Ecological science and tomorrow's world

Journal article

Abstract:: Beginning with an outline of uncertainties about the number of species on Earth today, this paper addresses likely causes and consequences of the manifest acceleration in extinction rates over the past few centuries. The ultimate causes are habitat destruction, alien introductions, overexploitation and climate change. Increases in human numbers and per capita impacts underlie all of these. Against a background review of these factors, I conclude with a discussion of the policy implications for equitably proportionate actions - and of the difficulties in achieving them.

Files:: Ecological science and tomorrow's world

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Publisher:: Royal Society Publishing
Journal:: Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B More from this journal
Volume:: 365
Issue:: 1537
Pages:: 41-47
Publication date:: 2010-01-01
Edition:: Publisher's version
DOI:: 10.1098/rstb.2009.0164
EISSN:: 1471-2970
ISSN:: 0962-8436

Language:: English
Keywords:: extinction rates

population growth

co-operation

biodiversity

ecological footprints
Subjects:: Zoological sciences

Ecology (zoology)
UUID:: uuid:a319377e-779c-4b81-b026-58842d78a065
Local pid:: ora:3490
Deposit date:: 2010-03-10
ARK identifier:: ark:/29072/ora_a319377e779c4b81b02658842d78a065

Copyright holder:: May, R
Notes:: Citation: May, R. M. (2010). 'Ecological science and tomorrow's world', Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, 365(1537), 41-47. [Available at http://rstb.royalsocietypublishing.org/]. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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