Impacts of wildlife trade on terrestrial biodiversityOscar Morton, Brett
R. Scheffers, Torbjørn Haugaasen & David P. Edwards Nature Ecology &
EvolutionFebruary 15, 2021 Abstract
The wildlife trade is worth billions of dollars annually and affects most
major taxonomic groups. Despite this, a global understanding of the trade’s
impacts on species populations is lacking. We performed a quantitative
meta-analysis of the wildlife trade that synthesized 506 species-level
effect sizes from 31 studies, estimating trade-driven declines in mammals
(452 effect sizes), birds (36) and reptiles (18). Overall, species declined
in abundance by 62% (95% confidence interval (CI), 20 to 82%) where trade
occurs. Reductions involving national or international trade were greatest,
driving declines of 76% (95% CI, 36 to 91%) and 66% (95% CI, 12 to 87%),
respectively. The impacts of trade were pervasive, requiring over 102 hours
of travel time from settlements for trade to have no mean effect. Current
protective measures fail species, with significant declines even where the
harvesting for trade occurs in protected areas. Population declines tracked
species threat status, indicating heightened extirpation and extinction
risk in traded species. Critically, for such a severe global threat to
wildlife, our analysis unearthed a limited number of studies using
treatment versus control comparisons, and no studies on amphibians,
invertebrates, cacti or orchids. Improved management, tackling both
unsustainable demand and trade reporting, must be a conservation priority
to prevent rampant trade-induced declines.
ABSTRACT LINKhttps://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-021-01399-y
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-021-01399-y