The DOI matches its Crossref record; 164 of the 164 references it cites were found in a registry or an index; 6 of the 136 sources its claims cite were checked for support.
Defaunation in the Anthropocene
Open accessAbstract
We live amid a global wave of anthropogenically driven biodiversity loss: species and population extirpations and, critically, declines in local species abundance. Particularly, human impacts on animal biodiversity are an under-recognized form of global environmental change. Among terrestrial vertebrates, 322 species have become extinct since 1500, and populations of the remaining species show 25% average decline in abundance. Invertebrate patterns are equally dire: 67% of monitored populations show 45% mean abundance decline. Such animal declines will cascade onto ecosystem functioning and human well-being. Much remains unknown about this “Anthropocene defaunation”; these knowledge gaps hinder our capacity to predict and limit defaunation impacts. Clearly, however, defaunation is both a pervasive component of the planet’s sixth mass extinction and also a major driver of global ecological change.
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Claims the paper makes
6 of 136 cited sources checked · 5 supported · 0 flagged · accuracy not yet measured
The cited sources support only part of this claim — read each source’s verdict below.
In the paper
“Across vertebrates, 16% to 33% of all species are estimated to be globally threatened or endangered (17,18)”
§ Defaunation in the Anthropocene > Defaunation: a pervasive phenomenon
What the sources say
- Not matchedcites [17] 17. IUCN, The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species <www.iucnredlist.org> (2013)
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
- Supportedcites [18] 18. M. Hoffmann et al., Science 330, 1503 (2010). source
The “Status, trends, and threats” section states that, accounting for uncertainty from Data Deficient species, between 16% and 33% of all vertebrate species are classified as Threatened. This directly supports the cited estimate. (LLM, conf=0.95)
Strength:hedged· not yet calibratedTests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes? Load-bearing: unclear✓ Based: passes- Not matched
Every source the paper cites for this claim was checked and supports it.
In the paper
“The long-established major proximate drivers of wildlife population decline and extinction in terrestrial ecosystems, namely overexploitation, habitat destruction, and impacts from invasive species remain pervasive (18).”
§ Defaunation in the Anthropocene > Multiple, unaddressed drivers of defaunation
What the sources say
- Supportedcites [18] 18. M. Hoffmann et al., Science 330, 1503 (2010). source
The opening summary (p. 1503) identifies agricultural expansion, logging, overexploitation, and invasive alien species as main drivers of biodiversity loss among mammals, birds, and amphibians. The “Confronting threats” section adds that conservation has not yet offset any major driver of increased extinction risk. Agricultural expansion and logging substantiate the claim’s reference to habitat destruction. (LLM, conf=0.93)
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✓ Load-bearing: passes✓ Based: passes- Supported
The sources with a verdict support this claim; the rest weren’t checked yet, have no full text we could read, or their verdicts aren’t rated yet.
In the paper
“None of these major drivers have been effectively mitigated at the global scale (14,18).”
§ Defaunation in the Anthropocene > Multiple, unaddressed drivers of defaunation
What the sources say
- Not checked — no full text of the sourcecites [14] 14. S. H. Butchart et al., Science 328, 1164 (2010). source
- Supportedcites [18] 18. M. Hoffmann et al., Science 330, 1503 (2010). source
In “Confronting threats” (page not supplied), the paper says that deteriorations outnumber improvements for every threat assessed and concludes that conservation has not yet offset any major driver of increased extinction risk. This supports the claim at the global scale, within the paper’s scope of vertebrate extinction risk. (LLM, conf=0.93)
Load-bearingStrength:plain· not yet calibratedTests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✓ Load-bearing: passes✓ Based: passesThe cited sources support only part of this claim — read each source’s verdict below.
In the paper
“the effects of defaunation will be much less about the loss of absolute diversity than about local shifts in species compositions and functional groups within a community (80).”
§ Defaunation in the Anthropocene > Synthesis and ways forward
What the sources say
- Partly supportedcites [80] 80. M. Dornelas et al., Science 344, 296 (2014). sourceExperimental — accuracy not yet measured
The Conclusions (page not available) describe the replacement of large herbivores by smaller mammals and arthropods, and the ‘Effects of large mammals on small mammals’ section reports changes in vegetation and consumer abundance. These support local shifts in the community, but the paper does not establish that such shifts matter more than losses of absolute diversity or make a general comparison of the two effects of defaunation. (LLM, conf=0.83)
Load-bearingStrength:plain· not yet calibratedTests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✓ Load-bearing: passes✓ Based: passes- Partly supported
Every source the paper cites for this claim was checked and supports it.
In the paper
“and few major human pathogens seem to fit the criteria that would make such a relationship pervasive (71).”
§ Defaunation in the Anthropocene > Water quality.
What the sources say
- Supportedcites [71] 71. C. L. Wood, K. D. Lafferty, G. DeLeo, H. S. Young, A. M. Kuris, Ecology 95, 817http://dx.doi.org/10.1890/13-1041.1 (2014). source
In “Predicting the Biodiversity–Disease Relationship” (page not available), the authors project that biodiversity would reduce the prevalence of only 12% of the infectious disease species they assessed. They conclude that negative biodiversity–disease relationships may be relatively uncommon, supporting the citing sentence’s hedged claim. Their assessment covers common pathogenic human protozoan and metazoan parasites, not viruses or bacteria. (LLM, conf=0.90)
Strength:hedged· not yet calibratedTests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes? Load-bearing: unclear✓ Based: passes- Supported
Every source the paper cites for this claim was checked and supports it.
In the paper
“However, the impacts of defaunation on disease are far from straightforward (71)”
§ Defaunation in the Anthropocene > Water quality.
What the sources say
- Supportedcites [71] 71. C. L. Wood, K. D. Lafferty, G. DeLeo, H. S. Young, A. M. Kuris, Ecology 95, 817http://dx.doi.org/10.1890/13-1041.1 (2014). source
The Introduction says that biodiversity loss is likely to produce both “winners and losers” among parasites. “Where Do We Go From Here?” adds that the biodiversity–disease relationship may be nonlinear and either positive or negative. These passages support the claim that the disease effects of defaunation are not straightforward; page numbers were not provided. (LLM, conf=0.92)
Strength:plain· not yet calibratedTests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes? Load-bearing: unclear✓ Based: passes- Supported
None of the sources cited for this claim could be matched to a paper in Crossref, so there is nothing to check it against.
In the paper
“Of a conservatively estimated 5-9 million animal species on the planet, we are likely losing ~11,000 to 58,000 species annually (15,16).”
§ Defaunation in the Anthropocene > Defaunation: a pervasive phenomenon
What the sources say
- Not matchedcites [15] 15. C. Mora, A. Rollo, D. P. Tittensor, Science 493, 295 (2013).
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
- Not matchedcites [16] 16. B. R. Scheffers, L. N. Joppa, S. L. Pimm, W. F. Laurance, Trends Ecol. Evol. 27, 501 (2012).
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
Strength:hedged· not yet calibratedTests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes? Load-bearing: unclear✓ Based: passes- Not matched
In the paper
“with populations of many iconic species such as elephant (Fig S1B) rapidly declining towards extinction (19).”
