The Experts below are selected from a list of 15411 Experts worldwide ranked by ideXlab platform
Oscar Venter - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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change in terrestrial Human Footprint drives continued loss of intact ecosystems
One Earth, 2020Co-Authors: Brooke Williams, Moreno Di Marco, Oscar Venter, James R Allan, Scott Atkinson, Jose A Rehbein, Michelle Ward, Hedley S GranthamAbstract:Summary Human pressure mapping is important for understanding Humanity's role in shaping Earth's patterns and processes. Our ability to map this influence has evolved, thanks to powerful computing, Earth-observing satellites, and new bottom-up census and crowd-sourced data. Here, we provide the latest temporally inter-comparable maps of the terrestrial Human Footprint and assessment of change in Human pressure at global, biome, and ecoregional scales. In 2013, 42% of terrestrial Earth could be considered relatively free of direct anthropogenic disturbance, and 25% could be classed as “wilderness” (the least degraded end of the Human Footprint spectrum). Between 2000 and 2013, 1.9 million km2—an area the size of Mexico—of land relatively free of Human disturbance became highly modified. The majority of this occurred within tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannah, and shrubland ecosystems, but the rainforests of Southeast Asia also underwent rapid modification. Our results show that Humanity's Footprint is eroding Earth's last intact ecosystems, and greater efforts are urgently needed to retain them.
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the Human Footprint represents observable Human pressures reply to kennedy et al
Global Change Biology, 2020Co-Authors: Oscar Venter, Hugh P. Possingham, James E M WatsonAbstract:The Human Modification map differs in important ways from the map of the Human Footprint, such as its mapping of widespread direct modification of much of the world's polar regions. An extensive validation reveals large inaccuracies in the Human Modification map, and that the Human Footprint tends to better represent actual observable Human pressures on the ground.
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changes in Human Footprint drive changes in species extinction risk
Nature Communications, 2018Co-Authors: Hugh P. Possingham, Moreno Di Marco, Oscar Venter, James E M WatsonAbstract:Predicting how species respond to Human pressure is essential to anticipate their decline and identify appropriate conservation strategies. Both Human pressure and extinction risk change over time, but their inter-relationship is rarely considered in extinction risk modelling. Here we measure the relationship between the change in terrestrial Human Footprint (HFP)-representing cumulative Human pressure on the environment-and the change in extinction risk of the world's terrestrial mammals. We find the values of HFP across space, and its change over time, are significantly correlated to trends in species extinction risk, with higher predictive importance than environmental or life-history variables. The anthropogenic conversion of areas with low pressure values (HFP < 3 out of 50) is the most significant predictor of change in extinction risk, but there are biogeographical variations. Our framework, calibrated on past extinction risk trends, can be used to predict the impact of increasing Human pressure on biodiversity.
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the exceptional value of intact forest ecosystems
Nature Ecology and Evolution, 2018Co-Authors: Oscar Venter, James E M Watson, Tom Evans, Brooke Williams, Ayesha I T Tulloch, Claire Stewart, Ian D ThompsonAbstract:As the terrestrial Human Footprint continues to expand, the amount of native forest that is free from significant damaging Human activities is in precipitous decline. There is emerging evidence that the remaining intact forest supports an exceptional confluence of globally significant environmental values relative to degraded forests, including imperilled biodiversity, carbon sequestration and storage, water provision, indigenous culture and the maintenance of Human health. Here we argue that maintaining and, where possible, restoring the integrity of dwindling intact forests is an urgent priority for current global efforts to halt the ongoing biodiversity crisis, slow rapid climate change and achieve sustainability goals. Retaining the integrity of intact forest ecosystems should be a central component of proactive global and national environmental strategies, alongside current efforts aimed at halting deforestation and promoting reforestation.
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global terrestrial Human Footprint maps for 1993 and 2009
Scientific Data, 2016Co-Authors: Oscar Venter, Eric W Sanderson, Ainhoa Magrach, James R Allan, Jutta Beher, Kendall R Jones, Hugh P. PossinghamAbstract:Remotely-sensed and bottom-up survey information were compiled on eight variables measuring the direct and indirect Human pressures on the environment globally in 1993 and 2009. This represents not only the most current information of its type, but also the first temporally-consistent set of Human Footprint maps. Data on Human pressures were acquired or developed for: 1) built environments, 2) population density, 3) electric infrastructure, 4) crop lands, 5) pasture lands, 6) roads, 7) railways, and 8) navigable waterways. Pressures were then overlaid to create the standardized Human Footprint maps for all non-Antarctic land areas. A validation analysis using scored pressures from 3114×1 km2 random sample plots revealed strong agreement with the Human Footprint maps. We anticipate that the Human Footprint maps will find a range of uses as proxies for Human disturbance of natural systems. The updated maps should provide an increased understanding of the Human pressures that drive macro-ecological patterns, as well as for tracking environmental change and informing conservation science and application. Machine-accessible metadata file describing the reported data (ISA-Tab format)
Hugh P. Possingham - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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the Human Footprint represents observable Human pressures reply to kennedy et al
Global Change Biology, 2020Co-Authors: Oscar Venter, Hugh P. Possingham, James E M WatsonAbstract:The Human Modification map differs in important ways from the map of the Human Footprint, such as its mapping of widespread direct modification of much of the world's polar regions. An extensive validation reveals large inaccuracies in the Human Modification map, and that the Human Footprint tends to better represent actual observable Human pressures on the ground.
