Socioeconomic factors predict population changes of large carnivores better than climate change or habitat loss

Johnson, T. F., Isaac, N. J. B., Paviolo, A. and González-Suárez, M. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5069-8900 (2023) Socioeconomic factors predict population changes of large carnivores better than climate change or habitat loss. Nature Communications, 14. 74. ISSN 2041-1723 doi: 10.1038/s41467-022-35665-9

Abstract/Summary

Land-use and climate change have been linked to changes in wildlife populations, but the role of socioeconomic factors in driving declines, and promoting population recoveries, remains relatively unexplored. Here, we evaluate potential drivers of population changes observed in 50 species of some of the world’s most charismatic and functionally important fauna—large mammalian carnivores. Our results reveal that human socioeconomic development is more associated with carnivore population declines than habitat loss or climate change. Rapid increases in socioeconomic development are linked to sharp population declines, but, importantly, once development slows, carnivore populations have the potential to recover. The context- and threshold-dependent links between human development and wildlife population health are challenges to the achievement of the UN Sustainable development goals.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://reading-clone.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/109977
Identification Number/DOI	10.1038/s41467-022-35665-9
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Life Sciences > School of Biological Sciences > Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Publisher	Nature Publishing Group
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