§ Defaunation in the Anthropocene > Defaunation: a pervasive phenomenon
What the sources say
- Not matchedcites [19] 19. Materials and methods are available in the Supplementary Materials.
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
Strength:plain· not yet calibratedTests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes? Load-bearing: unclear✓ Based: passes- Not matched
None of the sources cited for this claim could be matched to a paper in Crossref, so there is nothing to check it against.
In the paper
“Among terrestrial vertebrates 322 species have become extinct since 1500, while populations of the remaining species show 25% average decline in abundance.”
- Also stated in: § Defaunation: a pervasive phenomenon · plain
“Across vertebrates, 16% to 33% of all species are estimated to be globally threatened or endangered (17,18), and at least 322 vertebrate species have become extinct since 1500 (a date representative of onset of the recent wave of extinction, as formal definition of the start of the Anthropocene still being debated) (17,19,20) (Table S1).”
§ Defaunation in the Anthropocene > Abstract
What the sources say
- Not matchedcites [17] 17. IUCN, The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species <www.iucnredlist.org> (2013)
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
- Not matchedcites [19] 19. Materials and methods are available in the Supplementary Materials.
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
- Not matchedcites [20] 20. G. Ceballos, A. García, P. R. Ehrlich, J. Cosmol. 8, 1821 (2010).
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
Load-bearingStrength:plain· not yet calibratedTests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✓ Load-bearing: passes✓ Based: passes- Rests on an assumption: The year 1500 is a representative starting point for the recent wave of extinction.
- Also stated in: § Defaunation: a pervasive phenomenon · plain
The paper states this without a source or data behind it here, so there is nothing to check it against. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Invertebrate patterns are equally dire: 67% of monitored populations show 45% mean abundance decline.”
§ Defaunation in the Anthropocene > Abstract
Load-bearingStrength:plain· not yet calibratedTests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✓ Load-bearing: passes? Based: unclear
- It may state two separate claims as one. 24
- Probably not a substantial claim. 8
A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“In our evaluation of mammals (1437 species) and birds (4263 species), the number of species per 10,000 km 2 in decline (IUCN population status “decreasing”) varied across regions from a few to 75 in mammals and 125 in birds (Fig 2), with highest numbers in tropical regions.”
§ Defaunation in the Anthropocene > Patterns of defaunation
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✓ Load-bearing: passes✓ Based: passesIt may state two separate claims as one.
In the paper
“Of all insects with IUCN documented population trends, 33% are declining, with strong variation among Orders 19).”
§ Defaunation in the Anthropocene > Synthesis and ways forward
What the sources say
- Not matchedcites [19] 19. Materials and methods are available in the Supplementary Materials.
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
Strength:plain· not yet calibratedTests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes? Load-bearing: unclear✓ Based: passesIt may state two separate claims as one.
- Not matched
In the paper
“counts of threatened species do not necessarily translate into extinction risk, much less ecological impact (13).”
§ Defaunation in the Anthropocene > Abstract
What the sources say
- Not matchedcites [13] 13. A. Ø. Mooers, D. P. Faith, W. P. Maddison, PloS one 3, e3700 (2008).
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
Load-bearingStrength:plain· not yet calibratedTests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✓ Load-bearing: passes✓ Based: passesIt may state two separate claims as one.
- Not matched
None of the sources cited for this claim have been checked yet.
In the paper
“These extinctions altered ecosystem processes and disturbance regimes at continental scales, triggering cascades of extinction thought to still reverberate today (3,4).”
§ Defaunation in the Anthropocene > Abstract
What the sources say
- Not matchedcites [3] 3. C. E. Doughty, A. Wolf, Y. Malhi, Nat. Geosci. 6, 761 (2013).
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
- Not checked — no full text of the sourcecites [4] 4. J. L. Gill et al., Science 326, 1100 (2009). source
Strength:hedged· not yet calibratedCausal:conditional· not yet calibratedTests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes? Load-bearing: unclear✓ Based: passesIt may state two separate claims as one.
- Not matched
In the paper
“Similar to other mass extinction events, the effects of this”
§ Defaunation in the Anthropocene > Abstract
What the sources say
- Not matchedcites [2] 2. M. Cardillo et al., P. Roy. Soc. Lond. B. Bio. 275, 1441 (2008).
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
Strength:plain· not yet calibratedCausal:direct· not yet calibratedTests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes? Load-bearing: unclear✓ Based: passesIt may state two separate claims as one.
- Not matched
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Clearly, however, defaunation is both a pervasive component of the planet's sixth mass extinction, and also a major driver of global ecological change.”
§ Defaunation in the Anthropocene > Abstract
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✓ Load-bearing: passes✓ Based: passesIt may state two separate claims as one.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Much remains unknown about this”
§ Defaunation in the Anthropocene > Abstract
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✓ Load-bearing: passes✓ Based: passesIt may state two separate claims as one.
The paper states this without a source or data behind it here, so there is nothing to check it against. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Loss of invertebrate biodiversity has received much less attention and data are extremely limited.”
§ Defaunation in the Anthropocene > Defaunation: a pervasive phenomenon
Strength:plain· not yet calibratedTests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes? Load-bearing: unclear✓ Based: passesIt may state two separate claims as one.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“We live amidst a global wave of anthropogenically driven biodiversity loss: species and population extirpations and, critically, declines in local species abundance.”
§ Defaunation in the Anthropocene > Abstract
Load-bearingStrength:plain· not yet calibratedTests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✓ Load-bearing: passes✓ Based: passesIt may state two separate claims as one.
The paper states this without a source or data behind it here, so there is nothing to check it against. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“some animal species are able to persist in highly modified habitats”
§ Defaunation in the Anthropocene > Abstract
Load-bearingStrength:plain· not yet calibratedTests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✓ Load-bearing: passes✗ Based: failsProbably not a substantial claim. The paper may give no reason why it holds.
In the paper
“Moreover, several newer threats have recently emerged, most notably anthropogenic climate disruption, which will likely soon compete with habitat loss as the most important driver of defaunation (44).”
§ Defaunation in the Anthropocene > Multiple, unaddressed drivers of defaunation
What the sources say
- Not checked — no full text of the sourcecites [44] 44. O. E. Sala et al., Science 287, 1770 (2000). source
Strength:hedged· not yet calibratedCausal:conditional· not yet calibratedTests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes? Load-bearing: unclear✓ Based: passesIt may state two separate claims as one.
None of the sources cited for this claim have been checked yet.
In the paper
“While most declining species are affected by multiple stressors, we still have a poor understanding of the complex ways in which these drivers interact, and of feedback loops that may exist (7,11).”
§ Defaunation in the Anthropocene > Multiple, unaddressed drivers of defaunation
What the sources say
- Not checked — no full text of the sourcecites [7] 7. A. D. Barnosky et al., Nature 486, 52 (2012). source
- Not matchedcites [11] 11. B. W. Brook, N. S. Sodhi, C. J. Bradshaw, Trends Ecol. Evol. 23, 453 (2008).
