The biomass of wild terrestrial and marine mammals was dwarfed by the combined weight of other domesticated mammals, including cattle, pigs, sheep and domestic animals. This comes out with the first global census of wild mammalian biomass. A team led by Professor Ron Milo from the Weizmann Institute of Science (Israel) biomass cattle reached approximately 630 million tons, which is 30 times the weight of all wild land mammals (about 20 million tons) and 15 times the weight of wild marine mammals (40 million tons).. The results were published in the journal PNAS.
A previously published study Nature and this research, widely discussed by researchers in Milo’s laboratory in Weizmann’s Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, is due by 2020. The mass of man-made objects, from skyscrapers to newspapers, had exceeded all biomass on the planet, from sequoia trees to bees.. In the latest study, the researchers offer a new perspective on humanity’s increasing impact on our planet, seen in the ratio between humans and domesticated mammals and wild mammals.
“This work is an attempt to see the whole picture,” Milo said in a statement. Said. “The dazzling diversity of different mammal species can mask the dramatic changes affecting our planet. But the global distribution of biomass provides measurable evidence of a fact that might otherwise be difficult to grasp: It demonstrates the dominance of humanity and livestock over the remaining much smaller populations of wild mammals.”
To calculate the biomass of our warm-blooded class, lThe researchers compiled current censuses of wild mammal species and descriptive features of hundreds of species.. Research students Lior Greenspoon and Eyal Krieger led the study to translate the accumulated data into biomass estimates.
The censuses collected provided data on about half of the global mammalian biomass. The team calculated the remaining half using a machine learning computational model trained in the first half that combines many parameters such as individuals’ body weight, regional distribution, diet, and zoological classification.
The analysis showed that human influence also greatly impacted the relatively limited number of mammals remaining in the wild. Many of the wild mammals at the top of the biomass chart, such as white-tailed deer and wild boar, were brought there in part by human activities and are now considered pests in some areas.
Estimates from new study of biomass ratios They can help monitor wild mammal populations around the world and assess the risk posed by diseases spreading from animals to humans.A dynamic that many epidemiologists warn will continue to produce epidemics.
Only 2.5 kilos of wild mammals per person
To better understand human impact on the environment, scientists in Milo’s lab are currently analyzing how mammalian biomass has changed over the past century. “For example, it seems important to me to understand exactly when the total weight of domesticated mammals exceeds that of wild ones,” says Greenspoon. “A better understanding of human-induced changes can help set conservation goals and give us insight into long-term global processes.”
“The more we are exposed to nature’s magnificence through movies, museums or ecotourism, We will be more inclined to imagine that nature is an endless and inexhaustible resource.. Actually, The weight of all remaining wild land mammals is less than 10% of humanity’s total weight.That equates to only about 2.5kg of wild land mammals per person,” says Milo.
“In other words, our research shows, in measurable terms, the magnitude of our impact and how our decisions and choices over the coming years will shape what is left of nature for future generations.”
Reference work: https://wis-wander.weizmann.ac.il/environment/weight-responsibility-biomass-livestock-dwarfs-wild-mammals
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