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About 20 percent of reptile species are at risk of extinction as humans deprive their habitats for agriculture, urban development and logging, according to the first global reptile assessment of its kind.

The study found that at least 1,829 reptile species are threatened, including lizards, snakes, turtles and alligators, from the inch-long lizards to the iconic king cobra.

Research, Published Wednesday in Natureadds another dimension to an important body of scientific evidence that points to a human-induced biodiversity crisis similar to climate change in the far-reaching impact it can have on life on Earth. “It’s another drumbeat on the road to ecological disaster,” said Bruce Young, co-leader of the study and a senior scientist at NatureServe, a nonprofit conservation research group. Such collapse threatens humans because healthy ecosystems provide needs such as fertile soil, pollination, and water resources.

Among reptiles, turtles and crocodiles with half, where almost 60 percent of the species are at risk of extinction, have been particularly hard hit. In addition to habitat loss, both groups are becoming extinct due to hunting and fishing.

But the results also brought a sense of relief. Scientists knew much less about the needs of reptiles than mammals, birds, and amphibians, and they feared that the results would show reptiles slipping away because they needed different protection methods. Instead, the authors were surprised at how neatly the threats to reptiles matched up with threats to other animals.

Dr. “There’s no rocket science in protecting reptiles, we have all the tools we need,” Young said. “Reduce tropical deforestation, control illegal trade, increase productivity in agriculture so we don’t have to expand our farmland. All this will help reptiles, just as it will help many, many, many other species.”

The authors suggested that climate change plays a role in the threat faced by 10 percent of the species, and that this is not currently a major factor in reptile loss. But the effects may not be underrepresented, he said.

What is clear is that if world leaders fail to adequately rein in greenhouse gas emissions, mostly from the burning of fossil fuels, reptile and similar victims of climate change will increase dramatically in the coming years. The Komodo dragon, the world’s largest lizard last September, classified as endangered largely due to rising temperatures and sea levels caused by climate change.

The reptilian review includes 52 authors with contributions from over 900 experts worldwide. It took more than 15 years, in part because funding was difficult to find.

Dr. “Reptiles are not charismatic to many people,” Young said. “There’s been a lot more focus on some of the more hairy or hairy species.”

The team ultimately evaluated 10,196 species. In 48 workshops between 2004 and 2019, groups of local experts will collect and evaluate individual species. For each reptile, the findings were reviewed by a scientist familiar with the species but not involved in the assessment, and then again by staff from the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species, the most comprehensive global catalog of animal status. and plant species.

With 21 percent of endangered species, reptiles were found to be slightly less at risk than birds (about 13 percent of species threatened with extinction) and mammals (25 percent). Suffering from serious diseases, among other effects, amphibian species are doing significantly worse, with about 40 percent of the species threatened with extinction.

Study results confirmed a previous analysis Estimated extinction risk in reptiles based on a random representative sample.

The authors found that if all reptiles were threatened with extinction, they would take 15.6 billion years of evolutionary history with them. “Now that we know the threats facing each reptile species, we can take the next step by combining global community conservation plans with a global policy agreement, investing in reversing the often underappreciated and serious biodiversity crisis,” said Neil Cox. led the study and also directs the Biodiversity Assessment Unit, a joint initiative of the IUCN and Conservation International to expand the scope of the Red List.

This year, the countries of the world New global agreement to tackle biodiversity loss. While the threats to the species are clear – razing forests for cattle and palm oil, for example – it is much more difficult for countries to agree on how to stop them. A meeting in Geneva last month resulted in frustration for many scientists and advocates who cite governments’ lack of urgency after two years of pandemic-induced delays. Organizers added another meeting in June in hopes of making progress before the final meeting later this year in Kunming, China.

Reptile research has identified hotspots for endangered reptiles in Southeast Asia, western Africa, northern Madagascar, northern Andes, and the Caribbean.

The assessment fills an important gap, said Alex Pyron, an evolutionary biologist at George Washington University who focuses on reptile and amphibian biodiversity and was not involved in the research. Dr. “This allows us to paint a much more detailed picture than was possible before,” said Pyron.

The scientists said habitat loss, particularly from deforestation, agriculture and other causes, is a far greater threat to most reptiles than factors such as pollution and climate change. Co-leader of the study, Dr. Given that “the ultimate cause is human consumption,” Young said addressing such issues will require significant changes in human behavior and economies.