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
Load-bearingStrength:plain· not yet calibratedTests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✓ Load-bearing: passes✓ Based: passesIt may state two separate claims as one.
In the paper
“While defaunation is a global pattern, geographic distribution patterns are also decidedly non-random (28).”
§ Defaunation in the Anthropocene > Patterns of defaunation
What the sources say
- Not checked — no full text of the sourcecites [28] 28. S. Pimm et al., Science 344, 1246752 (2014). source
Strength:plain· not yet calibratedCausal:correlational· not yet calibratedTests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes? Load-bearing: unclear✓ Based: passesIt may state two separate claims as one.
None of the sources cited for this claim could be matched to a paper in Crossref, so there is nothing to check it against.
In the paper
“However, increasingly sophisticated approaches help to predict which species are likely to be at risk, and to map latent extinction risk (38), holding great promise both for managing defaunation and identifying likely patterns of ecological impact (39).”
§ Defaunation in the Anthropocene > Patterns of defaunation
What the sources say
- Not matchedcites [38] 38. M. Cardillo, G. M. Mace, J. L. Gittleman, A. Purvis, P. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 103, 4157 (2006).
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
- Not matchedcites [39] 39. H. Hillebrand, B. Matthiessen, Ecol. Lett. 12, 1405 (2009).
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
Strength:plain· not yet calibratedCausal:correlational· not yet calibratedTests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes? Load-bearing: unclear✓ Based: passesIt may state two separate claims as one.
- Not matched
In the paper
“For instance, among vertebrates, more amphibians (41%) are currently considered threatened than birds (17%), with mammals and reptiles experiencing intermediate threat levels (27).”
§ Defaunation in the Anthropocene > Patterns of defaunation
What the sources say
- Not checked — no full text of the sourcecites [27] 27. J. Schipper et al., Science 322, 225 (2008). source
Strength:plain· not yet calibratedTests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes? Load-bearing: unclear✓ Based: passesIt may state two separate claims as one.
In the paper
“However, these 'extinction models' have made little impact on conservation management, in part because trait correlations are often idiosyncratic and context dependent (31).”
§ Defaunation in the Anthropocene > Patterns of defaunation
What the sources say
- Not matchedcites [31] 31. M. Cardillo, E. Meijaard, Trends Ecol. Evol. 27, 167 (2012).
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
Strength:plain· not yet calibratedCausal:direct· not yet calibratedTests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes? Load-bearing: unclear✓ Based: passesIt may state two separate claims as one.
- Not matched
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Ironically, the cryptic nature of defaunation has strong potential to soon become very non-cryptic, rivaling the impact of many other forms of global change in terms of loss of ecosystem services essential for human well-being.”
§ Defaunation in the Anthropocene > Synthesis and ways forward
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✗ Checkable: fails✓ Load-bearing: passes✗ Based: failsProbably not a substantial claim. It may be too vague to check against evidence. The paper may give no reason why it holds.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“we need to focus on predicting the systematic patterns of winners and losers in the Anthropocene and identify the traits that characterize them, as this will provide information on the patterns and the links to function that we can then act upon.”
§ Defaunation in the Anthropocene > Synthesis and ways forward
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✗ Checkable: fails✓ Load-bearing: passes✓ Based: passesProbably not a substantial claim. It may be too vague to check against evidence.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“we emphasize that defaunation is about much more than species loss.”
§ Defaunation in the Anthropocene > Synthesis and ways forward
Load-bearingStrength:plain· not yet calibratedTests✓ Asserted: passes✗ Checkable: fails✓ Load-bearing: passes✓ Based: passesProbably not a substantial claim. It may be too vague to check against evidence.
None of the sources cited for this claim have been checked yet.
In the paper
“However, most efforts to quantify this relationship have focused largely on effects of reduced producer diversity, which may typically have much lower functional impacts than does consumer loss (49,50).”
§ Defaunation in the Anthropocene > Consequences of defaunation
What the sources say
- Not matchedcites [49] 49. J. Reiss, J. R. Bridle, J. M. Montoya, G. Woodward, Trends Ecol. Evol. 24, 505 (2009).
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
- Not checked — no full text of the sourcecites [50] 50. B. J. Cardinale et al., Nature 486, 59 (2012). source
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✓ Load-bearing: passes✓ Based: passesIt may state two separate claims as one.
- Not matched
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Ongoing declines in populations of animals such as nematodes, beetles, or bats, are considerably less evident to humans”
§ Defaunation in the Anthropocene > Synthesis and ways forward
Load-bearingStrength:plain· not yet calibratedTests✓ Asserted: passes✗ Checkable: fails✓ Load-bearing: passes✗ Based: failsProbably not a substantial claim. It may be too vague to check against evidence. The paper may give no reason why it holds.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Ultimately, both reduced and more evenly distributed global resource consumption will be necessary to sustainably change ongoing trends in defaunation and, hopefully, eventually open the door to refaunation.”
§ Defaunation in the Anthropocene > Synthesis and ways forward
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✗ Checkable: fails✓ Load-bearing: passes✓ Based: passesProbably not a substantial claim. It may be too vague to check against evidence. It may state two separate claims as one.
- Rests on an assumption: Continued human population growth and increasingly uneven per-capita consumption ultimately drive all these threats.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“yet arguably are more functionally important”
§ Defaunation in the Anthropocene > Synthesis and ways forward
Load-bearingStrength:hedged· not yet calibratedTests✓ Asserted: passes✗ Checkable: fails✓ Load-bearing: passes✗ Based: failsProbably not a substantial claim. It may be too vague to check against evidence. The paper may give no reason why it holds.
In the paper
“One recent study in Madagascar suggested that loss of wildlife as a food source will increase anemia by 30%, leading to increased mortality, morbidity and learning difficulties (66).”
§ Defaunation in the Anthropocene > Water quality.
What the sources say
- Not matchedcites [66] 66. C. D. Golden et al., P. Natl. Acad. Sci. 108, 19653 (2011).
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
Strength:hedged· not yet calibratedCausal:direct· not yet calibratedTests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✗ Load-bearing: fails✓ Based: passesProbably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it. It may state two separate claims as one.
- Rests on an assumption: In many parts of the world, wild animal food sources are a critical part of the diet, particularly for the poor.
- Not matched
In the paper
“Insect pollination, needed for 75% of all the world's food crops, is estimated to be worth ~10% of the economic value of the world's entire food supply (52).”
§ Defaunation in the Anthropocene > Impacts on ecosystem functions and services
What the sources say
- Not matchedcites [52] 52. N. Gallai, J.-M. Salles, J. Settele, B. E. Vaissière, Ecological Economics 68, 810 (2009).
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
Strength:hedged· not yet calibratedCausal:direct· not yet calibratedTests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes? Load-bearing: unclear✓ Based: passesIt may state two separate claims as one.
- Not matched
In the paper
“Similarly, declines in bird pollinators in New Zealand led to strong pollen limitation, ultimately reducing seed production and population regeneration (55) (Fig 5H).”
