Behavioral Mediators of the Human Population Effect on Global Biodiversity Losses

Abstract

By combining the time depth provided by the fossil and archeological records with contemporary data of global reach, we can
begin to dissect out the most relevant factors that threaten the future of all levels of biodiversity on this planet. It is
our contention that the size of the human population and the scale of the human endeavor led to a dramatic rise in extinctions
over the past 10,000 years. Analyses of contemporary data demonstrate that current species threats are best attributed to
variability in species richness, human population density, and agricultural land use. Continued exponential growth in the
human population and our resultant environmental dominance, due to cultural development and ecological contingencies, is rapidly
leading to a global mass extinction.

Full text

Chapter 4
Behavioral Mediators of the Human Population
Effect on Global Biodiversity Losses
Jeffrey K. McKee and Erica N. Chambers
4.1 Introduction
Despite our understandings of sound and tested ecological principles over vast time
scales, interpretations of occurrences in the natural world during our modern human
slice of geological time is fraught with uncertainty. Yet if we combine time depth
from the fossil and archeological records with contemporary data of global reach,
we can begin to dissect out the most relevant factors that threaten the future of all
levels of biodiversity on this planet. It is our contention that the size of the human
population and the scale of the human endeavor led to a dramatic rise in extinctions
over the past 10,000 years. Continued exponential growth in the human population
and our resultant environmental dominance, due to cultural development and
ecological contingencies, is rapidly leading to a global mass extinction.
The fossil record of Earth’s distant past is instructive, as it is littered with species
that have dwindled into extinction. The reasons for past extinctions are many and
comprise the topics of rigorous debates among paleontologists and evolutionary
biologists. Climatic and environmental changes constantly challenge species of
plants, animals, and microbes to find new niches. Novel adaptations to new or
altered modes of existence are necessary components of survival. Some groups
successfully evolve into new species, involving a “transitional extinction” of the
parent species. But more often, the inability to adapt leads to a “terminal extinc-
tion”, literally a dead end. The complex causes of terminal extinctions are not
always easy to discern.
It is not unusual in nature for the rise and success of one species to lead to the
downfall of another. Competition can be “red in tooth and claw”, as often envi-
sioned. However, it is more common for the effects of a competitor to be profoundly
subtle – the product of intricate ecological systems that have developed with
evolving components over long periods of time, some on the order of thousands,
others millions, of years. The entry of humans or their predecessors into these
ecosystems, like that of any other competitor, can thus be expected to have led to
a pattern of extinction among certain organisms. Humans were in competition for
the finite resources afforded by varied ecosystems – our ancestors’ successes in each
environment left little for our competitors, and many were vanquished.
R.P. Cincotta and L.J. Gorenflo (eds.), Human Population: Its Influences
on Biological Diversity, Ecological Studies 214,
DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-16707-2_4, #Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2011
47

