Humanity's diverse predatory niche and its ecological consequences.

Area of Science:

• Ecology
• Conservation Biology
• Biodiversity Science

Background:

• Humans have historically preyed on animals, but contemporary industrialized exploitation patterns are understudied.
• Predator-prey relationships significantly influence biodiversity, making human predatory behavior a critical ecological factor.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze modern human predatory interactions with vertebrates and estimate their ecological consequences.
• To quantify the number of vertebrate species exploited by humans and assess the threat levels associated with this exploitation.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) 'use and trade' data for approximately 47,000 species.
• Comparison of human exploitation ranges and species numbers with non-human predators.
• Trait space analyses to assess the ecological uniqueness of exploited and threatened species.

Main Results:

• Humans exploit over a third (approximately 15,000) of Earth's vertebrates.
• Human exploitation affects up to 300 times more species than comparable non-human predators over equivalent ranges.
• Nearly 40% of exploited species are threatened by human use, with birds and mammals occupying unique ecological trait space at risk.

Conclusions:

• Human exploitation significantly impacts a vast number of vertebrate species, exceeding that of other predators.
• Exploitation for non-food uses (pet trade, medicine) is as significant as food consumption.
• Continued overexploitation poses profound risks to global biodiversity and ecosystem functions, necessitating urgent conservation attention.