global authority on the conservation status of species around the world. The Ecology and Conservation Biology Department at Texas A&M University is proud to partner with the IUCN Red List to meet conservation goals for imperiled species around on the world. ECCB’s involvement has been particularly strong with the IUCN SSC Small Mammal Specialist Group (SMSG) and the IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group.
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (IUCN Red List), the world’s most authoritative compilation on the conservation status of species, forms the basis for Red List partnerships on biodiversity assessments. The Department of Ecology and Conservation Biology (ECCB) at Texas A&M University (TAMU) is actively working to continue, expand, and update assessment work through the development of new networks, opportunities, and projects within the context of our Applied Biodiversity Science (ABS) Program, a multidisciplinary initiative that launched with NSF funding in 2006 to prepare PhD students to be integrative conservation scholars. The ABS Program brings together faculty and students across TAMU to collaborate on research and education that supports conservation. Participants collaborate closely with governments, NGOs, and communities around the world to connect science with on-the-ground efforts to protect biodiversity, foster human-wildlife coexistence, and promote sustainable development.
ECCB is focused on fundraising initiatives to support the engagement of TAMU in global conservation efforts, which will increase efforts towards synergistic activities for the IUCN Red List Partnership. We are particularly interested in developing training programs and funded research to support undergraduate and graduate activities contributing to biodiversity assessments and using IUCN data for conservation, ecological, and biogeographical research. We are also interested in contributing to Green Status assessments and in developing new research tools to facilitate the use of the IUCN databases, through our taxonomic, informatics, and computational expertise.
Texas A&M University has been engaged in aspects of IUCN related research and assessment since 2005, through the leadership of Dr. Thomas Lacher. Dr. Lacher was Executive Director of the Center for Applied Biodiversity Science at Conservation International and supervisor of the IUCN-SSC/CI-CABS Biodiversity Assessment Unit and facilitated the IUCN partnership to TAMU. Dr. Lacher participated in international global assessment workshops, promoted IUCN value through invited presentations at national and international conferences, and led or co-authored high impact papers on IUCN value and analysis of Red List Assessments. Based upon this long-term interaction, the university became a charter Red List Partner in 2010. Dr. Lacher Co-Chairs the IUCN Small Mammal Specialist Group since 2012. The SMSG is responsible for the assessment of approximately half of all the world’s mammals. He has been active in participating in many aspects of the management of the Red List, participating as an IUCN Red List Committee member, attending the SSC Chairs meetings, the World Parks Congresses, and the World Conservation Congresses.
Costas Georghiades, Interim Vice President for Research, TAMU
Red List Partnership Executive Committee – Member
Katy Gonder, Department Head, ECCB, TAMU
Red List Partnership Executive Committee – Member Alternate
Michelle Lawing, Associate Professor, ECCB, TAMU
Red List Partnership Management Committee – Member
Kevin Njabo, Senior Research Scientist, ECCB, TAMU
Red List Partnership Fundraising Committee – Member
The International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species (IUCN Red List) is the world’s most authoritative compilation on the conservation status of species. Species assessments provide detailed information about distribution, population, ecology, and threats and use this data to determine how at-risk a species is in our changing world. IUCN Red List data has been used in many detailed reports and informed policy changes and interventions that benefit the conservation of endangered species worldwide.
The mission of the IUCN SSC Small Mammal Specialist Group (SMSG) is to serve as the “global authority on the world’s small mammals through developing a greater scientific understanding of their diversity, status and threats, and by promoting effective conservation action to secure their future”. This amazing network improves the understanding of the world’s small mammals including rodents, shrews, moles, solenodons, hedgehogs and treeshrews. Learn more at the link below!
The IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group “provides the scientific foundation to inform effective amphibian conservation action around the world.” This community of scholars produces research, assessments, conservation, and is currently producing the third Global Amphibian Assessment.
The IUCN SSC Snake Specialist Group (SSG) is “a global network of herpetologists, conservationists, government and non-government representatives, and researchers working to understand and conserve snakes.
The IUCN SSC Primate Specialist Group (PSG) works to bring together experts to protect primates worldwide, with the Section on Great Apes (SGA) specifically focusing on the conservation of great apes. TAMU ECCB works with these groups to promote conservation action on behalf of the great apes, mostly Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), based on the best-available technical information.
