The development of Anthropocene biotas.
Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci
; 375(1794): 20190113, 2020 03 16.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-31983342
ABSTRACT
Biodiversity has always responded dynamically to environmental perturbations in the geological past, through changes to the abundances and distributions of genes and species, to the composition of biological communities, and to the cover and locations of different ecosystem types. This is how the 'nature' that exists today has survived. The same is true in the Anthropocene. The entire planet surface has been altered by humans, ranging from direct vegetation transformation and removal of most of the world's megafauna, through to atmospheric changes in greenhouse gasses and consequent climatic changes and ocean acidification. These anthropogenic perturbations have led to the establishment of genes and species in new locations, thus generating novel communities and ecosystems. In this historical context, recent biological changes should be seen as responses to multiple drivers of change, rather than being a problem per se. These changes are the means by which the biosphere is adjusting to and will ultimately survive the Anthropocene. Thus, management and conservation of the biological world, and our place in it, requires a transition from trying to minimize biological change to one in which we facilitate dynamism that accelerates the rates at which species and ecosystems adjust to human-associated drivers of change. This article is part of the theme issue 'Climate change and ecosystems threats, opportunities and solutions'.
Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Cambio Climático
/
Conservación de los Recursos Naturales
/
Biodiversidad
/
Biota
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci
Año:
2020
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Reino Unido