Note by: Sofía de Teresa Da click aquí para leer en español
Thanks to their mobility capacities and their ability to maintain a constant body temperature despite the changes in the outside conditions, mammals have managed to spread in various habitats, including land, air and water (CONABIO, n.d.). With the exception of the Antarctica, mammal species are found spread across the globe (IUCN f., n.d.).
Mammals are extremely important for both nature and the human being
Since they play a wide diversity of roles in nature, mammals are fundamental in maintaining the balance of the ecosystems in which they live (IUCN d., n.d.). For example, some of them like the bison (Bison bison) are herbivores and while they feed and move, they help to disperse the seeds of various plant species (M. G. Velarde a., n.d.); others like the jaguar are hunters, and help to control the population growth of species like the peccaries and badgers that can become pests (M. G. Velarde b., n.d.); fruit bats collaborate to pollinate various plants (IUCN b., 2015), etc.
Did you know Dolphins are mammals as well?
In addition to the fact that different mammalian species are an important source of food for the human being, these organisms are essential to maintaining the balance of the ecosystems (IUCN d., n.d.). Healthy ecosystems are essential for our health because they allow us to have access to the clean water and the oxygen we need, etc. (IUCN c., n.d.).
Mammals extinctions in the planet
At least one-quarter (22 %) of the world's mammal species are threatened (IUCN a., 2015; IUCN e., n.d.), according to the most authoritative source of information about the animals and plants conservation status in the world: the IUCN Red List of Endangered Species (Ceballos et al., 2015:4).
The specialists comment that in the last 200 years the extinction rate has increased in a dramatical way around the globe, and this phenomenon coincide with the rise of the industrial society (G. Ceballos et al., 2015:3).
IUCN 2008 Map, shared for educational purposes.
Which are the regions of the planet with the highest mammals species extinction rate?
The IUCN’s Red List pointed out in 2008 that half of the top 20 countries with more mammalian threatened species are in Asia; an example of this are India, China and Malaysia. However, according to the IUCN, the islands in the Indian Ocean are the regions of the planet with the highest number of threatened mammals species; within these islands we can mention the Republic of Mauritius, Reunion and the Republic of Seychelles. On the other hand, at a country level, Indonesia and Mexico stand out as the nations with the more threatened mammals species in the world (IUCN e., n.d).
Which are the main threats for the mammals of the world?
Globally, the main threats to mammals are habitat loss and degradation, and overexploitation (IUCN e., n.d) –the latter is connected to activities like hunting (R. Monastersky, 2014)–, etc.
Recommendations
Does conservation work? Using the IUCN Red List to evaluate groups’ performance.
Sources
CONABIO. Comisión Nacional para el Conocimiento y Uso de la Biodiversidad. (n.d.). Biodiversidad Mexicana, Mamíferos. Consulted: 30–09–2015.
G. Ceballos, P. R. Ehrlich, A. D. Barnosky, A. García, R. M. Pringle, T. M. Palmer, Accelerated modern human–induced species losses: Entering the sixth mass extinction. Sci. Adv. 1, e1400253 (2015). Available at the following link: http://advances.sciencemag.org/content/1/5/e1400253.full
IUCN a. International Union for Conservation of Nature. (2015). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, Summary Statistics, Version 2015.2. Consulted: 30–09–2015.
IUCN b. International Union for Conservation of Nature. (13–03–2015). Pollinating birds and mammals declining, reveals first global assessment of trends in the status of pollinators. Consulted: 30–09–2015.
IUCN c. International Union for Conservation of Nature. (n.d.). Ecosystem Services. Consulted: 30–09–2015.
IUCN d. International Union for Conservation of Nature. (n.d.). Mammals, Why are mammals important? Consulted: 30–09–2015.
IUCN e. International Union for Conservation of Nature. (n.d.). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, Mammals, Analysis of Data. Consulted: 30–09–2015.
IUCN f. International Union for Conservation of Nature. (n.d.). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, Mammals, Geographic Patterns. Consulted: 30–09–2015.
M.G. Velarde a. Bisonte americano: Bison bison. (n.d.). Barcode of Wildlife Mexico. Consulted: 30–09–2015.
M.G. Velarde b. Jaguar: Panthera onca. (n.d.). Barcode of Wildlife Mexico. Consulted: 30–09–2015.
