Benítez-López, A;
Alkemade, R;
Schipper, AM;
Ingram, DJ;
Verweij, PA;
Eikelboom, JAJ;
Huijbregts, MAJ;
(2017)
The impact of hunting on tropical mammal and bird populations.
Science
, 356
(6334)
pp. 180-183.
10.1126/science.aaj1891.
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Abstract
Hunting is a major driver of biodiversity loss, but a systematic large-scale estimate of hunting-induced defaunation is lacking. We synthesized 176 studies to quantify hunting-induced declines of mammal and bird populations across the tropics. Bird and mammal abundances declined by 58% (25 to 76%) and by 83% (72 to 90%) in hunted compared with unhunted areas. Bird and mammal populations were depleted within 7 and 40 kilometers from hunters’ access points (roads and settlements). Additionally, hunting pressure was higher in areas with better accessibility to major towns where wild meat could be traded. Mammal population densities were lower outside protected areas, particularly because of commercial hunting. Strategies to sustainably manage wild meat hunting in both protected and unprotected tropical ecosystems are urgently needed to avoid further defaunation.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | The impact of hunting on tropical mammal and bird populations |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1126/science.aaj1891 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aaj1891 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions. |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10058583 |
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