§ Defaunation in the Anthropocene > Impacts on ecosystem functions and services
What the sources say
- Not checked — no full text of the sourcecites [55] 55. S. H. Anderson et al., Science 331, 1068 (2011). source
Strength:boosted· not yet calibratedCausal:direct· not yet calibratedTests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes? Load-bearing: unclear✓ Based: passesIt may state two separate claims as one.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“This review indicates that a widespread and pervasive defaunation crisis, with farreaching consequences, is upon us.”
§ Defaunation in the Anthropocene > Synthesis and ways forward
Load-bearingStrength:hedged· not yet calibratedTests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✓ Load-bearing: passes✓ Based: passesIt may state two separate claims as one.
In the paper
“Large animals, including ungulates, hippos, and crocodiles, prevent formation of anoxic zones through agitation and affect water movement through trampling (64).”
§ Defaunation in the Anthropocene > Water quality.
What the sources say
- Not matchedcites [64] 64. J. P. Wright, C. G. Jones, A. S. Flecker, Oecologia 132, 96 (2002).
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
Strength:plain· not yet calibratedCausal:direct· not yet calibratedTests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes? Load-bearing: unclear✓ Based: passesIt may state two separate claims as one.
- Not matched
In the paper
“For instance, global declines in amphibian populations increase algae and fine detritus biomass, reduce nitrogen uptake, and greatly reduce whole stream respiration (Fig 5E; (63)).”
§ Defaunation in the Anthropocene > Water quality.
What the sources say
- Not checked — no full text of the sourcecites [63] 63. M. Whiles et al., Ecosystems 16, 146 (2013). source
Strength:plain· not yet calibratedCausal:direct· not yet calibratedTests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes? Load-bearing: unclear✓ Based: passesIt may state two separate claims as one.
In the paper
“Large wildlife removal also causes major effects on ecosystem functions and services (Panel D), including changes to fire intensity (Fi); cattle production in both dry (C-D) and wet seasons (C-W); disease prevalence (D); infectivity of arbuscular mycorrhizae fungi (AMF); photosynthetic rates (Ph); and transpiration rates (TR).”
§ Defaunation in the Anthropocene > Synthesis and ways forward
What the sources say
- Not matchedcites [81] 81. F. Keesing, T. P. Young, Bioscience 64, 487 (2014).
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✓ Load-bearing: passes✓ Based: passesIt may state two separate claims as one.
- Not matched
The paper relies on this without support.
The year 1500 is a representative starting point for the recent wave of extinction.
“(a date representative of onset of the recent wave of extinction, as formal definition of the start of the Anthropocene still being debated)”
The paper relies on this without support.
In many parts of the world, wild animal food sources are a critical part of the diet, particularly for the poor.
“In many parts of the world, wild animal food sources are a critical part of the diet, particularly for the poor.”
The paper relies on this without support.
The indirect evolutionary effects of defaunation on species not directly impacted by human defaunation are still poorly studied.
“Still poorly studied are the indirect evolutionary effects of defaunation on other species, not directly impacted by human defaunation.”
The paper relies on this without support.
Arthropod pests are responsible for 8-15% of the losses in most major food crops.
“For example, arthropod pests are responsible for 8-15% of the losses in most major food crops.”
The paper relies on this without support.
Continued human population growth and increasingly uneven per-capita consumption ultimately drive all these threats.
“continued human population growth and increasingly uneven per-capita consumption, which ultimately drive all these threats”
Claims other papers make about this one
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“the literature reflects broad agreement among environmental scientists that biases lead to underestimating the number of species that have gone extinct in the past few centuries”
From Accelerated modern human–induced species losses: Entering the sixth mass extinction (2015) · cites this paper as [8]
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe source backs part of the claim, not all of it — or backs it for a different population, condition or comparison.
In the citing paper
“Hundreds of species and myriad populations are being driven to extinction every year (1–8).”
From Biological annihilation via the ongoing sixth mass extinction signaled by vertebrate population losses and declines (2017) · cites this paper as [2]
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe cited source says what the claim attributes to it.
In the citing paper
“A growing body of evidence indicates that current species extinction rates are higher than the pre-human background rate (8–15)”
From Accelerated modern human–induced species losses: Entering the sixth mass extinction (2015) · cites this paper as [8]
The cited source says what the claim attributes to it.
In the citing paper
“This suggests that, even if there was not ample sign that the crisis extends far beyond that group of animals, today’s planetary defaunation of vertebrates will itself promote cascading catastrophic effects on ecosystems, worsening the annihilation of nature (2, 3, 46).”
From Biological annihilation via the ongoing sixth mass extinction signaled by vertebrate population losses and declines (2017) · cites this paper as [2]
The cited source says what the claim attributes to it.
In the citing paper
“In sum, by losing populations (and species) of vertebrates, we are losing intricate ecological networks involving animals, plants, and microorganisms (e.g., refs. 2, 8, 18, 45, 46).”
From Biological annihilation via the ongoing sixth mass extinction signaled by vertebrate population losses and declines (2017) · cites this paper as [2]
The cited source says what the claim attributes to it.
In the citing paper
“However, given that such medium and large species are the most seriously threatened by the predominant proximate drivers of defaunation (2, 3), the likely bias against small-sized species should not affect our overall interpretation of results.”
From Biological annihilation via the ongoing sixth mass extinction signaled by vertebrate population losses and declines (2017) · cites this paper as [2]
In the citing paper
“Fourth, species at the brink have been pushed to a critical conservation status because of human activities, where habitat loss and fragmentation, illegal trade, overexploitation, introduced domestic and wild species, toxification, and pollution have played a major role (10, 13–15, 30, 46, 52, 53).”
From Vertebrates on the brink as indicators of biological annihilation and the sixth mass extinction (2020) · cites this paper as [14]
In the citing paper
“They occur mostly in heavily populated regions such as tropical Asia, where major ongoing biodiversity losses are well known (10, 13–15, 30, 46, 52, 53).”
From Vertebrates on the brink as indicators of biological annihilation and the sixth mass extinction (2020) · cites this paper as [14]
In the citing paper
“More recently, climate disruption is becoming a major cause of species endangerment (10, 11, 14–17).”
From Vertebrates on the brink as indicators of biological annihilation and the sixth mass extinction (2020) · cites this paper as [14]
In the citing paper
“Thus, moving onto the brink is an important part of the process of defaunation (14).”
From Vertebrates on the brink as indicators of biological annihilation and the sixth mass extinction (2020) · cites this paper as [14]
In the citing paper
“However, the number of studies on insect trends with sufficient replication and spatial coverage are limited [10, 23–25] and restricted to certain well-studied taxa.”
From More than 75 percent decline over 27 years in total flying insect biomass in protected areas (2017) · cites this paper as [24]
In the citing paper
“Many top predators are both overexploited and strong controllers of nutrient cycling, water quality and other ecosystem services9,77,80–82.”
From Linking the influence and dependence of people on biodiversity across scales (2017) · cites this paper as [82]
In the citing paper
“Increasingly, the simple theoretical prediction that fragmentation reduces species richness is being modified to account for species identity through models that focus on how species vary in their traits (4, 21, 36, 48, 57, 58).”