Our analysis of the past and present states of global ecological affairs is premised
and tested upon the hypothesis that human population density is a major factor in
both the losses and threats to other species. Research at the species level of
biodiversity can be viewed as a scientific convenience based on widespread avail-
ability of data. Research indicates that species are disappearing at a pace possibly
1,000 times that of historic background rates (Pimm et al. 1995). In addition, it
should be made clear that also there have been real losses of biodiversity at the
genetic level of many species, as surviving populations lessen in numbers. This is
an important consideration because the resilience and long-term adaptive capacity
of a population is dependent on the genetic variability upon which natural selection
can act. Many allelic variations of the species’ genes have already gone extinct,
even if the species survives. Terminal extinctions become more likely than transi-
tional extinctions, and thus we have already incurred an “extinction debt” for the
future (Cowlishaw 1999). As long as our population continues to grow and exert
pressure on the natural world, that debt will increase.
A further caveat to species-level studies of biodiversity is that higher levels of
biological organization do not automatically get considered. The sustainability of
our biosphere also depends on the survival of diverse ecosystems, each of which
harbors endemic species as well as key population variants of more widespread
species. Yet a study of species, past and present, can still serve as a useful barometer
of “biospheric pressure”.
4.2 Past Human Population Impacts on Species Biodiversity
The effects of human population growth on species biodiversity may have had a
substantial time depth, depending on which of our ancestors one can comfortably
call “human”. Following the origin and spread of Homo erectus circa 1.8 million
years ago (mya), there was a substantial decline in mammalian biodiversity in
Africa (Behrensmeyer et al. 1997; McKee 2001). From a scientific perspective, it is
difficult to attribute these mid-Pleistocene extinctions to H. erectus, let alone to the
population growth of this species. Yet the coincidence of the increased rate of
mammalian extinctions with “human” geographic incursions independently spans
across four geographical regions (Klein 2000). Furthermore, our increased body
size and the metabolically demanding brain size required greater demand for
natural food resources. Thus, the features that allowed our ancestors to compete
successfully, and thereby expand their populations, played into the likelihood of a
more profound ecological impact on their competitors and prey.
It is reasonable to suggest that by the time our own species, Homo sapiens, spread
to the new world toward the end of the Pleistocene, human population growth could
at least partially account for the overkill of North American megafauna (Alroy
2001). These continental effects of humans on biodiversity took time as human
populations slowly reached a critical mass before their impact was great enough
to cause extinctions. Islands such as Madagascar, New Zealand, and Hawai’i had
48 J.K. McKee and E.N. Chambers

elevated levels of species richness combined with smaller habitat sizes such that
critical masses were reached more quickly and extinctions followed with greater
rapidity (Holdaway and Jacomb 2000; Mlot 1995; Pimm et al. 1995). These global
patterns of biodiversity loss led McKee (2003) to attribute many past extinctions to
the effects of the growth and spread of human and prehuman populations. Popula-
tion growth was argued to be a primary cause, mediated by aspects of human
biology and behavior, as opposed to a spurious correlate of incidental effects.
The impact of human population growth on continental biodiversity accelerated
with the origin and spread of agriculture over the past 10,000 years (Redman 1999;
McKee 2003), but not without a cost. This lifestyle shift, from nomadic foraging by
small bands of people to a group-based sedentary lifestyle, was based on primary
food production utilizing monocropping and herding techniques (Armelagos 1990;
Barrett et al. 1998). Predictable food supplies altered the birth/death rate equilib-
rium, resulting in increased population densities (Roberts and Manchester 1997).
Although the viability of other species was still impacted by our growing ecological
influence, it was mediated in a different way. Rather than directly killing off species
through hunting or outcompeting other species for natural food resources, agricul-
turists promoted wholesale displacement of both plants and animals by utilizing
expanses of land for crops and herding. Agricultural lands necessarily became less
diverse and less productive in biomass as concentrations of domesticates were
grown specifically for human consumption, at the expense of more diverse systems
that had evolved to sustain many species.
One of the great bioarcheological ironies is that human health and longevity
declined with the origins and spread of agriculture (Larsen 1995). Although reliance
on fewer food types decreased nutritional value intake, human populations managed
to flourish. Building upon an established base of human “capital”, the exponential
nature of population growth – even at a slow growth rate – ensured that our numbers
increased (McKee 2003). Meanwhile, large mammal extinctions reached an all-time
high. For example, in South Africa, 16 species of large mammals went extinct in the
past 10,000 years, including nine in historic times. This is in contrast to the general
pattern, prior to the emergence of the genus Homo, of an extinction rate of about four
large mammal species every 100,000 years (McKee 1995).
The ineluctable conclusion is that the growth of our population and the extinc-
tion of other species have long been closely related and accentuated with the origins
of sedentism and agriculture. Our analysis of contemporary data further demon-
strates that population densities and agricultural practices still play a critical role in
understanding patterns of extinction.
4.3 Biodiversity and Human Population Density Today
The human population grew past six billion people in1999 and has reached over 6.7
billion by 2009 (US Bureau of the Census 2009a). Our numbers continue to grow
such that there will probably be seven billion people by 2013 (US Bureau of the
4 Behavioral Mediators of the Human Population Effect on Global Biodiversity Losses 49

