Friday 09 Aug 2024 |
AFED2022
 
AFEDAnnualReports
Environment and development AL-BIA WAL-TANMIA Leading Arabic Environment Magazine

 
News Details
 
Wildlife decline may lead to 'empty landscape' 5/5/2015
Populations of some of the world's largest wild animals are dwindling, raising the threat of an "empty landscape", say scientists.
 
About 60% of giant herbivores - plant-eaters - including rhinos, elephants and gorillas, are at risk of extinction, according to research.
 
Analysis of 74 herbivore species, published in Science Advances, blamed poaching and habitat loss.
 
A previous study of large carnivores showed similar declines.
 
Prof William Ripple, of Oregon State University, led the research looking at herbivores weighing over 100kg, from the reindeer up to the African elephant.
 
"This is the first time anyone has analyzed all of these species as a whole," he said.
 
According to the research, the decline is being driven by a number of factors including habitat loss, hunting for meat or body parts, and competition for food and resources with livestock.
 
With rhinoceros horn worth more than gold, diamonds or cocaine on illegal markets, rhinos could be extinct in the wild within 20 years in Africa, said the researchers.
 
The consequences of large wild herbivore decline include:
 
 Loss of habitat: for example, elephants maintain forest clearings by trampling vegetation
 Effects on the food chain: large predators such as lions, leopards, and hyena rely on large herbivores for food
 Seed dispersal: large herbivores eat seeds which are carried over long distances
 Impact on humans: an estimated one billion people rely on wild meat for subsistence while the loss of iconic herbivores will have a negative impact on tourism
 
The biggest losses are in South East Asia, India and Africa.
 
Europe and North America have already lost most of their large herbivores in a previous wave of extinctions.
 
 
 
 
 
Post your Comment
*Full Name
*Comments
CAPTCHA IMAGE
*Security Code
 
 
Ask An Expert
Boghos Ghougassian
Composting
Videos
 
Recent Publications
Arab Environment 9: Sustainable Development in a Changing Arab Climate
 
ان جميع مقالات ونصوص "البيئة والتنمية" تخضع لرخصة الحقوق الفكرية الخاصة بـ "المنشورات التقنية". يتوجب نسب المقال الى "البيئة والتنمية" . يحظر استخدام النصوص لأية غايات تجارية . يُحظر القيام بأي تعديل أو تحوير أو تغيير في النص الأصلي. لمزيد من المعلومات عن حقوق النشر يرجى الاتصال بادارة المجلة
© All rights reserved, Al-Bia Wal-Tanmia and Technical Publications. Proper reference should appear with any contents used or quoted. No parts of the contents may be reproduced in any form by any electronic or mechanical means without permission. Use for commercial purposes should be licensed.