From Habitat fragmentation and its lasting impact on Earth’s ecosystems (2015) · cites this paper as [58]
In the citing paper
“Most forms of global change known to reduce population sizes and biodiversity will be exacerbated by fragmentation (58, 60), including climate change (61), invasive species (62, 63), hunting (64), pollution [including light, noise, and chemicals (65)], and altered disturbance regimes (66).”
From Habitat fragmentation and its lasting impact on Earth’s ecosystems (2015) · cites this paper as [58]
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Sorted by citations
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Kashmanian, R. M. (2019) · Environmental Quality Management · doi:10.1002/tqem.21663 · Cited by 13
The Making of a Conservation Landscape: Towards a Practice of Interdependence
Toomey, A. (2020) · Conservation and Society · doi:10.4103/cs.cs_18_115 · Cited by 10
Voorhees, J. P., Phillips, B. M., Anderson, B. S., Tjeerdema, R. S., & Page, B. (2020) · Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology · doi:10.1007/s00128-020-02790-4 · Cited by 10
Dibble, A. C., Drummond, F. A., & Stack, L. B. (2020) · Environmental Entomology · doi:10.1093/ee/nvaa028 · Cited by 10
Dibble, A. C., Drummond, F. A., & Stack, L. B. (2020) · Environmental Entomology · doi:10.1093/ee/nvaa029 · Cited by 10
Yong, D., Barton, P. S., Okada, S., Crane, M. J., Cunningham, S. A., & Lindenmayer, D. B. (2020) · Ecological Indicators · doi:10.1016/j.ecolind.2020.106391 · Cited by 12
Oliveira, D. R., Reid, B. N., & Fitzpatrick, S. W. (2020) · Evolutionary Applications · doi:10.1111/eva.13135 · Cited by 11
“Contemporary extinctions surpass background rates by orders of magnitude, signaling an unprecedented global defaunation period (Dirzo et al., 2014; Young et al., 2016).”
BackgroundWang, X., Schütz, M., & Risch, A. C. (2021) · Journal of Ecology · doi:10.1111/1365-2745.13590 · Cited by 8
“This loss of animal diversity, defaunation, is size-selective (Dirzo et al., 2014; Smith et al., 2018), with large-bodied animals being at greater risk of extinction compared to smaller sized ones.”
BackgroundThreatened Flora of Jammu and Kashmir State
Hamid, M., Khuroo, A. A., Ahmad, R., Rasheed, S., Malik, A. H., & Dar, G. H. (2020) · Topics in biodiversity and conservation · doi:10.1007/978-981-32-9174-4_37 · Cited by 12
Espinosa, C. I., Reyes, C., & Jara‐Guerrero, A. (2021) · Revista de Biología Tropical · doi:10.15517/rbt.v69i2.45046 · Cited by 10
“Estos procesos de defaunación, a su vez está generando cambios en las interacciones planta-animal y limitando los servicios ecosistémicos que estos grupos brindan al ecosistema (Dirzo et al., 2014).”
BackgroundInfluentialCan road stormwater ponds be successfully exploited by the European green frog (Pelophylax sp.)?
Conan, A., Jumeau, J., Dehaut, N., Enstipp, M. R., Georges, J., & Handrich, Y. (2021) · Urban Ecosystems · doi:10.1007/s11252-021-01129-z · Cited by 10
Plue, J., & Baeten, L. (2021) · Applied Vegetation Science · doi:10.1111/avsc.12590 · Cited by 10
“…on the other hand, keeps elevated P- induced biomass production in check (Duprè & Diekmann, 2001), and maintains grassland habitat heterogeneity (Dirzo et al., 2014), crucial for the establishment and persistence of grassland specialists (Figure 4; Bullock et al., 1994; Kapás et al., 2020).”
BackgroundEnvironmental DNA reveals aquatic biodiversity of an urban backwater area, southeast coast of India
Balasubramanian, V. K., Maran, M. I. J., Ramteke, D., et al. (2021) · Marine Pollution Bulletin · doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.112786 · Cited by 10
A biodiversity-employment framework to protect biodiversity
Ruault, J., Tour, A. D. L., Évette, A., Allain, S., & Callois, J.-M. (2021) · Ecological Economics · doi:10.1016/j.ecolecon.2021.107238 · Cited by 10
Riddell, M., Maisels, F., Lawrence, A., Stokes, E., Schulte-Herbrüggen, B., & Ingram, D. J. (2022) · African Journal of Ecology · doi:10.1111/aje.13001 · Cited by 12
Small Populations and Genetic Drift
Allendorf, F. W., Funk, W. C., Aitken, S. N., Byrne, M. M., & Luikart, G. (2022) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780198856566.003.0006 · Cited by 10
Santos‐Gally, R., & Boege, K. (2022) · Topics in biodiversity and conservation · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-92234-4_5 · Cited by 11
Insects in Art during an Age of Environmental Turmoil
Klein, B. A., & Brosius, T. R. (2022) · Insects · doi:10.3390/insects13050448 · Cited by 10
Zuluaga, S., Vargas, F. H., Aráoz, R., & Grande, J. M. (2022) · Global Ecology and Conservation · doi:10.1016/j.gecco.2022.e02174 · Cited by 10
Lagerstrom, K. M., Vance, S. E., Cornwell, B. H., Ruffley, M., Bellagio, T., Expósito‐Alonso, M., Palumbi, S. R., & Hadly, E. A. (2022) · Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences · doi:10.1098/rstb.2021.0389 · Cited by 10
Resilience in the food sector – environmental, social and economic perspectives in crisis situations
Franc‐Dąbrowska, J., & Drejerska, N. (2022) · The International Food and Agribusiness Management Review · doi:10.22434/ifamr2022.0010 · Cited by 13
Body mass and latitude as global predictors of vertebrate populations exposure to multiple threats
Capdevila, P., Noviello, N., McRae, L., Freeman, R., & Clements, C. F. (2022) · Ecography · doi:10.1111/ecog.06309 · Cited by 15
Bt‐maize in neotropical arthropod food webs: community‐stress or lack thereof?
Zuim, V., Godoi, C. T. D., Marques, V. M., Haro, M. M., Gontijo, L. M., & Guedes, R. N. C. (2022) · Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata · doi:10.1111/eea.13254 · Cited by 10
Vega, R., Vázquez‐Domínguez, E., White, T. A., et al. (2016) · Conservation Genetics · doi:10.1007/s10592-016-0907-5 · Cited by 10
“…associated with extirpation of species and populations and declines in local species abundance, with consequent potential genetic erosion and decrease of genetic diversity; processes that can have more subtle but no less important negative effects on biodiversity (Frankham 2005; Dirzo et al. 2014).”
BackgroundDevelopment of a wing-beat-modulation scanning lidar system for insect studies
Fristrup, K. M., Shaw, J. A. A., & Tauc, M. J. (2017) · doi:10.1117/12.2274656 · Cited by 10
“Over the last 500 years, animal species have been declining at an alarming rate (about 30% of vertebrate species are declining, and the same is estimated for invertebrates).(3,15) Insects are no exception, and the impacts of their decline have become apparent.”
