Format: ORAL

Ana Gabriela Martnez-Becerril1 Alejandra Vasco2

1 Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Ciudad de México. 2 Botanical Research Institute of Texas. Fort Worth, Texas. USA.

Ferns are indicators of ecological deterioration, as environmental alterations can directly impact their distribution and population density. Studies on the status and conservation priorities of ferns in the Global South are few despite its great diversity in this region. The accelerated loss of biodiversity, particularly in highly diverse countries like those in the American tropics, emphasizes the need to update local fern information and conduct thorough studies to better understand the conservation status of these plants. With 600 species, Elaphoglossum is a hyperdiverse fern genus distributed worldwide. In the American tropics, it represents a significant component of the flora with 450 species reported. Elaphoglossum is one of the most diverse fern genera in Mexico with 71 species reported, 16 of which are endemic. To contribute to the conservation of the Mexican Elaphoglossum, we conducted evaluations for all species based on the categories of the IUCN Red List. We downloaded over 7000 records of Elaphoglossum from Mexico through different open-access specimen databases, including GBIF, Pteridoportal, and IBdata. Detailed curation of the datasets involved retaining only accepted names (without synonyms) and removing duplicated records and records from taxa not reported for Mexico or lacking geographic coordinates. The final database included around 4400 unique records. Our preliminary Red List assessment for the 71 reported species in Mexico shows that 90% of them, including all endemics, are threatened 41 critically endangered (CR), 14 endangered (EN), and 16 lacking sufficient data for evaluation. The main factor contributing to the threat in Mexico is the loss or degradation of habitat due to human activities and overpopulation. Enhanced curatorial efforts of the herbarium collections and updated field collections, will contribute to the accuracy of future assessments.