Sentences with phrase «extinction debt»
"Extinction debt" refers to the delayed extinction of a species or decline in its population that occurs due to changes in its habitat. Even if the habitat is no longer suitable for the species, it may still survive for a certain period before eventually disappearing. This debt refers to the future loss of species resulting from past damage to their environment. Full definition
The researchers also show that modern deforestation has left us with an estimated extinction debt of 144 vertebrate species found only in tropical forests.
sciencedaily.com
Realistic assumptions about extinction debt and dispersal capacity substantially increased extinction risks.
«I expected an increase in both carbon emissions and species extinctions debts, but the magnitude of these debts was surprising,» Rosa says.
But He disputes this: «Currently no method exists that describes extinction debt,» he says.
The researchers have therefore concluded that not only the dispersal of the alpine plant species, but also the local population densities, must be correctly measured in order to determine this invisible extinction debt.
«I'd like to think that people could look at the data and say, we know now exactly where you have the highest extinction debt and we can target those particular areas and conserve the species that are still there.»
You write that studies that show a higher extinction risk tend to include more complexities, like «realistic assumptions about extinction debt and dispersal capacity».
«We show that even if deforestation had completely halted in 2010, time lags ensured there would still be a carbon emissions debt equivalent to five to ten years of global deforestation and an extinction debt of more than 140 bird, mammal, and amphibian forest - specific species, which, if paid, would increase the number of 20th century extinctions in these groups by 120 percent,» says Isabel Rosa (@isamdr86) of the Imperial College of London.
The circumstance that older individuals persist in a worsening environment, hides the fact that an extinction debt is slowly developing.
Researchers have previously attributed the overestimates to the time lag needed for species to go extinct after their habitat is reduced past sustainable levels — the «extinction debt».
Deforestation tends to occur in fits and spurts, and as it continues, the number of species headed for extinction — the «extinction debt» — rises.
«It sorts out the bookkeeping of all these different deforestation events and extinction debts,» explains Reuman.
We show that even if deforestation had completely halted in 2010, time lags ensured there would still be a carbon emissions debt of at least 8.6 petagrams, equivalent to 5 — 10 years of global deforestation, and an extinction debt of more than 140 bird, mammal, and amphibian forest - specific species, which if paid, would increase the number of 20th - century extinctions in these groups by 120 %.
Cowlishaw, G. Predicting the pattern of decline of African primate diversity: an extinction debt from historical deforestation.