What is it about?
This study explores the global overlap between species distributions and the occurrences of earthquakes, hurricanes, tsunamis, and volcanoes, to show that 10% of all 34,035 assessed terrestrial vertebrates (5.7% of birds, 7% of mammals, 16% of amphibians, and 14.5% of reptiles) are at risk due to at least one natural hazard, while 5.4% are at high risk. Species at high risk are mainly found in the tropics and on islands.
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Why is it important?
Exposure to natural hazards can augment anthropogenic drivers, thereby compounding their impacts. Therefore, conservation strategies, such as intensive population management in situ and ex situ and the establishment of insurance populations, may become pivotal for the survival of those species in the next decades.
Perspectives
The authors hope that the study will initiate other efforts to prevent species from extinction in the future. They also aim for their study to go beyond simply listing species at risk due to natural hazards, and to encourage studies that explore and understand the broader ecological impacts, such as the loss of interactions between these species and their environments.
Fernando GONCALVES
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: A global map of species at risk of extinction due to natural hazards, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, June 2024, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2321068121.
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