Extinction Of Large Animals Will Worsen The Climate Change Effects
Dailycsr.com – 23 December 2015 – A research conducted by the University of East Anglia concluded that if the large animal of the tropical forests begin to get extinct, then the climate change will only grow worse.
The said research came out in the Science Advances, wherein it revealed that in case, large primates who consume fruits like tapirs and toucans will trigger a chain reaction of wiping off the respective species of trees.
The reason behind this shocking phenomenon lying in the fact that the “large animals disperse large seeded plant species often associated with large trees and high wood density”. These species of trees are very effective in “capturing and storing carbon dioxide” that they absorb from the atmosphere in comparison to “smaller trees”.
The large vertebrates ingest viable seeds, whereby passing the content through their “digestive tract” in an intact state and disperse the same. Likewise, removing these animals will upset the natural balance in the eco-system and threatens the heavy-wooded large trees into extinction, meaning less CO2 gets to be “locked away”.
The said research study was carried out in a collaborative effort by the researchers of São Paulo State University in Brazil, “UEA, the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and the University of Helsinki, Finland”. Moreover, the “School of Environmental Sciences” of UEA’s Prof Carlos Peres stated:
“Large birds and mammals provide almost all the seed dispersal services for large-seeded plants. Several large vertebrates are threatened by hunting, illegal trade and habitat loss. But the steep decline of the megafauna in overhunted tropical forest ecosystems can bring about large unforeseen impacts.
“We show that the decline and extinction of large animals will over time induces a decline in large hardwood trees. This in turn negatively affects the capacity of tropical forests to store carbon and therefore their potential to counter climate change.”
References:
http://www.ethicalperformance.com/
The said research came out in the Science Advances, wherein it revealed that in case, large primates who consume fruits like tapirs and toucans will trigger a chain reaction of wiping off the respective species of trees.
The reason behind this shocking phenomenon lying in the fact that the “large animals disperse large seeded plant species often associated with large trees and high wood density”. These species of trees are very effective in “capturing and storing carbon dioxide” that they absorb from the atmosphere in comparison to “smaller trees”.
The large vertebrates ingest viable seeds, whereby passing the content through their “digestive tract” in an intact state and disperse the same. Likewise, removing these animals will upset the natural balance in the eco-system and threatens the heavy-wooded large trees into extinction, meaning less CO2 gets to be “locked away”.
The said research study was carried out in a collaborative effort by the researchers of São Paulo State University in Brazil, “UEA, the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and the University of Helsinki, Finland”. Moreover, the “School of Environmental Sciences” of UEA’s Prof Carlos Peres stated:
“Large birds and mammals provide almost all the seed dispersal services for large-seeded plants. Several large vertebrates are threatened by hunting, illegal trade and habitat loss. But the steep decline of the megafauna in overhunted tropical forest ecosystems can bring about large unforeseen impacts.
“We show that the decline and extinction of large animals will over time induces a decline in large hardwood trees. This in turn negatively affects the capacity of tropical forests to store carbon and therefore their potential to counter climate change.”
References:
http://www.ethicalperformance.com/
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