Humans have a "disproportionately huge effect" on the other species of vertebrates that share Earth's surface with us, causing more than 25 percent of the deaths among an array of species all over the globe, according to a recently published study.
Humans have a "disproportionately huge effect" on the other species of vertebrates that share Earth's surface with us, causing more than 25 percent of the deaths among an array of species all over the globe, according to a recently published study.
A team of scientists from ESF and the U.S. Department of Agriculture analyzed the deaths of 42,755 animals that were reported in 1,114 published studies. They found that 28 percent of the animals' deaths were directly caused by humans.
The study was published in January in the journal "Global Ecology and Biogeography."
"We all know humans can have a substantial effect on wildlife. That we are only one among over 35,000 species of terrestrial vertebrates worldwide yet responsible for more than one-fourth of their deaths provides perspective on how large our effect actually is," said co-author Jerrold L. Belant, the Camp Fire Conservation Fund professor at ESF. "And that's just direct causes. When you also consider urban growth and other land use changes that reduce habitat, it becomes clear humans have a disproportionate effect on other terrestrial vertebrates."
Read more at SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry
Image: The single most prominent species in a study of mortality among terrestrial vertebrates was white-tailed deer. (Credit: ESF)
