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As humans continue to destroy the habitat of larger creatures, the average animal size is set to "shrink" by 25 per cent over the next century, according to a new study.
Larger, less adaptable, slow-lived species like tawny eagles and rhinos will become extinct, while smaller and adaptable creatures like rodents, dwarf gerbils and songbirds are likely to predominate, researchers at the University of Southampton said.
Unless radical action is taken to protect wildlife and restore habitats, whole ecosystems could collapse.
“By far the biggest threat to birds and mammals is humankind – with habitats being destroyed due to our impact on the planet, such as deforestation, hunting, intensive farming, urbanisation and the effects of global warming," said Rob Cooke, lead author of the study published in the journal Nature Communications.
“The substantial ‘downsizing’ of species which we forecast could incur further negative impacts for the long-term sustainability of ecology and evolution. This downsizing may be happening due to the effects of ecological change but, ironically, with the loss of species which perform unique functions within our global ecosystem, it could also end up as a driver of change, too.”
Extinction Rebellion swarm LFWShow all 45 1 /45Extinction Rebellion swarm LFW Extinction Rebellion swarm LFW Extinction Rebellion protestors block a road outside the Tate Gallery where Burberry held a show to protest impact of the fashion industry on the environment.
Anu Shukla
Extinction Rebellion swarm LFW Extinction Rebellion co-founder Clare Farrell told The Independent: “The industry has a greenhouse gas footprint the size of Russia. "Young people protesting recently are not going to thank grown ups for using up that carbon budget on throwaway clothing. “We can change things as seen by industries during WW1 when factories making one product, within months, making arms instead. “But we’re not here to tell everyone what to do. Extinction Rebellion is an alarm. We’re here to say it can’t go on, or we’ll drive ourselves into extinction for the sake of an economic model we think we can’t question and because we say we can’t change it. Well I think that we can.”
Anu Shukla
Extinction Rebellion swarm LFW LFW fans poses for a photograph on Sunday 19 February 2019, at The Strand, London, where Extinction Rebellion activists staged a road block demonstration in protest of the fashion industry's impact on the environment.
Anu Shukla
Extinction Rebellion swarm LFW Climate change activists block the road as part of an Extinction Rebellion protest outside a London Fashion Week event at Tate Britain in London, calling on the fashion industry to use its influence to help to create a sustainable world.
Anu Shukla
Extinction Rebellion swarm LFW A LFW fan poses for a photograph on Sunday 19 February 2019, at The Strand, London, where Extinction Rebellion activists staged a road block demonstration in protest of the fashion industry's impact on the environment.
Anu Shukla
Extinction Rebellion swarm LFW Extinction Rebellion activists gathered for a break at a small green space near Temple underground station on 19 February 2019
Anu Shukla
Extinction Rebellion swarm LFW A LFW fan poses for a photograph on Sunday 19 February 2019, at The Strand, London, where Extinction Rebellion activists staged a road block demonstration in protest of the fashion industry's impact on the environment.
Anu Shukla
Extinction Rebellion swarm LFW Extinction Rebellion activists gathered for a break at a small green space near Temple underground station on 19 February 2019
Anu Shukla
Extinction Rebellion swarm LFW A LFW fan poses for a photograph on Sunday 19 February 2019, at The Strand, London, where Extinction Rebellion activists staged a road block demonstration in protest of the fashion industry's impact on the environment.
Anu Shukla
Extinction Rebellion swarm LFW A LFW fan poses for a photograph on Sunday 19 February 2019, at The Strand, London, where Extinction Rebellion activists staged a road block demonstration in protest of the fashion industry's impact on the environment.
Anu Shukla
Extinction Rebellion swarm LFW An Extinction Rebellion activist models a coat made of real grass during a protest against the fashion industry's impact on the environment during LFW on 19 February 2019.
Anu Shukla
Extinction Rebellion swarm LFW A LFW fan poses for a photograph during a protest by Extinction Rebellion activists.
Anu Shukla
Extinction Rebellion swarm LFW Extinction Rebellion protestors block a road outside the Tate Gallery where Burberry held a show to protest impact of the fashion industry on the environment.
Anu Shukla
Extinction Rebellion swarm LFW LFW fans poses for a photograph on Sunday 19 February 2019, at The Strand, London, where Extinction Rebellion activists staged a road block demonstration in protest of the fashion industry's impact on the environment.