BackgroundInfluentialKirkpatrick, L., Bailey, S. A., & Park, K. J. (2017) · Forest Ecology and Management · doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2017.09.010 · Cited by 10
“This is driven by concern about world-wide declines in species and populations across a range of taxa (Dirzo et al. 2014) and recognition that much of this is driven by habitat loss and fragmentation, caused by anthropogenic change (Thomas 2004).”
BackgroundIntra-specific downsizing of frugivores affects seed germination of fleshy-fruited plant species
Pérez‐Méndez, N., Rodríguez, A., & Nogales, M. (2017) · Acta Oecologica · doi:10.1016/j.actao.2017.11.017 · Cited by 10
Climate Change and the Trading System: Implications of the Trans-Pacific Partnership
Ciuriak, N., & Ciuriak, D. (2016) · The International Trade Journal · doi:10.1080/08853908.2016.1198282 · Cited by 10
Freelance, C. B., Magrath, M. J. L., Elgar, M. A., et al. (2021) · Journal of Applied Ecology · doi:10.1111/1365-2664.14069 · Cited by 9
del Castillo, R. F., & Rivera-García, R. (2022) · Frontiers in Forests and Global Change · doi:10.3389/ffgc.2022.763009 · Cited by 9
Colby, B., Niles, J., Persons, M. H., & Wilson, M. J. (2022) · Ecology and Evolution · doi:10.1002/ece3.9056 · Cited by 8
“Climate change may threaten ecological systems through shifts in long- term temperature and precipitation patterns that may adversely affect biota, especially when combined with other anthropogenic stressors (Dirzo et al., 2014; Nelson et al., 2009).”
BackgroundBrown, J. A., Lerman, S. B., Basile, A. J., Bateman, H. L., Deviche, P., Warren, P. S., & Sweazea, K. L. (2022) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0269334 · Cited by 10
Citizen Science Apps in a Higher Education Botany Course: Data Quality and Learning Effects
Pernat, N., Gathof, A. K., Herrmann, J., Seitz, B., & Buchholz, S. (2023) · Sustainability · doi:10.3390/su151712984 · Cited by 10
Situating defaunation in an operational framework to advance biodiversity conservation
Poulsen, J. R., Maicher, V., Malinowski, H., & DeSisto, C. M. M. (2023) · BioScience · doi:10.1093/biosci/biad079 · Cited by 11
“Therefore, in contrast to American vernacular in which wildlife often denotes vertebrates, defaunation should ideally include other animals, such as arthropods (Dirzo et al. 2014 ).”
BackgroundInfluentialFeng, L., Ma, X., Hughes, A. C., & Feng, G. (2023) · Biodiversity and Conservation · doi:10.1007/s10531-023-02715-7 · Cited by 9
“However, whilst environmental factors were historically responsible for the generation of biodiversity patterns, contemporary factors can dramatically alter the capacity of ecosystems to maintain species (Bogoni et al. 2020; Dirzo et al. 2014).”
BackgroundZhang, J., & Wang, B. (2023) · New Phytologist · doi:10.1111/nph.19340 · Cited by 9
“However, due to climate change and human disturbance, many animal species’ populations, especially large animals, are declining or even locally extinct, which may greatly affect the seed dispersal process (Zhou et al ., 2013; Dirzo et al ., 2014; Fricke et al ., 2022).”
Using historical habitat loss to predict contemporary mammal extirpations in Neotropical forests
Bogoni, J. A., Peres, C. A., Navarro, A. B., Carvalho‐Rocha, V., & Galetti, M. (2024) · Conservation Biology · doi:10.1111/cobi.14245 · Cited by 12
“Habitat loss and degradation are leading drivers of mammal local extinctions (Di Minin et al., 2019; Dirzo et al., 2014; Schipper et al., 2008).”
Self-citationEnvironmental DNA metabarcoding of pan trap water to monitor arthropod‐plant interactions
Kestel, J. H., Field, D. L., Bateman, P. W., et al. (2024) · Environmental DNA · doi:10.1002/edn3.527 · Cited by 9
Hunting mode and habitat selection mediate the success of human hunters
Gaynor, K. M., McInturff, A., Abrahms, B. L., et al. (2024) · Movement Ecology · doi:10.1186/s40462-024-00471-z · Cited by 9
“From the Pleistocene to the present, the hunting of wild animals by humans has altered ecosystems [1, 2].”
BackgroundQuinn, C. A., Burns, P., Jantz, P. A., Salas, L. A., Goetz, S. J., & Clark, M. L. (2024) · Environmental Research Ecology · doi:10.1088/2752-664x/ad4bec · Cited by 10
“Biodiversity is increasingly at risk due to the alteration of the environment by direct human impact and induced climate change (Dirzo et al 2014).”
BackgroundEcology and conservation researchers should adopt open source technologies
Hsing, P., Johns, B., & Matthes, A. (2024) · Frontiers in Conservation Science · doi:10.3389/fcosc.2024.1364181 · Cited by 9
Giombini, M. I., Pésole, D., Benítez, A. D., Costa, S. A., Foletto, L. F., Pizzio, C. E., Yordanoff, A. L. D., Gatti, M. G., & Bitetti, M. S. D. (2024) · Oikos · doi:10.1111/oik.10488 · Cited by 9
Bellinzoni, J. E., Valenzuela, L. O., Bonini, R. A., et al. (2024) · Journal of Archaeological Science Reports · doi:10.1016/j.jasrep.2024.104687 · Cited by 10
Fedyń, I., Sobociński, W., Czyżowicz, S., Wyka, J., & Ciach, M. (2024) · The Science of The Total Environment · doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.175166 · Cited by 10
Pardo, L. E., Gómez‐Valencia, B., Deere, N. J., Herrera-Varón, Y., Soto, C., Noguera‐Urbano, E. A., Sánchez‐Clavijo, L. M., Romero, L., Díaz‐Pulido, A., & Ochoa-Quintero, J. M. (2024) · Global Ecology and Conservation · doi:10.1016/j.gecco.2024.e03232 · Cited by 12
Lan, L., Liu, T., Gao, S., Li, Q., Yang, L., Fei, H., Zhong, X., Wang, Y.-X., Zhu, C.-Y., Abel, C., et al. (2025) · npj Biofilms and Microbiomes · doi:10.1038/s41522-025-00653-6 · Cited by 10
Promoting equity between the Global North and Global South in entomological research
Herrera, M. S., & Maharaj, G. (2025) · Current Opinion in Insect Science · doi:10.1016/j.cois.2025.101357 · Cited by 9
Yousefi, M., Nicolaï, M. P. J., Bosso, L., et al. (2025) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-025-85587-x · Cited by 9
Insights on Climate Risks to the Central African Forest Ecosystems: An Interdisciplinary Review
Burgin, L. E., Doherty, A., Higazi, A., Richardson, K. J., & Calow, R. (2025) · Climate Resilience and Sustainability · doi:10.1002/cli2.70010 · Cited by 9
Mungi, N. A., Gloria, A. O., Rastogi, R. G., et al. (2025) · People and Nature · doi:10.1002/pan3.70073 · Cited by 9
Meta-analysis on the effects of chemical stressors on freshwater ecosystem functions
Feckler, A., Schulz, R., & Schäfer, R. B. (2025) · Environmental Sciences Europe · doi:10.1186/s12302-025-01167-w · Cited by 13
Mackey, B., Lindenmayer, D. B., Keith, H., & de Bie, J. (2025) · Climate Resilience and Sustainability · doi:10.1002/cli2.70015 · Cited by 9
Archived natural DNA samplers reveal four decades of biodiversity change across the tree of life
Junk, I., Hans, J., Perez‐Lamarque, B., Stothut, M., Weber, S., Gold, E., Schubert, C., Schumacher, A., Schmitt, N., Melcher, A. C., et al. (2025) · Nature Ecology & Evolution · doi:10.1038/s41559-025-02812-6 · Cited by 10
“Forward and reverse reads were merged using PEAR 64 with a minimum quality of 20 and a minimum overlap of 50 base pairs (bp).”
