For a species-level status, start with its IUCN Red List assessment. For monitored population time series, search the Living Planet Database. For records of species presence, absence, or abundance from surveys, look for datasets in GBIF. These sources answer different questions: none is a complete, comparable census of every species and region.
Choose a source based on the question
IUCN Red List: species status and assessed trend
Open the species assessment to find its population trend, population-structure description, and—when available—an estimate of mature individuals. The assessment may use indirect evidence rather than a direct count, and a numeric estimate is not available for every taxon. Check whether the assessment is global or regional and when it was made; a regional assessment does not describe the whole species range. IUCN’s supporting-information page describes assessment citations and downloadable assessment material and spatial data.
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Living Planet Database: monitored vertebrate time series
The Living Planet Database (LPD) is a repository of monitored population records for vertebrates, drawing on sources such as scientific journals, online databases, and government reports. Its portal supports searching and downloading. It is not a census of all vertebrates: a result describes the monitored record and its coverage, not every population of that species.
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Use GBIF biological survey data when you need systematically collected records of presence, absence, or abundance across locations and dates. Standardized survey data can help comparisons, but a record count is not a complete population estimate. Survey design, effort, and geographic coverage determine what the records can show.
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Red List Index: change in extinction risk
The Red List Index (RLI) tracks changes in overall extinction risk across assessed species. It does not measure population abundance, so it cannot stand in for a species population count or time series.
How to check whether a result means what you think it means
- Match the taxon. Confirm the scientific name, synonyms, and any relevant taxonomic changes. A common name can refer to a different species or population; IUCN assessment pages list scientific names and synonyms.
- Read the scope and dates. Note whether the result is global or regional, the assessment or publication date, and the years covered by the underlying observations. A recently updated page can still summarize older field data.
- Identify the measure. Mature-individual estimates, density, abundance per sample, population indices, and proxies such as nest counts are different quantities. Do not compare them as though they were interchangeable counts.
- Check the time series’ coverage. Record its length, gaps, monitoring sites, sampling method, and whether it represents one population or a broader area. The Living Planet Index documentation notes that underlying series vary in length and completeness, with shorter series for some groups.
- Keep population direction separate from extinction risk. A population described as decreasing and a species placed in a threatened category are not equivalent findings. Red List categories and the RLI concern extinction risk under assessment criteria; population trend describes direction of change.
- Treat missing information as missing. “Unknown,” “Data Deficient,” or no estimate does not establish stability or absence. Look for a cited assessment, monitoring report, or original study, and state what its evidence covers.
Compare like with like
Before comparing two claims, line up the scientific taxon and population boundary, geography, years covered, assessment or publication date, measure, method, sampling effort, series completeness, and uncertainty. Also establish whether each figure is a direct estimate, a proxy, or an aggregate indicator. If those details differ, the figures may describe different things even when both use the same species name.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the Living Planet Index’s 73% figure says
The Zoological Society of London and WWF reported a 73% average decline in monitored wild vertebrate populations between 1970 and 2020 in the 2024 Living Planet Index. The index measures average change in the size of wild vertebrate populations over time. The 73% is an average population-abundance trend: it does not mean that 73% of species declined, that 73% of animals disappeared, or that every monitored population decreased. LPI explains that approximately half of populations in the global index show stable or increasing trends and half show declining trends; the average is shaped by the size and weighting of those trends. See the Living Planet Index explanation.
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