Nature and Environment
Updated November 8, 2023, 9:26 pm
Just one of two million threatened species: the migratory monarch butterfly. © image alliance/dpa/Maren Hennemuth
There are thousands of animal and plant species in Europe. But many species are doing poorly. Now researchers have come up with alarming numbers.
Around two million species are threatened worldwide – double that assumed in the most recent global inventory of the World Biodiversity Council (IPBES) in 2019. This is the result of an international study published in the specialized journal “PLOS One”. According to the study, a fifth of all animal and plant species examined in Europe will be threatened with extinction in the coming decades; plants and invertebrates will be particularly affected.
The researchers included in the study all 14,669 animal and plant species that were on Europe’s Red List at the end of 2020. This represents ten percent of the continent’s species. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) places the species whose population has been analyzed on this list. Many are at little or no risk, but others are threatened with extinction or even extinct.
Particularly affected invertebrates
The team led by first author Axel Hochkirch, from the National Museum of Natural History in Luxembourg and the University of Trier, analyzed all known vertebrate species (amphibians, birds, fish, reptiles and mammals) in Europe, as well as important groups of animals invertebrates, such as butterflies and bees and various plant species. 2,839 of the 14,669 species examined by the team, a total of around 19 percent, are threatened with extinction in Europe. 125 animal and plant species are already considered extinct, regionally extinct or possibly extinct.
The study describes a particular threat to Europe’s native plants: around 27% are threatened with extinction. The numbers are also high among animal species – 24% of invertebrates and 18% of vertebrates are affected.
According to the research team, this pattern is notable considering much more attention is paid to vertebrates. “One of the most important findings is that the number of threatened species does not differ significantly between different species groups,” says Hochkirch.
More accurate information, more alarming result
Other experts consider the current data to be extremely relevant and credible. Matthias Glaubrecht, Professor of Biodiversity at the University of Hamburg, explains: “The new study shows much more clearly and comprehensively than before that a significantly greater number of species are threatened with extinction. Europe is one of those regions for which we have the best data. If “the situation here is already so dramatic, it means that the biodiversity crisis in other regions, much richer in species, will most likely be even more explosive – especially in tropical regions that are still insufficiently investigated, such as Asia and Africa.”
Using new datasets, the team also calculated the number of animal, plant and fungal species threatened with extinction worldwide: at two million, the number is twice as high as in the most recent IPBES report from 2019. At that time, IPBES came to the conclusion that one million of the estimated eight million species are threatened. The doubling to two million threatened species within a few years can be justified with new and more accurate information, explains Josef Settele, co-author of the latest IPBES report: “The studies ultimately build on each other and therefore , also reflect progress in knowledge. The IPBES 2019 report also mentioned a data gap, which we are increasingly close to closing.”
Updated September 30, 2022, 4:10 pm
One in eight bird species is currently threatened with extinction. This is proven by the results of years of observations and research. Every four years the Birdlife organization summarizes in a report. It also states what people can and should do to combat the growing loss of animals.
The data situation remains a problem, the study authors write: “Our analysis shows some important gaps in knowledge and the corresponding need for research.” Many species, especially among invertebrates, have not yet been described. An accurate assessment of the condition is often difficult: if there are only very few specimens left in a region, they can hardly be found in field studies. Glaubrecht also confirms: “We don’t know enough about all these species to have realized their disappearance long ago. There are species that we are destroying faster than we can research them.”
Read too: Due to three main causes: More than 40% of all amphibians are threatened
It is important to take more measures to protect species
The causes of species extinction are diverse; the team sees the biggest threat as the intensive economic use of land areas and seas, which leads to habitat loss. “While the conclusion that agricultural land use change poses a major threat has been made many times, our analysis is the most comprehensive and definitive to date, confirming the continental-scale extent of this threat,” the authors stated. Excessive use of biological resources and extreme weather caused by climate change also pose a huge threat to biodiversity.
But researchers also see reason for hope: new settlements of animal species and special protection could help preserve biodiversity. “It is important to initiate measures to protect threatened species. These have already been very successful with vertebrates, as evidenced by the spread of previously threatened species, such as black storks, sea eagles, peregrine falcons, eagle owls and otters”, he says. Hochkirch. “It is important to implement the necessary conservation measures in a timely manner. We already have enough evidence to act – what we lack is action.” (dpa/mak)
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