Identifying the Big Questions in paleontology: a community-driven project
Smith, J. A., Dowding, E. M., Abdelhady, A. A., Abondio, P., Araújo, R. M. N., Aze, T. L., Balisi, M. A., Buatois, L. A., Carvajal-Chitty, H. I., Chattopadhyay, D., et al. (2025) · Paleobiology · doi:10.1017/pab.2025.10042 · Cited by 21
Predictions of Future Insect Distributions Under Climate Change
Bates, O. K., & Bertelsmeier, C. (2025) · Diversity and Distributions · doi:10.1111/ddi.70106 · Cited by 10
“Although many stressors may affect insects (Cardoso et al. 2020; Dirzo et al. 2014), climate change stands out because it affects insect communities world-wide, even in remote or protected areas (Wagner et al. 2021), and it has already contributed to large-scale insect declines (Soroye et al. 2020).”
The global biomass of mammals since 1850
Greenspoon, L., Ramot, N., Moran, U., Roll, U., Phillips, R., Noor, Ε., & Milo, R. (2025) · Nature Communications · doi:10.1038/s41467-025-63888-z · Cited by 17
“Over the same period, human activities placed numerous pressures on wild mammal populations, including hunting, habitat loss, and many more 3 – 5 .”
Nakanishi, K., Koide, D., Yokomizo, H., et al. (2020) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-020-69532-8 · Cited by 9
Palmeirim, A. F., Benchimol, M., Leal, I. R., & Peres, C. A. (2021) · Ecosphere · doi:10.1002/ecs2.3518 · Cited by 9
“First, mesopredators apparently compensated for the decline in apex predator abundance, illustrating the relaxation of top-down forces further consistent with several processes of defaunation under human– habitat disturbance (Estes et al. 2011, Dirzo et al. 2014).”
BackgroundBrown, J. C., Shirley, M. H., Yog‐yog, A., et al. (2021) · Aquatic Conservation Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems · doi:10.1002/aqc.3700 · Cited by 9
Artificial field defects: A low-cost measure to support arthropod diversity in arable fields
Knapp, M., González, E., Štrobl, M., Seidl, M., Jakubíková, L., Čížek, O., Balvín, O., Benda, D., Teder, T., & Kadlec, T. (2021) · Agriculture Ecosystems & Environment · doi:10.1016/j.agee.2021.107748 · Cited by 9
Condro, A. A., Syartinilia, S., Higuchi, H., et al. (2022) · Global Ecology and Conservation · doi:10.1016/j.gecco.2022.e02044 · Cited by 9
Vieira, L. M., Sobral‐Souza, T., Spector, S., et al. (2022) · Journal of Insect Conservation · doi:10.1007/s10841-022-00388-1 · Cited by 9
Evaluating sources of bias in pedigree‐based estimates of breeding population size
White, S. L., Sard, N. M., Brundage, H. M., et al. (2022) · Ecological Applications · doi:10.1002/eap.2602 · Cited by 9
Global Forest Biodiversity: Current State, Trends, and Threats
Leuschner, C., & Homeier, J. (2022) · Progress in botany · doi:10.1007/124_2022_58 · Cited by 10
de Oliveira, M. L., Peres, P. H. D. F., Grotta‐Neto, F., Vogliotti, A., Passos, F. C., & Duarte, J. M. B. (2022) · Journal for Nature Conservation · doi:10.1016/j.jnc.2022.126262 · Cited by 8
Planted pollinator habitat in agroecosystems: How does the pollinator community respond?
Levenson, H. K., & Tarpy, D. R. (2023) · Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution · doi:10.3389/fevo.2023.1060834 · Cited by 13
“Extreme losses of global biodiversity and animal biomass are receiving increasing attention (Dirzo et al., 2014; Ceballos et al., 2015).”
BackgroundRobinson, L. J., George, K. S., Fox, C. P., Marshall, J. E. A., Harding, I. C., Bown, P. R., Lively, J. R., Marroquín, S., Leckie, R. M., Dameron, S., et al. (2023) · Palaeogeography Palaeoclimatology Palaeoecology · doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2023.111496 · Cited by 9
Ji, C., Li, H., Xiao, W., et al. (2023) · Animals · doi:10.3390/ani13081296 · Cited by 9
“Furthermore, the spatiotemporal interactions between mesopredators and their prey can be largely changed due to human-induced disturbance and local population decline (even extinction) in large carnivores [17,18].”
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Free word association analysis of German laypeople’s perception of biodiversity and its loss
Eylering, A., Neufeld, K., Kottmann, F., et al. (2023) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1112182 · Cited by 9
“The consequences of this environmental degradation affect both our quality of life and economic prosperity (Ehrlich and Ehrlich, 2013; Dirzo et al., 2014; Sockhill et al., 2022) while also leading to irreversible biodiversity loss.”
BackgroundGonçalves, L. O., Carra, T. A., Paulo, C. A. D. E. D. S., et al. (2023) · Universidade de São Paulo. Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz eBooks · doi:10.11606/9786587391472 · Cited by 9
Chapman, C. A., Gogarten, J. F., Golooba, M., Kalbitzer, U., Omeja, P. A., Opito, E. A., & Sarkar, D. (2023) · American Journal of Primatology · doi:10.1002/ajp.23577 · Cited by 8
Alamán, A., Casas, E., Arbelo, M., Keynan, O., & Koren, L. (2024) · Ecology Letters · doi:10.1111/ele.14434 · Cited by 10
Conserving Iberian Lynx in Europe: Issues and challenges
Roy, P., & Upadhyay, R. K. (2015) · Ecological Complexity · doi:10.1016/j.ecocom.2014.12.007 · Cited by 9
Size change, shape change, and the growth space of a community
Spencer, M. (2015) · Journal of Theoretical Biology · doi:10.1016/j.jtbi.2015.01.002 · Cited by 9
“, 2005) and similar indices (e.g. Buckland et al., 2011; Burns et al., 2013; Dirzo et al., 2014) measure proportional change in the abundance of a typical species.”