Census 2009b) and nearly nine billion by 2050 (UNFPA State of World Population
2004). Meanwhile, 11% of known mammal and bird species are threatened (Stork
1997), compounded by immeasurable effects on species yet to be documented by
the scientific community. Are these figures directly connected?
There are sound theoretical reasons and considerable evidence suggesting that a
close relationship between human population size and biodiversity losses, as in the
past, continues today in an alarming manner. Increases in population size and
density have caused rapid cultural and ecological changes initiated by human
endeavors. Our analysis in this contribution is based on known “threats” to extant
species as opposed to documented terminal extinctions, such as those confirmed by
our research on the fossil record. Again, the species is a convenient unit of analysis,
though genetic and ecosystem biodiversity are also important variables to consider.
Ironically, there are of many examples of human-introduced species that result
in biodiversity loss. Globalization of our population, born of necessity as more of us
require “unearned resources” from other parts of the world, inevitably globalizes
other species, usually considered to be “weed species”. Humans may be one such
species.
Examples of plant and animal biodiversity loss do not always paint a clear
picture of global biodiversity threats. In order to explore a broader view of current
trends, McKee et al. (2004) analyzed data on threatened species per nation, com-
prising critically endangered, endangered, and vulnerable species of mammals and
birds from the IUCN Red List (2000). Data from 114 continental nations, excluding
exceptionally small nations, was also compiled on human population densities and
“species richness” – defined for analysis as the number of known mammal and bird
species per unit area. A stepwise multiple regression analysis of log-transformed
data defined a statistical model that explained 88% of the variability in current
threats to mammal and bird species per country on the basis of just two variables:
human population density and species richness (Fig. 4.1). Clearly, “species rich-
ness” is not the root cause of the threats – these diverse ecosystems persisted
through climatic changes and ecosystem shifts over many thousands of years.
That leaves the other variable in the equation, human population density, as the
likely culprit leading to globally increased species threats. In essence, a greater
concentration of species sets the stage for the human impact to be more devastating.
The human population impact on biodiversity has empirical support from both
past and present – it is more than an assumption. On the other hand, correlation does
not necessarily mean causation. One must ask if our increased population density is
the root cause or a spurious correlation that masks the more direct effects of human
behavior. Certainly, one can assume, there must be some effect from what many
ecologists now refer to as the “ecological footprint” – the effect each individual or
group has in terms of resource consumption (Wackernagel and Rees 1996; Chambers
et al. 2000). This is manifested in many ways – fuel consumption, deforestation,
fresh water usage, global warming, or even the household dynamics of urban sprawl
(Liu et al. 2003). There are direct correlates of the “ecological footprint” with
depletion of both renewable and nonrenewable resources. Is this extraction of
resources also related to biodiversity losses?
50 J.K. McKee and E.N. Chambers

Such questions can be teased from the global data by adding variables to the
model and testing hypotheses. One measure of some aspects of the “ecological
footprint”, for which data are generally available, is per capita Gross National
Product (GNP). Previously, McKee (2003) found that whereas there is a strong
correlation between species threats and human density, the threat has virtually no
correlation with per capita GNP. Figure 4.2 shows the relationship between log-
transformed currency-adjusted per capita GNP (Purchasing Power Parity) and the
number of species threats for mammals and birds among 101 nations (for which all
data were available). The effects of affluence on threatened species originally
appeared to be overshadowed by our sheer numbers.
It was somewhat surprising to find virtually no correlation. Kerr and Currie
(1995) found a correlation between threatened mammal species and per capita GNP
with a different global data set and different methods (N¼82 nations), but this was
not borne out by our data (which unlike their study excluded small and island
nations, perhaps accounting for some of the differences). The reasons behind this
counter-intuitive lack of correlation, or the negative correlation found by Kerr and
Currie, no doubt are complex. But it is clear that the effects of our large population
are mediated through a variety of means – just as in the past when the hunting effect
was supplanted by the agricultural effect. Kerr and Currie did, like us, find a strong
population effect on threatened bird species, and other independent tests have also
6.00
5.50
4.50
4.00
3.50
3.00
5.00
0.00 1.00 2.00 3.00
5.00
4.00
3.00
2.00
1.00
log threatened species per area
log species
richness
log human population density
Fig. 4.1 Relationship of threatened species per unit area, population density, and species richness.
A multiple regression model, log threatened species per 10
6
km
2
¼1.534 þ(0.691 log
[species richness] þ(0.259 human population density), accounts for 88% of the variation in
species threats
4 Behavioral Mediators of the Human Population Effect on Global Biodiversity Losses 51

