A large-scale analysis of Madagascar's unique biodiversity has just been conducted with the participation of over 50 international organizations. Madagascar is one of the world's biodiversity hotspots, with 82% of its plant species and 90% of its vertebrates found nowhere else on Earth. The results of the study, which rely on AI-based tools developed by Daniele Silvestro of the Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics and his team at the University of Fribourg, were published in two papers in the journal Science. They reveal an urgent need for science-based collaborative conservation measures. The researchers formulate proposals for future actions in this direction . Combining recent resources and state-of-the-art techniques to predict species conservation status, the international team assessed threats to terrestrial and freshwater biodiversity, and then examined future conservation and restoration opportunities. Daniele Silvestro, group leader of the Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics (SIB), and his team contributed by predicting the extinction risk and potential threats for 6000 Malagasy plant species.
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