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changes in Human Footprint drive changes in species extinction risk
Nature Communications, 2018Co-Authors: Hugh P. Possingham, Moreno Di Marco, Oscar Venter, James E M WatsonAbstract:Predicting how species respond to Human pressure is essential to anticipate their decline and identify appropriate conservation strategies. Both Human pressure and extinction risk change over time, but their inter-relationship is rarely considered in extinction risk modelling. Here we measure the relationship between the change in terrestrial Human Footprint (HFP)-representing cumulative Human pressure on the environment-and the change in extinction risk of the world's terrestrial mammals. We find the values of HFP across space, and its change over time, are significantly correlated to trends in species extinction risk, with higher predictive importance than environmental or life-history variables. The anthropogenic conversion of areas with low pressure values (HFP < 3 out of 50) is the most significant predictor of change in extinction risk, but there are biogeographical variations. Our framework, calibrated on past extinction risk trends, can be used to predict the impact of increasing Human pressure on biodiversity.
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global terrestrial Human Footprint maps for 1993 and 2009
Scientific Data, 2016Co-Authors: Oscar Venter, Eric W Sanderson, Ainhoa Magrach, James R Allan, Jutta Beher, Kendall R Jones, Hugh P. PossinghamAbstract:Remotely-sensed and bottom-up survey information were compiled on eight variables measuring the direct and indirect Human pressures on the environment globally in 1993 and 2009. This represents not only the most current information of its type, but also the first temporally-consistent set of Human Footprint maps. Data on Human pressures were acquired or developed for: 1) built environments, 2) population density, 3) electric infrastructure, 4) crop lands, 5) pasture lands, 6) roads, 7) railways, and 8) navigable waterways. Pressures were then overlaid to create the standardized Human Footprint maps for all non-Antarctic land areas. A validation analysis using scored pressures from 3114×1 km2 random sample plots revealed strong agreement with the Human Footprint maps. We anticipate that the Human Footprint maps will find a range of uses as proxies for Human disturbance of natural systems. The updated maps should provide an increased understanding of the Human pressures that drive macro-ecological patterns, as well as for tracking environmental change and informing conservation science and application. Machine-accessible metadata file describing the reported data (ISA-Tab format)
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sixteen years of change in the global terrestrial Human Footprint and implications for biodiversity conservation
Nature Communications, 2016Co-Authors: Oscar Venter, Eric W Sanderson, Ainhoa Magrach, James R Allan, Jutta Beher, Kendall R Jones, Hugh P. PossinghamAbstract:Human pressures on the environment are changing spatially and temporally, with profound implications for the planet’s biodiversity and Human economies. Here we use recently available data on infrastructure, land cover and Human access into natural areas to construct a globally standardized measure of the cumulative Human Footprint on the terrestrial environment at 1 km2 resolution from 1993 to 2009. We note that while the Human population has increased by 23% and the world economy has grown 153%, the Human Footprint has increased by just 9%. Still, 75% the planet’s land surface is experiencing measurable Human pressures. Moreover, pressures are perversely intense, widespread and rapidly intensifying in places with high biodiversity. Encouragingly, we discover decreases in environmental pressures in the wealthiest countries and those with strong control of corruption. Clearly the Human Footprint on Earth is changing, yet there are still opportunities for conservation gains. Habitat loss and urbanization are primary components of Human impact on the environment. Here, Venter et al.use global data on infrastructure, agriculture, and urbanization to show that the Human Footprint is growing slower than the Human population, but Footprints are increasing in biodiverse regions.
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sixteen years of change in the global terrestrial Human Footprint and implications for biodiversity conservation
Nature Communications, 2016Co-Authors: Oscar Venter, Eric W Sanderson, Ainhoa Magrach, James R Allan, Jutta Beher, Kendall R Jones, Hugh P. PossinghamAbstract:Human pressures on the environment are changing spatially and temporally, with profound implications for the planet's biodiversity and Human economies. Here we use recently available data on infrastructure, land cover and Human access into natural areas to construct a globally standardized measure of the cumulative Human Footprint on the terrestrial environment at 1 km(2) resolution from 1993 to 2009. We note that while the Human population has increased by 23% and the world economy has grown 153%, the Human Footprint has increased by just 9%. Still, 75% the planet's land surface is experiencing measurable Human pressures. Moreover, pressures are perversely intense, widespread and rapidly intensifying in places with high biodiversity. Encouragingly, we discover decreases in environmental pressures in the wealthiest countries and those with strong control of corruption. Clearly the Human Footprint on Earth is changing, yet there are still opportunities for conservation gains.