BackgroundLucca, G. D. S. D., de Barros, F. A. P., de Oliveira, J. V., Magro, J. D., & Lucas, E. (2017) · Wetlands Ecology and Management · doi:10.1007/s11273-017-9573-8 · Cited by 10
“Based on fossil records and indexes of species extinction, theoretical models have pointed anthropogenic rates as high as one thousand greater than natural rates (de Vos et al. 2014), with losses in the range of 11,000–58,000 species per year (Dirzo et al. 2014).”
What Is It Like to Become a Bat? Heterogeneities in an Age of Extinction
Erev, S. (2018) · Environmental Humanities · doi:10.1215/22011919-4385498 · Cited by 9
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Restoration of ecosystem functionality: the value of species interactions
Sobral, M., & Magrach, A. (2019) · Ecosistemas · doi:10.7818/ecos.1737 · Cited by 9
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Aquatic landscape change, extirpations, and introductions in the Chicago Region
Pasterski, M. J., Bellagamba, A. W., Chancellor, S., et al. (2020) · Urban Ecosystems · doi:10.1007/s11252-020-01001-6 · Cited by 9
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“Defaunation has been accelerating in terrestrial systems worldwide due to overexploitation, habitat destruction, and the impacts of invasive species (Dirzo et al., 2014).”
BackgroundChanges in partner traits drive variation in plant–nectar robber interactions across habitats
Fitch, G. M., & Vandermeer, J. H. (2021) · Basic and Applied Ecology · doi:10.1016/j.baae.2021.02.013 · Cited by 9
Challenges and successes to the implementation of a zoo conservation-education program
Mellish, S., Ryan, J. C., McLeod, E. M., Tuckey, M. R., & Pearson, E. L. (2021) · Evaluation and Program Planning · doi:10.1016/j.evalprogplan.2021.101950 · Cited by 9
Antropoceno: o Campo de Pesquisas e as Controvérsias sobre a Era da Humanidade
Alcântara, V. D. C., Yamamoto, É. A. F. S., Garcia, A. S., & Campos, A. C. (2021) · Revista Gestão & Conexões · doi:10.47456/regec.2317-5087.2020.9.3.31771.11-31 · Cited by 10
Environmental conservation policy can bend the trend of future forest losses in the oriental Amazon
Zeferino, L. B., Gomes, L. C., Filho, E. I. F., & de Oliveira, T. S. (2021) · Regional Environmental Change · doi:10.1007/s10113-021-01787-x · Cited by 8
“…with the steady increase of food production, and exploring past changes in these landscapes can help to understand local processes resulted from global markets and analyse future trends (Monteiro and Adami 2016; Lambin et al. 2003; Foley et al. 2005; Dirzo et al. 2014; Myers et al. 2000).”
BackgroundInclusive Sustainability Approaches in Common-Pool Resources from the Perspective of Blackologists
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Przybyla, K., Michez, D., Zambra, E., et al. (2021) · Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution · doi:10.3389/fevo.2021.748405 · Cited by 9
Niitepõld, K., & Boggs, C. L. (2022) · Ecological Entomology · doi:10.1111/een.13124 · Cited by 9
Variable vulnerability to climate change in New Zealand lizards
Jarvie, S., Ingram, T., Chapple, D. G., et al. (2022) · Journal of Biogeography · doi:10.1111/jbi.14314 · Cited by 9
“The main drivers of species extinctions and population extirpations in the recent past have been habitat loss and degradation, overexploitation and introduction of invasive alien species (Dirzo et al., 2014).”
BackgroundEccard, J. A. (2022) · Journal of Applied Ecology · doi:10.1111/1365-2664.14147 · Cited by 9
ASGHAR, A., QADEER, O., Mushtaq, S., et al. (2022) · Biodiversitas Journal of Biological Diversity · doi:10.13057/biodiv/d230440 · Cited by 9
“The situation has worsened as recent reviews have revealed declines across multiple continents that outweigh the loss of individual species in terms of functional and ecological impact (Dirzo et al. 2014; Janzen and Hallwachs 2019; Montgomery et al. 2020; Sánchez-Bayo and Wyckhuys 2019).”
BackgroundBrashares, J. S., & Gaynor, K. M. (2017) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.aan0499 · Cited by 11
Long-term assessment of the translocation of an endangered primate into an agroforestry system
Franquesa‐Soler, M., Aristizabal, J. F., Andresen, E., del Burgo, I. V., Shedden, A., & Rodríguez‐Luna, E. (2022) · Endangered Species Research · doi:10.3354/esr01195 · Cited by 9
The diversity and distribution of introduced plant species reflect 8000 years of settlement history
Macek, M., Abrahám, V., Tkáč, P., Novák, D., & Kolář, J. (2022) · Journal of Ecology · doi:10.1111/1365-2745.14060 · Cited by 9
Three decades of research on Iberian wild Carnivora: trends, highlights, and future directions
Rosalino, L. M., Matias, G., Carvalho, J., et al. (2023) · Mammal Review · doi:10.1111/mam.12322 · Cited by 9
Metadata
- Authors
- Dirzo, R., Young, H. S., Galetti, M., Ceballos, G., Isaac, N. J. B., & Collen, B.
- Affiliations
- Stanford University (US)
- University of California, Santa Barbara (US)
- Universidade Estadual Paulista (Unesp) (BR)
- Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (MX)
- Natural Environment Research Council (GB)
- University College London (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Dirzo, Rodolfo
- Venue
- Science
- Published
- 2014-07-25
- Volume
- 345
- Issue
- 6195
- Pages
- 401-406
- ISSN
- 0036-8075 (ISSN-L)
- 1095-9203
- OpenAlex
- W2100135944
- Cited by
- 4,474
- References
- 164
- Citations by year
- 2026: 382 · 2025: 425 · 2024: 397 · 2023: 475 · 2022: 501 · 2021: 494 · 2020: 416 · 2019: 411 · 2018: 294 · 2017: 280 · 2016: 189 · 2015: 167 · 2014: 39
- FWCI
- 16.67
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- discovery.ucl.ac.uk
- Locations
- Science (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- UCL Discovery (University College London) (submittedVersion)
- Acervo Digital da Universidade Estadual Paulista (Universidade Estadual Paulista) (submittedVersion)
- UNESP Institutional Repository (São Paulo State University) (submittedVersion)
- Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
- Funders
- Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo
- Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico
- Natural Environment Research Council (CEH010010)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Nature and Landscape Conservation › Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Wildlife Ecology and Conservation
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics › Plant and animal studies
- Keywords
- defaunation, biodiversity loss, species abundance decline, extinction, invertebrates, terrestrial vertebrates, sixth mass extinction, ecosystem functioning, Anthropocene
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Birds, Humans, Human Activities, Insecta, Invertebrates, Mammals, Pest Control, Population, Biodiversity, Extinction, Biological, Pollination, Endangered Species
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
A language model drew the claims from the paper on 2026-10-02, under version 3 of the claim definition (model deepseek-v4.1-flash, prompt extract-v3).
A second model labelled each claim on 2026-10-02 (model jev-1.13-20260917, definition revision gold-guideline-v0.2).
Cited sources are checked with a language model’s help (gpt-6-sol).
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
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