highlighted the effects of human population numbers (Kirkland and Ostfeld 1999;
Thompson and Jones 1999; Brushares et al. 2001). Large numbers of people in
nations rich and poor invariably put pressures on other species that rely upon the
same resources.
In order to address these issues further, we reanalyzed the data, looking at GNP
per unit area. An interesting, albeit complex, picture emerged. A strong and
statistically significant positive correlation (Pearson’s) between log-transformed
GNP and threatened species came into focus (r
2
¼0.443, p<0.001). This corre-
lation is evident in the scattergram of Fig. 4.3. By comparison, human population
density alone was a slightly lesser predictor of species threats (r
2
¼0.402,
p<0.001, both variables again log-transformed; Fig. 4.4).
On the other hand, a stepwise multiple regression analysis in which GNP per unit
area was added to the variables of the McKee et al. (2004) model left us with the
same model: human population density and species richness were the better pre-
dictors, to the exclusion of GNP. Part of the reason for this counterintuitive result is
that GNP is positively correlated with species richness (r
2
¼0.445, p<0.001).
Perhaps the high primary productivity of these areas drives diversity as well as
economics – but from a statistical perspective, the overlap of GNP and species
richness explains some of the same variability in contemporary threats to species of
mammals and birds.
Given the archeological association of the origins of agriculture and extinctions
of many mammalian species, it is also instructive to look at contemporary correla-
tions between agricultural land use and species threats. We found a statistically
significant positive correlation (r
2
¼0.187, p<0.001, using log-transformed
variables; Fig. 4.5). This correlation is weaker than that of either GNP or
4.50
4.00
3.50
3.00
2.50
0.00 1.00 2.00 3.00
log GNP
log threatened species per area
Fig. 4.2 The lack of a close relationship between GNP and threatened species per unit area is
evident in this scattergram
52 J.K. McKee and E.N. Chambers

population density. Then again, population density and percentage of land devoted
to agriculture are correlated as well (r
2
¼0.654, p<0.001). Thus, the question
arises as to whether the correlation reflects the direct effect of agriculture usurping
the resources of other species or is agriculture simply a mediator of the human
population density effect.
6.00
5.00
4.00
3.00
2.00
0.00 1.00 2.00 3.00
log GNP per area
log threatened species per area
Fig. 4.3 Once GNP is con-
sidered per unit area, the
relationship to threatened
species becomes more
apparent. Compare to Fig. 4.2
6.00
5.00
4.00
3.00
0.00 1.00 2.00 3.00
log threatened species per area
log human population density
Fig. 4.4 Scattergram of relationship between human population density and threatened species
per area
4 Behavioral Mediators of the Human Population Effect on Global Biodiversity Losses 53

Adding agricultural land use into the stepwise multiple regression analysis, we
find that it does add a small but statistically significant component to the model
predicting nation-by-nation species threats. It explains some of the variability that
other variables, including GNP, do not, thereby increasing the predictability of the
model from 88% to 89%.
In summary, numerically speaking, once all of the variables used in this analysis
are taken into account, species richness, human population density, and agricultural
land use are the best combined predictors of threats to species of mammals and
birds. GNP – a measure of economic activity that counts residents’ income from
economic activity abroad, as well as at home – while strongly correlated with
species threats, does not add to the predictive ability of the model. These results,
combined with long-term observations of the human impact on mammal species,
lead us to argue that human population density is a primary cause of biodiversity
losses, in a large part mediated by agricultural land use, and thus is a key factor that
must be addressed to reduce future threats to Earth’s biodiversity.
4.4 Discussion
The results of our analyses bear on debates as to whether human consumption or
population density is more relevant in efforts to thwart a mass extinction and its
detrimental ecological consequences. Polarized perspectives have emerged. One
can take the adamant position of Smail: “Population stabilization and subsequent
0.00 1.00 2.00 3.00
log threatened species per area
log proportion agriculatural land used
2.00
1.50
0.50
– 0.50
– 1.00
1.00
0.00
Fig. 4.5 Scattergram of relationship between proportion of active agricultural land use and
threatened species per area
54 J.K. McKee and E.N. Chambers

