Habitat loss and harvest may drive the global decline in mammal diversity

The most important human-related threats likely driving global declines in mammal diversity are habitat loss and harvest, a study finds. Biodiversity is declining worldwide, but relatively little is known about the human-related threats that have the strongest impact. To address this question, Jedediah Brodie and colleagues generated a database that captures the likely effects of human-related threats on terrestrial and freshwater mammal species on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species. The authors also analyzed a recent phylogeny of mammals, a dataset of mammal functional traits such as diet to characterize diversity in terms of ecological functions, and global range maps for mammal species. Their analysis revealed that herbivores are disproportionately likely to be declining due to harvest, while fruit-eating mammals are particularly likely to be in decline because of harvest and habitat loss. In highly biodiverse regions such as South America and Southeast Asia, declines in functional diversity associated with habitat loss and harvest are greater than what would be expected if species losses were random. Habitat loss and harvest in the most biodiverse regions of the world may disproportionately affect species that play unique functional roles in their ecosystems. According to the authors, conservation efforts should target the most impactful human activities in specific geographic regions to protect remaining biodiversity on the planet.

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Article #19-21849:

“The decline of mammal functional and evolutionary diversity worldwide,” by Jedediah F. Brodie, Sara Williams, and Brittany Garner.

MEDIA CONTACT:


Jedediah Brodie,

University of Montana,

Missoula, MT;

tel: 406-243-5528, 406-880-3854;

e-mail: <

[email protected]

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