Re:wild is a global conservation organization that forms partnerships to protect land and recover species. They are an official partner of Texas A&M and a frequent collaboration on conservation goals.
The Applied Biodiversity Science Program was started at Texas A&M in 2007 under an NSF-IGERT to connect scholars in both the social and natural sciences. This program included regular discussion, supported research, and trained students. Learn more about the current work the ABS program is doing below!
Efforts at TAMU have contributed to the training of dozens of students, both undergraduate and graduate, in the Red List Assessment process, and TAMU is actively contributing to global assessments. Former Texas A&M M.S. student Kelsey Neam is now a Program Officer for the IUCN Global Amphibian Assessment. Other faculty at TAMU serve as experts for species assessments, participating in IUCN freshwater fish and reptile assessments, and IUCN conservation planning.
IUCN Red List Partnership Coordinator at TAMU:
A. Michelle Lawing, [email protected];
Associate Professor, Ecology and Conservation Biology
Agriculture and Life Sciences, Texas A&M University
Fabrice Kentatchime has been part of the TAMU x IUCN Red List partnership since 2024 and actively engages in primate conservation networks, contributing to the Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzee action plan and IUCN Red List assessments. As the national manager of the Cameroon Biodiversity Protection Program (CBPP), he led field research operations, supervising non-invasive genetic sampling protocols and biodiversity assessments. Fabrice developed bioinformatic pipelines and R tools for genomic analysis workflows, including scripts for genetic assignment testing, habitat suitability modeling, and geospatial trafficking route analysis. He has recruited and mentored students in conservation genomics and built collaborations with IDA Africa, Ape Action Africa, and Pandrilus Foundation. Fabrice also plays a key role in the Mbalmayo rewilding project in Cameroon, supporting efforts in forest restoration and primate reintroduction.
Maria Alejandra Hurtado Materon has been involved in the IUCN-TAMU partnership since Spring 2024 and is a member of the Small Mammal Specialist Group (SMSG). She also completed a six-month internship with Re:wild, where she developed a framework for Green Status mammal assessments. As a member of SMSG, she has completed numerous small mammal assessments, 15 already published and several more in progress. Maria developed R tools to streamline assessment workflows, recruited and mentored undergraduate researchers, and facilitated student engagement in conservation science. She has also fostered international collaborations, supporting reassessments of small mammal species in Latin America and enhancing regional capacity for global conservation efforts.
Breann Richey has been involved in the TAMU x IUCN Red List partnership since September 2024 when she began an internship with TAMU partner Re:wild as part of a National Science Foundation INTERN project. During this internship, she worked with Re:wild and the Amphibian Red List Authority (ARLA) to draft species assessments for newly described frogs from South America and Melanesia as part of the 3rd Global Amphibian Assessment (GAA3). Breann also recruited and trained a team of five undergraduate students through the Aggie Research Program (now Aggie Collaborative), mentoring them in conducting literature reviews, drafting assessments, and using GIS to create occurrence maps. All five students earned their Red List certificates and received awards for research excellence. In total, the team produced 81 assessments—36 for South America and 45 for Melanesia. Breann is a member of the Amphibian Specialist Group.
Nicole Stevens has been part of the TAMU-IUCN partnership since May 2025. She is a member of the Small Mammal Specialist Group (SMSG) and has been working on reassessing the status of small mammals in Latin America including mice, rats, shrews, and a prairie dog. To do so, she performs literature reviews, develops maps, and gathers information through international collaborations. So far, Nicole has developed assessments for around 30 species that are various stages of the approval process. She is also using IUCN Red List data as part of her dissertation to assess the global impacts of invasive species on native lizards.
TAMU is implementing an exceptionally high-priority conservation action identified in the Regional Action Plan for the Conservation of the Nigeria-Cameroon Chimpanzee. This work is being carried out through the Gangah Station.
Cameroon Biodiversity Protection Program
The Cameroon Biodiversity Protection Program (CBPP) is dedicated to improving the conservation of Nigeria-Cameroon (NC) chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes ellioti) at Mbam & Djerem National Park (MDNP) in central Cameroon.
CBPP engages local researchers and communities in protection and education efforts to increase local professional capacity.