reduction is undoubtedly the primary issue facing humanity; all other matters are
subordinate” (2003: 297, italics his). Alternatively, Chambers et al. (2000: 59)
exclaim “Don’t count the heads – measure the size of their feet”. We conclude that
such debates are specious, and that a better mantra would be “Count heads, mind
your feet”. Our research demonstrates that both considerations are relevant, and
both must be considered in a comprehensive conservation plan.
For example, one of the complexities not sufficiently addressed in our nation-by-
nation statistical analysis is that behavior in one nation can affect biodiversity in
another. McKee et al. (2004) noted that Brazil stood out in the analysis as not fitting
the trend of greater human population density in species-rich nations leading to
biodiversity threats – their threat levels were in excess of those predicted by our
model. Such a country may be the exception that proves the rule regarding the
importance of global human population growth – economic factors due to popula-
tion demands in countries with which Brazil does business necessarily influence the
rate of habitat destruction and hence the number of threatened species.
Compared to the amount of literature written on conservation to limit biodiver-
sity loss through reduced consumption, nature reserves, and even valuable new
ideas such as reconciliation ecology (Rosenzweig 2001, 2003), there is a relative
dearth in the wildlife conservation literature on the need to reduce human popula-
tion density. Here, we want to emphasize the importance of both traditional and
novel conservation measures, but concentrate this discussion on population issues
as they relate to biodiversity.
Cincotta and Engelman (2000) did present a strong case for the need to address
population issues in biologically diverse “hotspots”. Our global analysis, which uses
country-level data, comes to a similar conclusion – that greater human population
has been accumulating in regions associated with higher levels of species endemism
– despite our analysis having excluded the islands that comprise many of the
hotspots. Clearly, human population growth with the hotspots should be addressed
quickly as part of a complete conservation plan. Yet it is our assessment that in order
to preserve biodiversity at all levels, we need to go beyond a focus on hotspots,
valuable though they may be, to a more global effort in which conservation and
human population reduction are both paramount to the survival of the planet.
By way of illustration, the state of Ohio can serve as a case study, for its
problems are a microcosm of general global trends. Although it is not a biodiversity
hotspot, within its political boundary are at least 175 endangered and threatened
species, by state government accounts (Hunt 2005). There is a concentration of
public discussion on balancing economic development with preserving Ohio’s
natural heritage, and many conservation projects have succeeded. On the other
hand, of the 2000 or so development projects reviewed each year by the US Fish
and Wildlife Service, none have been turned down. Similarly, the Ohio Environ-
mental Protection Agency issued 336 environmental permits for construction and
development (e.g., waste water discharge, drilling, and water quality maintenance
permits), covering 97.5 ha of wetlands in fiscal year 2004 (Hunt 2005).
Part of the pressure on Ohio for development is the growth of our population, but
population issues are rarely considered. There is a general perception in the state,
4 Behavioral Mediators of the Human Population Effect on Global Biodiversity Losses 55