Anu Shukla
Extinction Rebellion swarm LFW Extinction Rebellion activists model a coat made of real grass during a road block to protest the impact of the fashion industry on the environment on 19 February 2019 during LFW.
Anu Shukla
Extinction Rebellion swarm LFW Extinction Rebellion co-founder Clare Farrell told The Independent: “The industry has a greenhouse gas footprint the size of Russia. "Young people protesting recently are not going to thank grown ups for using up that carbon budget on throwaway clothing. “We can change things as seen by industries during WW1 when factories making one product, within months, making arms instead. “But we’re not here to tell everyone what to do. Extinction Rebellion is an alarm. We’re here to say it can’t go on, or we’ll drive ourselves into extinction for the sake of an economic model we think we can’t question and because we say we can’t change it. Well I think that we can.”
Anu Shukla
Extinction Rebellion swarm LFW LFW fans poses for a photograph on Sunday 19 February 2019, at The Strand, London, where Extinction Rebellion activists staged a road block demonstration in protest of the fashion industry's impact on the environment.
Anu Shukla
Extinction Rebellion swarm LFW Extinction Rebellon astvists converge outside the Tate during LFW.
Anu Shukla
Extinction Rebellion swarm LFW LFW fans poses for a photograph on Sunday 19 February 2019, at The Strand, London, where Extinction Rebellion activists staged a road block demonstration in protest of the fashion industry's impact on the environment.
Anu Shukla
Extinction Rebellion swarm LFW Extinction Rebellion activists model a coat made of real grass during a road block to protest the impact of the fashion industry on the environment on 19 February 2019 during LFW.
Anu Shukla
Extinction Rebellion swarm LFW An Extinction Rebellion activist holds up a sign as LFW fans pose for a photograph on Sunday 19 February 2019.
Anu Shukla
Extinction Rebellion swarm LFW
Anu Shukla
Extinction Rebellion swarm LFW Student and artist Sabrina Zahoe, 19, from Atlanta, Georgia, who studies in New York is a London Fashion Week fan. She said: “I’m very supportive of what the protestors are doing today. I say fuck fast fashion, so any kind of green fashion, I support tremendously. We do need to start thinking about fashion more consciously.”
Anu Shukla
Extinction Rebellion swarm LFW An Extinction Rebellion activist holds up a sign during a road block outside the Tate Gallery to protest the impact of the fashion industry on the environment on 19 February 2019 during LFW.
Anu Shukla
Extinction Rebellion swarm LFW Ella O’Brien, 17 (left) and Raffy Parsons, 16 (right) said they love London Fashion Week but are conscious of its footprint on the environment. Ella, who said she wants to make her own line of sustainable fashion in the future, told The Independent: “ think it’s improtant for people to be aware of how much they’re confusing and look into more sustainable options and be more mindful in terms of where their clothing is coming from, how it’s being produced. It is getting better but there’s a long way to go.” Raffy added: “Stopping getting new clothes when you could just recycle is really important. We’re both vegan so we’re trying our best.”
Anu Shukla
Extinction Rebellion swarm LFW Extinction Rebellion activists enroute to The Tate Modern to orchestrate another road block stop to adorn a statue with Extinction Distinction flags on Sunday 19 February 2019.
Anu Shukla
Extinction Rebellion swarm LFW Vegan LFW fan Raffy Parsons, 16, said he is conscious about the impact of fast fashion.
Anu Shukla
Extinction Rebellion swarm LFW Extinction Rebellion activists enroute to The Tate Modern to orchestrate another road block stop to adorn a statue with Extinction Distinction flags on Sunday 19 February 2019.
Anu Shukla
Extinction Rebellion swarm LFW Extinction Rebellion activist, Becky Boey, told The Independent: “The fashion industry promotes a culture of unsustainable need for the next new fashion, and once it’s over, people want to buy the next new thing. "Consumerism has gone out of control. We have to make some real changes to the way we think about our climate and wasteful society. "The fashion industry in this respect is significant because it has a huge influence on young minds. "But we’re a society that’s run on capital. We’re so focused on the economy, but economic growth is not in line with having a sustainable planet to live on."
Anu Shukla
Extinction Rebellion swarm LFW Extinction Rebellion activists march to The Tate Modern to orchestrate another road block while before a Burberry catwalk show takes place on Sunday 19 February 2019.
