Extinction rates in the Anthropocene are three orders of magnitude higher than background and disproportionately occur in the tropics, home of half the world’s species. Despite global efforts to combat tropical species extinctions, lack of high-quality, objective information on tropical biodiversity has hampered quantitative evaluation of conservation strategies. New data collected by researchers with the Tropical Ecology Assessment and Monitoring (TEAM) Network using more than 1,000 camera traps across the tropics — and published in the January issue of journal PLOS Biology — paints a more nuanced picture for the future of wildlife in these forests. The research, based on data gathered by analysed more than 2.5 million pictures taken in 15 protected areas across Latin America, Africa and Southeast Asia.
The full article is available in the PLOS journal. An article on the research is available on Conservation International.
It is humans which are currently driving numerous animal species toward extinction – could more cultural and spiritual values help combat this?
