The latest IUCN Red List assessment has found that one in six Mediterranean mammals faces regional extinction – due to human activities.
In a comprehensive study assessing all Mediterranean mammals for the first time, the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species reveals that one in six species is threatened with extinction at the regional level. The report cites habitat loss and degradation as the primary causes for the widespread population declines.
320 Mediterranean mammals, except for whales and dolphins, were assessed for the IUCN Red List. The results are unsettling:
Approximately one-sixth (16.5%) of mammal species assessed were found to be threatened with extinction in the Mediterranean, of which 3.0% were Critically Endangered,
5.1% were Endangered and 8.4% were Vulnerable … A further 7.7% were considered Near Threatened, and 2.7% were already Extinct or Regionally Extinct. A relatively high proportion of species, 12.5%, were considered to be Data Deficient.
The major cause for the population decreases in Mediterranean mammals? Habitat loss and degradation.
The most significant threat to mammals in the Mediterranean region is the destruction and degradation of the ecosystems and habitats on which they depend. Main causes of habitat loss and degradation include expansion and intensification of agriculture, urbanization, infrastructure development, pollution and climate change.
The report also showed that human activities have a long history as the primary reason behind extinction, and regional extinction, of a significant number of Mediterranean mammals. This is a wake-up call that cannot be ignored.
By comparison with other taxonomic groups covered in the Mediterranean regional assessment … a relatively high proportion of Mediterranean mammal species have been driven extinct or Regionally Extinct since 1500 A.D. as a result of human activities. This stands as a warning of the fate that may befall other Mediterranean mammals if effective conservation actions are not urgently implemented.
To ensure the survival of threatened species, the study recommended a multi-pronged approach to conservation.
These responses include legislation, monitoring, research, management of populations, restoration of balance between prey/predator populations, habitat conservation and restoration, land acquisition and management, and even captive breeding and benign introductions for some of the Mediterranean region’s most threatened mammal species.
In today’s IUCN release, co-author of the study Helen Temple called for raising public awareness about the issues facing the Mediterranean mammals.
To ensure the survival of large herbivore and carnivore mammals in the Mediterranean, we have to restore habitats and food chains … We need to encourage people to accept large predators, improve protected areas management and better enforce laws regarding hunting practices.
So, which Mediterranean countries have the highest species diversity – and which species are now extinct?
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