Anu Shukla
Extinction Rebellion swarm LFW Extinction Rebellion activists gathered for a break at a small green space near Temple underground station on 19 February 2019
Anu Shukla
Extinction Rebellion swarm LFW Extinction Rebellion activists gathered for a break at a small green space near Temple underground station on 19 February 2019
Anu Shukla
Extinction Rebellion swarm LFW Extinction Rebellion co-founder Clare Farrell told The Independent: “The industry has a greenhouse gas footprint the size of Russia. "Young people protesting recently are not going to thank grown ups for using up that carbon budget on throwaway clothing. “We can change things as seen by industries during WW1 when factories making one product, within months, making arms instead. “But we’re not here to tell everyone what to do. Extinction Rebellion is an alarm. We’re here to say it can’t go on, or we’ll drive ourselves into extinction for the sake of an economic model we think we can’t question and because we say we can’t change it. Well I think that we can.”
Anu Shukla
Extinction Rebellion swarm LFW Extinction Rebellion activists take a break at a small green space next to Temple station during LFW on Sunday 19 February 2019.
Anu Shukla
Extinction Rebellion swarm LFW Extinction Rebellion co-founder Tamsin Omond speaks to a crowd of activists about the impact of the action and the media coverage received.
Anu Shukla
Extinction Rebellion swarm LFW Extinction Rebellion activists gathered for a break at a small green space near Temple underground station on 19 February 2019
Anu Shukla
Extinction Rebellion swarm LFW Extinction Rebellion activists gathered for a break at a small green space near Temple underground station on 19 February 2019
Anu Shukla
Extinction Rebellion swarm LFW Extinction Rebellion activists gathered for a break at a small green space near Temple underground station on 19 February 2019
Anu Shukla
Extinction Rebellion swarm LFW Extinction Rebellion activists are followed down the street by members of the press during LFW on Sunday 19 February 2019.
Anu Shukla
Extinction Rebellion swarm LFW Extinction Rebellion protestors converge outside LFW, at The Strand, London, Sunday 17 February 2019.
Anu Shukla
Extinction Rebellion swarm LFW Extinction Rebellion protestors block traffic at a road outside Temple underground station during LFW on Sunday 19 February 2019 to protest against the carbon footprint of the fashion industry on Sunday 17 February 2019.
Anu Shukla
Extinction Rebellion swarm LFW A disgruntled motorist stands next to his motorbike during a road block protest by Extinction Rebellion activist, staged to demonstrate against the fashion industry's carbon footprint near Temple underground station during LFW on Sunday 19 February 2019.
Anu Shukla
Extinction Rebellion swarm LFW An Extinction Rebellion protestor who joined activists to block traffic at a road outside Temple underground station during LFW on Sunday 19 February 2019 to demonstrate against the carbon footprint of the fashion industry on Sunday 17 February 2019.
Anu Shukla
Extinction Rebellion swarm LFW Extinction Rebellion protestors block traffic at a road outside Temple underground station during LFW on Sunday 19 February 2019 to protest against the carbon footprint of the fashion industry on Sunday 17 February 2019.
Anu Shukla
Extinction Rebellion swarm LFW An Extinction Rebellion protestor who joined activists to block traffic at a road outside Temple underground station during LFW on Sunday 19 February 2019 to demonstrate against the carbon footprint of the fashion industry on Sunday 17 February 2019.
Anu Shukla
The predicted declines are particularly large when compared to the 14 per cent body size reduction observed in species since the last interglacial period 130,000 years ago.
The research team focused on 15,484 living land mammals and birds and considered how body mass, litter/clutch size, breadth of habitat, diet and length of time between generations affect their role in nature.
They also used the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species to determine which animals are most likely to become extinct in the next century.
Small, highly-fertile insect-eating animals that can thrive in a variety of habitats will be the most resilient, they found.
“We have demonstrated that the projected loss of mammals and birds will not be ecologically random – rather a selective process where certain creatures will be filtered out, depending on their traits and vulnerability to ecological change," said Felix Eigenbrod, a professor at the University of Southampton.
Amanda Bates, research chair at Memorial University in Canada, added: “Extinctions were previously viewed as tragic, deterministic inevitabilities, but they can also be seen as opportunities for targeted conservation actions. As long as a species that is projected to become extinct persists, there is time for conservation action and we hope research such as ours can help guide this.”
Additional reporting by Press Association
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