Synergies among extinction drivers under global change

If habitat destruction or overexploitation of populations is severe, species loss can occur directly and abruptly. Yet the final descent to extinction is often driven by synergistic processes (amplifying feedbacks) that can be disconnected from the original cause of decline. We review recent observa...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Trends in ecology & evolution (Amsterdam) 2008-08, Vol.23 (8), p.453-460
Main Authors: Brook, Barry W., Sodhi, Navjot S., Bradshaw, Corey J.A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Animals
Applied ecology
Biodiversity
Biological and medical sciences
Climatology. Bioclimatology. Climate change
Conservation of Natural Resources
Conservation, protection and management of environment and wildlife
Earth, ocean, space
Environmental degradation: ecosystems survey and restoration
Exact sciences and technology
External geophysics
Extinction, Biological
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Greenhouse Effect
Humans
Meteorology
Tropical Climate
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Summary:If habitat destruction or overexploitation of populations is severe, species loss can occur directly and abruptly. Yet the final descent to extinction is often driven by synergistic processes (amplifying feedbacks) that can be disconnected from the original cause of decline. We review recent observational, experimental and meta-analytic work which together show that owing to interacting and self-reinforcing processes, estimates of extinction risk for most species are more severe than previously recognised. As such, conservation actions which only target single-threat drivers risk being inadequate because of the cascading effects caused by unmanaged synergies. Future work should focus on how climate change will interact with and accelerate ongoing threats to biodiversity, such as habitat degradation, overexploitation and invasive species.
ISSN:0169-5347
1872-8383
DOI:10.1016/j.tree.2008.03.011