Stoat - Stoat, an animal with a fast live-history, native to the UK and much of the northern hemisphere but also invasive to New Zealand, including in protected areas. Credit: Professor Tim Blackburn, UCL.
Stoat - Stoat, an animal with a fast live-history, native to the UK and much of the northern hemisphere but also invasive to New Zealand, including in protected areas. Credit: Professor Tim Blackburn, UCL. Animals that live fast - that is, frequent or abundant reproduction and short lifespans - are more resilient to human-driven land use changes than those with slow life-histories, finds a new study led by UCL researchers. Across the globe, in areas that have experienced rapid expansion of cropland or bare soil, fast-lived species have increased in numbers in recent decades while slow-lived species are in decline, according to the findings published in Global Change Biology . The research team analysed the effects of land cover and temperature changes on 1,072 animal populations recorded in the Living Planet Database. The data spanned between 1992 and 2016, and included 461 species (273 birds, 137 mammals and 51 reptiles) from across Europe, Asia, Africa, North and South America, and Oceania. The researchers compared the success of animals with fast life-history traits - those that reproduce quickly or in large numbers but may not live very long - and those with slow life-history traits, which live long lives and take a long time to reach maturity.
TO READ THIS ARTICLE, CREATE YOUR ACCOUNT
And extend your reading, free of charge and with no commitment.
