Cienciaes.com: The incredible dwindling biomass.

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An article in the journal Proceedings of the United States Academy of Sciences, carried out by a group of researchers from the Weismann Institute in Israel, estimates the biomass of terrestrial mammals, to which the human species belongs. Animal biomass is the amount of living mass added to the individuals of a species, or a class of animals. It can be assumed equal to the sum total of the weight of all animals.

The researchers decided to use a combination of methods that concerted the collection of field data on the abundance of hundreds of mammal species and a series of properties that affect the abundance of each species of this class of animals.

The former refer to only 6% of existing mammal species, that is, only 6% of the total biomass has been estimated by a more or less precise counting method. These field data are then subjected to analysis using artificial intelligence that takes into account the specific properties that affect the abundance of mammals in different ecosystems. This analysis allows them to infer with acceptable confidence biomass figures close to reality for the 94% of mammal species that lack field data.

sad outlook.

The researchers reveal that the total biomass of all wild mammals on Earth is 22 megatonnes, or 22 million tons. Only six percent of the species accumulate 55% of the total biomass, that is, 12 MT. They are the species rich in biomass. The first of these, surprise, is the American deer. The second, the boar. The African elephant only occupies the third position, and the gray kangaroo, the fourth.

Consequently, 94% of the species only add about 10 MT of biomass. Elephants, although they are only third in the list of the most massive, account for 8% of the total biomass of mammals. In comparison, artiodactyl antelopes (those with an even number of hooves) account for almost half of those 22 MT, while perissodactyls (with an odd number of hooves) account for only 1%. On the other hand, primates account for 4% of the biomass. Finally, carnivores account for only 3% of the total biomass of mammals.

The estimated biomass for marine mammals exceeds that of terrestrial ones and is estimated at about 40 MT. 60% of this biomass is contributed by the various species of whales that still survive.

What is the biomass of Humanity? Humanity, alone, already accumulates 390 MT of biomass, that is, more than six times the biomass of the rest of the mammals, terrestrial and marine, combined.

To this enormous amount of biomass must be added the biomass accumulated by farm and domestic animals, which the researchers estimate at 630 MT, that is, more than ten times the amount of biomass of all wild mammals.

In this way, domestic animals and Humanity accumulate around 95% of all the biomass of mammals on the planet.

So that you can see the drama of the situation at a glance, you can access a graphical representation of the distribution of biomass in mammals prepared by the authors of the aforementioned article, which you will find on the Quilo de ciencia website.

It’s too late?

The amount of animal life that the planet can support, that is, animal biomass, is directly dependent on the amount of energy from the Sun that is captured and transformed into life by plants. Without energy, there is no life. Well, around 95% of the energy captured to sustain life on the planet is used at this time in Earth’s history by Humanity and by the animals that it allocates for company and food.

The planet has become too small for us humans who continue, however, determined to grow and gain weight, thereby doing enormous damage. How long will Nature be able to withstand the continued aggression that we inflict on her?

A reflection of the authors of the aforementioned article mentions that we should not be fooled by National Geographic documentaries or similar. These show us a paradisiacal world, of exuberant jungles, beautiful islands, endless plains, in which wild animals seem to lead a life without too much interference from human beings. Well, the data collected in the aforementioned study show that this is nothing more than fake news, or false impressions, a hoax that, if believed, will end up leading us to destroy the few corners of wildlife that still survive in the urban apartment in that Humanity has converted the planet Earth.

Works by Jorge Laborda.

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