• HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
Tuesday, August 26, 2025
BIOENGINEER.ORG
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
No Result
View All Result
Bioengineer.org
No Result
View All Result
Home NEWS Science News Biology

International study: Humans accelerate the change of biodiversity

Bioengineer by Bioengineer
April 30, 2021
in Biology
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedinShare on RedditShare on Telegram

Humans have significantly altered biodiversity in all climate zones of the Earth. This has been shown by a study published in “Science”.

IMAGE

Credit: © Manuel Steinbauer.

Humans have significantly altered biodiversity in all climate zones of the Earth. This has been shown by a study now published in Science. Led by Prof. Dr. Manuel Steinbauer at the University of Bayreuth, and Dr. Sandra Nogué at the University of Southampton, an international team has investigated how the flora on 27 islands in different regions has developed over the last 5,000 years. Almost everywhere, the arrival of humans has triggered a markedly accelerated change in species composition in previously pristine ecosystems. This dynamic was particularly pronounced on islands colonised in the last 1,500 years.

The 27 islands selected for this study were never connected to the mainland and had been colonised by humans during the study period. Within these islands, pollen of wind-pollinated plants lies since millenia deposited in the sediments of lakes and bogs. The pollen was extracted from the sediment layers, dated, and identified to a respective plant species.

“For each of the 27 islands, our study shows how vegetation composition has changed over the last 5,000 years. Humans’ colonisation of the previously undisturbed islands falls within this period. We can therefore trace how natural systems change as a result of human arrival. This transformation from a natural to a human-dominated system can only be observed on islands. On continents, humans have been extensively changing ecological systems for a very long time. What a natural ecosystem would look like here, we can often no longer tell,” says Steinbauer.

The researchers compared the data obtained through pollen analyses with archaeological findings that provide information about when the islands were first settled by humans. The result provide a clear message. On 24 of the 27 islands studied, the arrival of humans marked a turning point in vegetation turnover. From this point on, vegetation changed at a significantly higher rate, its rate of change was accelerated by a factor of eleven.

The species composition changed particularly on islands that were colonised in the past 1,500 years, such as the Galapagos Islands and Robinson Crusoe Island off Chile. If, on the other hand, the first settlement took place longer ago, the increase in the rate of species turnover was less pronounced. The authors attribute this difference to an increasing technical know-how of agriculture and the associated effects on biodiversity. In addition, as a result of their increasing mobility, people may have introduced plant species from the mainland, compeating with native species on the islands.

“The results of the study highlight the extensive changes we humans are causing in ecological systems. The change in pollen composition in our study mainly reflects human land use over millennia. With the beginning of the industrial age, human induced transformation of ecological systems has accelerated even further. Adding to this, ecological systems are now additionally affected by human induced climate change” explains Prof. Dr. Manuel Steinbauer, corresponding author of the study. He is a member of the Bayreuth Centre for Ecology and Environmental Research (BayCEER), a research centre of the University of Bayreuth, and has been working here for several years on human influences on ecological systems. In this context, he is also leading a DFG (German Research Foundation) project that is investigating how climate change of geological time periods has influenced the risk of extinction of species.

###

Media Contact
Prof. Dr. Manuel Steinbauer
[email protected]

Original Source

https://www.uni-bayreuth.de/en/university/press/press-releases/2021/055-transformation-biodiversity/

Related Journal Article

http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.abd6706

Tags: BiodiversityBiologyEcology/EnvironmentPaleontologyPlant Sciences
Share12Tweet8Share2ShareShareShare2

Related Posts

UCLA Researchers Chart Primate Ovarian Reserve Development, Unlocking Vital Insights into Women’s Health

UCLA Researchers Chart Primate Ovarian Reserve Development, Unlocking Vital Insights into Women’s Health

August 26, 2025
Brain and Gill Kynurenine Pathway Regulation in Shrimp

Brain and Gill Kynurenine Pathway Regulation in Shrimp

August 26, 2025

Resistant Starch Boosts Gut Health in Ready Meals

August 26, 2025

Post-Disbudding Pain Alters Calves’ Play Behavior

August 26, 2025
Please login to join discussion

POPULAR NEWS

  • blank

    Breakthrough in Computer Hardware Advances Solves Complex Optimization Challenges

    147 shares
    Share 59 Tweet 37
  • Molecules in Focus: Capturing the Timeless Dance of Particles

    142 shares
    Share 57 Tweet 36
  • New Drug Formulation Transforms Intravenous Treatments into Rapid Injections

    115 shares
    Share 46 Tweet 29
  • Neuropsychiatric Risks Linked to COVID-19 Revealed

    81 shares
    Share 32 Tweet 20

About

We bring you the latest biotechnology news from best research centers and universities around the world. Check our website.

Follow us

Recent News

Urban Planning Unequally Burdens Traveller Sites Environmentally

Link Between Immune Inflammation and Diabetic Retinopathy Stages

Unseen Whirlwinds: Researchers Discover ‘Hidden’ Vortices That May Impact Soil and Snow Movement

  • Contact Us

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Homepages
    • Home Page 1
    • Home Page 2
  • News
  • National
  • Business
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Science

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.