The diversity of resilience patterns of natural populations decreases closer to human activities

Journal article : Letter

Quantifying the resilience of wild populations is essential to predict their viability in the Anthropocene. Many species have become threatened and even gone extinct because they have failed to cope with human disturbances. We use demographic data for 956 plant and animal populations to assess their responses to increasing levels of human activities. We show that in areas characterised by high human activities there is a smaller diversity of resilience patterns compared to areas with lower human activities. Furthermore, in plants, populations closer to human-influenced habitats display the ability to experience a lesser decrease in population size after disturbances than populations in less anthropised habitats. Our results suggest that human activities might have eroded the diversity of resilience patterns of wildlife populations, with key implications for the future resilience of wild populations worldwide.

Authors: Merrien, T; Davis, KJ; Di Marco, M; Capdevila, P; Salguero-Gómez, R

• Publication status: Accepted
• Peer review status: Reviewed (other)
• Publisher: Ecological Society of America
• Journal: Ecology
• Acceptance date: 2026-04-10
• EISSN: 1939-9170
• ISSN: 0012-9658
• Language: English
• Keywords: demography; disturbances; ecology; evolution; environment; pressures; resilience
• Subtype: Letter