Mapping human pressures on biodiversity across the planet uncovers anthropogenic threat complexes

Abstract

Climate change and other anthropogenic drivers of biodiversity change are unequally distributed across the world. Overlap in the distributions of different drivers have important implications for biodiversity change attribution and the potential for interactive effects. However, the spatial relationships among different drivers and whether they differ between the terrestrial and marine realm has yet to be examined. We compiled global gridded datasets on climate change, land‐use, resource exploitation, pollution, alien species potential and human population density. We used multivariate statistics to examine the spatial relationships among the drivers and to characterize the typical combinations of drivers experienced by different regions of the world. We found stronger positive correlations among drivers in the terrestrial than in the marine realm, leading to areas with high intensities of multiple drivers on land. Climate change tended to be negatively correlated with other drivers in the terrestrial realm (e.g. in the tundra and boreal forest with high climate change but low human use and pollution), whereas the opposite was true in the marine realm (e.g. in the Indo‐Pacific with high climate change and high fishing). We show that different regions of the world can be defined by Anthropogenic Threat Complexes (ATCs), distinguished by different sets of drivers with varying intensities. We identify 11 ATCs that can be used to test hypotheses about patterns of biodiversity and ecosystem change, especially about the joint effects of multiple drivers. Our global analysis highlights the broad conservation priorities needed to mitigate the impacts of anthropogenic change, with different priorities emerging on land and in the ocean, and in different parts of the world.

Rare and common vertebrates span a wide spectrum of population trends

“…Furthermore, the same driver can have opposing effects on population abundance at different sites 45 . A lack of biome-specific directional trends in population change, despite a spatial clustering of human pressure around the world 12 , can also arise owing to differences in species traits and vulnerability to environmental change within biomes 16,19,20 . Accounting for divergent responses of species to global change is key when translating global policy, such as the upcoming post-2020 planetary biodiversity strategy 46 , into conservation actions implemented on scales much finer than biogeographic realms.…”

“…The distributions of global change drivers such as land-use change, habitat change, pollution, invasion by non-native species and climate change show distinct clustering across space [11][12][13] . Spatial clustering has also been documented for biodiversity trends derived from assemblage time series, with the marine realm emerging as a hotspot for rapid changes in community composition 14 .…”

An Evaluation of the Impact of Hiking Tourism on the Ecological Status of Alpine Lakes—A Case Study of the Valley of Dolina Pięciu Stawów Polskich in the Tatra Mountains

“…The results of this study indicate that access to the examined lakes should be limited (Figures 9 and 10). Tourist infrastructure in the evaluated trail segments should be upgraded, for example by introducing barriers to separate visitors from the lakes (segments number 2, 3,4,5,6,11,14,16,17,18,24,26) and by eliminating lake access points and illegal paths (segments number 1,7,8,9,10,12,13,15,25,28,29,30,31, and an illegal path south of Lake Zadni Staw Polski) (Figure 7). the studied lakes, and wastewater should be directed to the existing wastewater treatment plant at the shelter.…”

“…Anthropopression is most often associated with numerous disturbances in the functioning of basic ecological systems (including changes in the species composition), significant transformation of the landscape, as well as modification of ecological factors existing in nature (e.g., increase in temperature on Earth). In order to prevent or eliminate the negative effects of anthropopressure, numerous and various activities are undertaken to restore or maintain natural habitats, restitution and protection of species, renewing forest communities, and reducing the use of natural resources [1][2][3][4].…”

Biological traits of seabirds predict extinction risk and vulnerability to anthropogenic threats

“…Habitat transformation, species exploitation, climate change, pollution, and invasive species have the largest relative global impact (IPBES, 2019). These pressures are cumulative and have spread to all ecosystems, from the upper atmosphere to the deep sea (Bowler et al, 2020;Geldmann, Joppa, & Burgess, 2014;Halpern et al, 2008;Venter et al, 2016;Woolmer et al, 2008;Worm & Paine, 2016). Consequently, up to an estimated one million animal and plant species are now threatened with extinction (IPBES, 2019), populations of vulnerable taxa are declining, and biological diversity is changing (Dornelas et al, 2014).…”