Ramiro O Bustamante - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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niche modelling of the chilean recluse spider loxosceles laeta and araneophagic spitting spider scytodes globula and risk for loxoscelism in chile
Medical and Veterinary Entomology, 2016Co-Authors: Mauricio Canals, Andres Taucarerios, Antonio D Brescovit, Francisco T Penagomez, Gustavo Bizama, A Canals, Lucila Moreno, Ramiro O BustamanteAbstract:In Chile, all necrotic arachnidism is attributed to the Chilean recluse spider Loxosceles laeta (Nicolet) (Araneae: Sicariidae). It is predated by the spitting spider Scytodes globula (Nicolet) (Araneae: Scytodidae). The biology of each of these species is not well known and it is important to clarify their distributions. The aims of this study are to elucidate the variables involved in the niches of both species based on environmental and Human Footprint variables, and to construct geographic maps that will be useful in estimating potential distributions and in defining a map of estimated risk for loxoscelism in Chile. Loxosceles laeta was found to be associated with high temperatures and low rates of precipitation, whereas although S. globula was also associated with high temperatures, its distribution was associated with a higher level of precipitation. The main variable associated with the distribution of L. laeta was the Human Footprint (48.6%), which suggests that this is a highly invasive species. Similarly to other species, the distribution of L. laeta reaches its southern limit at the Los Lagos region in Chile, which coincides with high levels of precipitation and low temperatures. The potential distribution of L. laeta in Chile corresponds to the distribution of cases of loxoscelism.
James E M Watson - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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the Human Footprint represents observable Human pressures reply to kennedy et al
Global Change Biology, 2020Co-Authors: Oscar Venter, Hugh P. Possingham, James E M WatsonAbstract:The Human Modification map differs in important ways from the map of the Human Footprint, such as its mapping of widespread direct modification of much of the world's polar regions. An extensive validation reveals large inaccuracies in the Human Modification map, and that the Human Footprint tends to better represent actual observable Human pressures on the ground.
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changes in Human Footprint drive changes in species extinction risk
Nature Communications, 2018Co-Authors: Hugh P. Possingham, Moreno Di Marco, Oscar Venter, James E M WatsonAbstract:Predicting how species respond to Human pressure is essential to anticipate their decline and identify appropriate conservation strategies. Both Human pressure and extinction risk change over time, but their inter-relationship is rarely considered in extinction risk modelling. Here we measure the relationship between the change in terrestrial Human Footprint (HFP)-representing cumulative Human pressure on the environment-and the change in extinction risk of the world's terrestrial mammals. We find the values of HFP across space, and its change over time, are significantly correlated to trends in species extinction risk, with higher predictive importance than environmental or life-history variables. The anthropogenic conversion of areas with low pressure values (HFP < 3 out of 50) is the most significant predictor of change in extinction risk, but there are biogeographical variations. Our framework, calibrated on past extinction risk trends, can be used to predict the impact of increasing Human pressure on biodiversity.
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the exceptional value of intact forest ecosystems
Nature Ecology and Evolution, 2018Co-Authors: Oscar Venter, James E M Watson, Tom Evans, Brooke Williams, Ayesha I T Tulloch, Claire Stewart, Ian D ThompsonAbstract:As the terrestrial Human Footprint continues to expand, the amount of native forest that is free from significant damaging Human activities is in precipitous decline. There is emerging evidence that the remaining intact forest supports an exceptional confluence of globally significant environmental values relative to degraded forests, including imperilled biodiversity, carbon sequestration and storage, water provision, indigenous culture and the maintenance of Human health. Here we argue that maintaining and, where possible, restoring the integrity of dwindling intact forests is an urgent priority for current global efforts to halt the ongoing biodiversity crisis, slow rapid climate change and achieve sustainability goals. Retaining the integrity of intact forest ecosystems should be a central component of proactive global and national environmental strategies, alongside current efforts aimed at halting deforestation and promoting reforestation.
Mauricio Canals - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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niche modelling of the chilean recluse spider loxosceles laeta and araneophagic spitting spider scytodes globula and risk for loxoscelism in chile
Medical and Veterinary Entomology, 2016Co-Authors: Mauricio Canals, Andres Taucarerios, Antonio D Brescovit, Francisco T Penagomez, Gustavo Bizama, A Canals, Lucila Moreno, Ramiro O BustamanteAbstract:In Chile, all necrotic arachnidism is attributed to the Chilean recluse spider Loxosceles laeta (Nicolet) (Araneae: Sicariidae). It is predated by the spitting spider Scytodes globula (Nicolet) (Araneae: Scytodidae). The biology of each of these species is not well known and it is important to clarify their distributions. The aims of this study are to elucidate the variables involved in the niches of both species based on environmental and Human Footprint variables, and to construct geographic maps that will be useful in estimating potential distributions and in defining a map of estimated risk for loxoscelism in Chile. Loxosceles laeta was found to be associated with high temperatures and low rates of precipitation, whereas although S. globula was also associated with high temperatures, its distribution was associated with a higher level of precipitation. The main variable associated with the distribution of L. laeta was the Human Footprint (48.6%), which suggests that this is a highly invasive species. Similarly to other species, the distribution of L. laeta reaches its southern limit at the Los Lagos region in Chile, which coincides with high levels of precipitation and low temperatures. The potential distribution of L. laeta in Chile corresponds to the distribution of cases of loxoscelism.