R. Monastersky. Species are disappearing quickly — but researchers are struggling to assess how bad the problem is. Nature, doi:10.1038/516158ª (2014). Available at the following link: http://www.nature.com/news/biodiversity-life-a-status-report-1.16523
Thanks to their mobility capacities and their ability to maintain a constant body temperature despite the changes in the outside conditions, mammals have managed to spread in various habitats, including land, air and water (CONABIO, n.d.). With the exception of the Antarctica, mammal species are found spread across the globe (IUCN f., n.d.).
Mammals are extremely important for both nature and the human being
Since they play a wide diversity of roles in nature, mammals are fundamental in maintaining the balance of the ecosystems in which they live (IUCN d., n.d.). For example, some of them like the bison (Bison bison) are herbivores and while they feed and move, they help to disperse the seeds of various plant species (M. G. Velarde a., n.d.); others like the jaguar are hunters, and help to control the population growth of species like the peccaries and badgers that can become pests (M. G. Velarde b., n.d.); fruit bats collaborate to pollinate various plants (IUCN b., 2015), etc.
Did you know Dolphins are mammals as well?In addition to the fact that different mammalian species are an important source of food for the human being, these organisms are essential to maintaining the balance of the ecosystems (IUCN d., n.d.). Healthy ecosystems are essential for our health because they allow us to have access to the clean water and the oxygen we need, etc. (IUCN c., n.d.).
Mammals extinctions in the planet
At least one-quarter (22 %) of the world's mammal species are threatened (IUCN a., 2015; IUCN e., n.d.), according to the most authoritative source of information about the animals and plants conservation status in the world: the IUCN Red List of Endangered Species (Ceballos et al., 2015:4).
The specialists comment that in the last 200 years the extinction rate has increased in a dramatical way around the globe, and this phenomenon coincide with the rise of the industrial society (G. Ceballos et al., 2015:3).
Which are the regions of the planet with the highest mammals species extinction rate?
The IUCN’s Red List pointed out in 2008 that half of the top 20 countries with more mammalian threatened species are in Asia; an example of this are India, China and Malaysia. However, according to the IUCN, the islands in the Indian Ocean are the regions of the planet with the highest number of threatened mammals species; within these islands we can mention the Republic of Mauritius, Reunion and the Republic of Seychelles. On the other hand, at a country level, Indonesia and Mexico stand out as the nations with the more threatened mammals species in the world (IUCN e., n.d).
Which are the main threats for the mammals of the world?
Globally, the main threats to mammals are habitat loss and degradation, and overexploitation (IUCN e., n.d) –the latter is connected to activities like hunting (R. Monastersky, 2014)–, etc.
Recommendations
Does conservation work? Using the IUCN Red List to evaluate groups’ performance.
Sources
CONABIO. Comisión Nacional para el Conocimiento y Uso de la Biodiversidad. (n.d.). Biodiversidad Mexicana, Mamíferos. Consulted: 30–09–2015.
G. Ceballos, P. R. Ehrlich, A. D. Barnosky, A. García, R. M. Pringle, T. M. Palmer, Accelerated modern human–induced species losses: Entering the sixth mass extinction. Sci. Adv. 1, e1400253 (2015). Available at the following link: http://advances.sciencemag.org/content/1/5/e1400253.full
IUCN a. International Union for Conservation of Nature. (2015). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, Summary Statistics, Version 2015.2. Consulted: 30–09–2015.
IUCN b. International Union for Conservation of Nature. (13–03–2015). Pollinating birds and mammals declining, reveals first global assessment of trends in the status of pollinators. Consulted: 30–09–2015.
IUCN c. International Union for Conservation of Nature. (n.d.). Ecosystem Services. Consulted: 30–09–2015.
IUCN d. International Union for Conservation of Nature. (n.d.). Mammals, Why are mammals important? Consulted: 30–09–2015.
IUCN e. International Union for Conservation of Nature. (n.d.). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, Mammals, Analysis of Data. Consulted: 30–09–2015.
IUCN f. International Union for Conservation of Nature. (n.d.). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, Mammals, Geographic Patterns. Consulted: 30–09–2015.
M.G. Velarde a. Bisonte americano: Bison bison. (n.d.). Barcode of Wildlife Mexico. Consulted: 30–09–2015.
M.G. Velarde b. Jaguar: Panthera onca. (n.d.). Barcode of Wildlife Mexico. Consulted: 30–09–2015.
R. Monastersky. Species are disappearing quickly — but researchers are struggling to assess how bad the problem is. Nature, doi:10.1038/516158ª (2014). Available at the following link: http://www.nature.com/news/biodiversity-life-a-status-report-1.16523
