Loss and recovery of mammal diversity

A study explores loss and recovery of mammal phylogenetic diversity (PD) during the current mass extinction. PD, the amount of unique evolutionary history in the tree of life, is considered a better metric of biodiversity than the number of species. Globally, loss of PD can be restored only through the accumulation of new evolutionary history over time. Matt Davis and colleagues calculated PD loss for mammals due to extinctions since the Last Interglacial, approximately 130,000 years ago. Prehistoric extinctions led to the loss of 2 billion years of unique evolutionary history, with another 500 million years lost from historic extinctions since the year 1500. The losses are greater than that expected if extinctions occurred randomly. The authors note that given the probabilities of extant species going extinct in the near future, mammalian PD will likely continue to decrease under current conservation efforts. If the status quo continues for the next 50 years, the authors estimate that it would take 3-5 million years to recover the PD lost during this time period, even if the extinction rate dropped to its preanthropogenic level. Restoring all of the PD lost since the Last Interglacial would take 5-7 million years. According to the authors, PD should be prioritized in mammal conservation efforts to prevent further losses.

Article #18-04906: "Mammal diversity will take millions of years to recover from the current biodiversity crisis," by Matt Davis, Søren Faurby, and Jens-Christian Svenning.

MEDIA CONTACT: Matt Davis, Aarhus University, DENMARK; tel: +45-20-59-99-67; e-mail: matt.davis@bios.au.dk; Jens-Christian Svenning, Aarhus University, DENMARK; tel: +45-28992304; e-mail: svenning@bios.au.dk

###