Human population growth will risk 22,374 species by 2070 – study
A study from the Science Advances journal found that human population growth will expand and occupy 50% of the Earth’s land by 2070. As a result, it may drive about 22,374 species away from their habitats.
This growth may reduce the variety of amphibians, reptiles and birds worldwide. Consequently, it may increase the possibility of another pandemic.
READ: NASA wildlife conservation protects animals via satellites
Article continues after this advertisementThe wider human-wildlife overlap may also lead to more positive and negative interactions between people and animals.
The impact of human population growth on wildlife
22,374 species at risk as humans to expand into 50% of Earth’s land by 2070https://t.co/pcrJ2nJJ6A
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The Conversation posted a story regarding this human population growth story from researchers Deqiang Ma and Neil Carter.
Ma is a post-doctoral researcher in environment and sustainability at the University of Michigan. On the other hand, Carter is an associate professor of wildlife conservation at the same educational institution.
Article continues after this advertisementTheir research team studied the impact of human population growth by multiplying its density by the number of species present in a given area.
They combined data sets on the most recent and future populations and investigated changes in species’ richness in various land types.
As a result, they found that human population growth will cause people to encroach into more animal habitats.
Principal Investigator Neil Carter told Interesting Engineering:
“In many places around the world, more people will interact with wildlife in the coming decades and often those wildlife communities will comprise different kinds of animals than the ones that live there now.”
“This means that all sorts of novel interactions, good and bad, between people and wildlife, will emerge in the near future.”
The study also found that median species richness, the variety of species in a given area, will likely decrease in most African and South American forests.
In South America, mammal richness will drop by 33%, amphibian richness by 45%, reptile richness by 40%, and bird richness by 37%.
In Africa, bird richness is set to decrease by 26% and mammal richness by 21%.
Carter and Ma said their findings emphasize the need to manage for the sake of co-existence between people and wildlife. Nations must control their interactions to conserve life on Earth.
