Drivers of biodiversity loss change

Biodiversity loss today is largely influenced by human activity,  by the definition of Dirzo et al (2014) it is the anthropocene defaunation, which can be compared with the five previous mass extinction.

The drivers for such biodiversity change can be multiple and complex. Vitousek (1997) summarised most common drivers land transformation and biotic additions and losses, such as grazing (Bagchi et al, 2006), fire and timber harvesting (Fisher and Wilkinson, 2005), domestic dogs (Reed and Merenlender, 2011), and agriculture (Nelner and Hood, 2011).

This picture shows that a male Yunnan Snub-nosed monkey stays alone after intense logging inside Yunnan mountains 

Domestic dog influence is an interesting example, when field researchers use camera-trap as a method to estimate population or record animal presence data near populated area, it is always easy to find domestic dogs captured by the camera traps. It is one of the most frustrated time for field researcher as originally he was expecting a hayena or leopard by the body size. Also in western China, raising domesticated Tibetan dogs is both a local tradition and business. Yet after an earthquake in 2010 and the economic recession, a large amount of these dogs were released to the wild. They now attack livestocks, wild animals and people. Researchers found the presence of wildlife residues in the stool sample of these dogs. It is a potential threat to the ecosystem balance by human action.


Using the top predators as example, 77% of the 31 large carnivores on earth decline in numbers, and 50% of these carnivores have lost half of their geographical ranges (Ripple et al., 2014). These drivers account for such decrease include habitat loss and degradation, persecution, utilization and depletion of prey, and also the future impact of human resource depletion and climate change (Ripple et al., 2014). The impact of climate change on large mammals' decline and biodiversity loss remains particularly uncertain.

In my next post, I would like to discuss with you guys why is biodiversity important, why should we care about biodiversity loss. If you are interested, prepare some answers and let us discuss.