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According to a study from the University of Queensland, human impacts are the main risk factor for the possible extinction of a quarter of all terrestrial mammals.
The researchers compared a 16-year global human footprint trend with the extinction risk of about 4,500 species of terrestrial mammals.
Dr. Moreno Di Marco, associate professor at the Faculty of Earth Sciences and Environment of UQ, explained that the analysis had redefined the way we had considered mammalian extinctions .
"We live in a time when one in four mammals is at risk of extinction," he said.
"But with more than 5,600 species of mammals in the world, it is tedious and expensive to track changes for each species.
"To get a better idea of what leads systematically to these declines, we decided to combine human pressure mapping with extinction risk assessment data for mammalian species."
The researchers found that the human footprint was closely related to the change in extinction risk for terrestrial mammals – more than any other variable tested.
"Human impacts in areas initially in the natural or semi-natural state – those with an footprint of three or less on a scale of zero to 50 – were the primary driver of change in extinction risk. in mammalian species, "said Dr. Di Marco. .
"In terms of conservation efforts, this leads us to look twice at what high-impact human activities really are, because even the seemingly low impacts have the effect of decimating the species."
James Watson, professor at UQ, said the results of this study were invaluable for future conservation efforts.
"What we have created has tremendous potential to provide a rapid assessment of the risk of species extinction, without having to go through lengthy expert consultations," he said.
"This could change the way we assess the state of conservation of biodiversity globally.
"The international community's mission is to prevent the decline of species, and this research will contribute to the crucial task of prioritizing actions to minimize the risk of species extinction.
"They need to see the big picture before it's too late."
The study was published in Nature Communications (DOI: 10.1038 / s41467-018-07049-5).
Above image, left: The anthropogenic modification of natural habitats is the main factor of decline of mammalian species in the world.
Media: Dr. Moreno Di Marco, [email protected], +61 422 156 585; Professor James Watson, [email protected], +61 409 185 592; Dominic Jarvis, [email protected], +61 413 334 924.
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