Multiple causes of high extinction risk in large mammal species.
Many large animal species have a high risk of extinction. This is usually thought to result simply from the way that species traits associated with vulnerability, such as low reproductive rates, scale with body size. In a broad-scale analysis of extinction risk in mammals, we find two additional patterns in the size selectivity of extinction risk. First, impacts of both intrinsic and environmental factors increase sharply above a threshold body mass around 3 kilograms. Second, whereas extinction risk in smaller species is driven by environmental factors, in larger species it is driven by a combination of environmental factors and intrinsic traits. Thus, the disadvantages of large size are greater than generally recognized, and future loss of large mammal biodiversity could be far more rapid than expected.
Cardillo
Marcel
M
Division of Biology, Imperial College London, Silwood Park, Ascot SL5 7PY, UK. m.cardillo@imperial.ac.uk
Mace
Georgina M
GM
Jones
Kate E
KE
Bielby
Jon
J
Bininda-Emonds
Olaf R P
OR
Sechrest
Wes
W
Orme
C David L
CD
Purvis
Andy
A
D000818:Animals; D044822:Biodiversity; D005075:Biological Evolution; D049628:Body Size; D001835:Body Weight; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D017753:Ecosystem; D004777:Environment; D005260:Female; D006702:Homing Behavior; D006801:Humans; D008322:Mammals / Q000502:physiology; D008954:Models, Biological; D015233:Models, Statistical; D011156:Population Density; D011157:Population Dynamics; D011247:Pregnancy; D011270:Pregnancy, Animal; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012306:Risk; D014886:Weaning