often repeated by various news agencies, that Ohio’s human population has
remained steady at “about” 11 million people. In very round figures, that may be
true, but from 1990 to 2000, Ohio’s human population grew 4.7% – by more than
half a million people, from roughly 10.8 million to 11.4 million (US Bureau of the
Census 2009c). Ohio’s rate of population growth is slower than the country as a
whole, which grew 13.1% during the same time period. But in a state already
saturated with people, it is highly significant. Ohio has the seventh largest popula-
tion of states in the USA as of 2000, despite being 34th in land area.
So part of the problem is that the general public and policy-makers do not
recognize the relevance of our rapidly growing human family. A further component
of the problem is that population issues are politically unpopular. There was nearly
no mention of population issues in the US presidential election campaigns of 2004
and 2008. This is symptomatic of a larger problem. For example, at the 2002 World
Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, South Africa, population
was virtually a taboo subject, despite their goal of reducing the rate of biodiversity
loss by 2010.
The complexity of population issues stymies those who should know better from
even broaching the subject. Controversial and complex issues concerning human
rights and racism, for example, are integral components of the dialog on population
growth abatement. But difficulties in addressing such issues should not prevent the
conversation from taking place.
Another key component to public diffidence toward population problems is that
our rate of growth is slowing. Thus, there is a perception that as developing nations
follow the theorized pattern of the demographic transition, our population will
naturally peak at 10 or 11 billion, depending on estimates of fertility as the
transition occurs (Lutz et al. 2001). There are a number of problems with this logic.
The demographic transition typically involves economic growth and increased
consumption, hence increasing the “footprint”. In economics, there is no equivalent
of the “demographic transition”, in which growth slows naturally. It could be
argued that affluent societies have more modern technological developments,
which represent, at least in theory, progress toward a more efficient, less environ-
mentally draining mode of production. But that is not what we see. For example, as
China becomes more industrialized, it is on course to overtake the United States as
the most voracious consumer of resources (Favin and Gardner 2006).
Moreover, the underlying assumptions of the demographic transition are not
borne out by the data. McKee (2003) argued that many countries did not fit the
traditional model. To test this idea, we used our data to compare national growth
rates to GNP. Whereas there is indeed a statistically significant correlation
(p<0.01), only 52% of the variation in growth rate can be explained by GNP
(Fig. 4.5). In other words, we cannot automatically count on the demographic
transition through economic development to abate human population growth.
The point we want to make here is that population issues and policy initiatives
must move to the top of the political and policy agenda. There is no guarantee that
the human population growth will continue to slow naturally through the demo-
graphic transition, the alleged economic catalyst of the transition involves increased
56 J.K. McKee and E.N. Chambers

consumption, and even if our population does peak at 10 or 11 billion, that is far too
many for sustainability of biodiversity (McKee 2003). Whereas we agree that
conservation policies are vitally important to sustaining the ecological health of
the planet, they will be all for naught unless we find a way to close the floodgates of
human population growth.
The evidence is in the statistics. As we demonstrated with prehistoric and
contemporary data, there is a strong and important correlation between human
population growth and biodiversity losses. Using our mathematical model (see
Fig. 4.1) to forecast future species threats based upon demographic projections
per country, all else being equal, it was found that we can expect a 7% increase in
the global number of threatened species of mammals and birds by 2020, and a 14%
increase by 2050, based upon growth in human numbers alone (McKee et al. 2004).
It is difficult to translate these calculations into predicted numbers of extinctions,
but as we noted earlier, the very nature of the threat involves extinctions of genetic
variability, thereby creating an extinction debt. Without intervention toward abat-
ing and halting human population growth, future extinctions are assured.
4.5 Conclusion
Human population growth has resulted in changes in Earth’s biodiversity for
thousands of years. Competition within global ecosystems has produced evolution-
ary changes resulting in the rise and fall of species. Although the extinction of a
species is a natural event, the frequency of these extinctions is rising at an
unprecedented rate in human history. Increases in human population density have
initiated drastic changes in land use strategies and heightened levels of migration
causing plant and animal displacement and extinction. We stated earlier that “novel
adaptations to new modes of existence are necessary components of survival”. That
is true for our species now.
Increases in human population growth and environmental dominance and
manipulation have set the stage for the global mass extinction that has already
begun. However, the extinction rate is not the sole indicator of a compromised
ecosystem. Species threats are causing a depletion of genetic biodiversity, which
puts species in greater risk of extinction since adaptability to altered environments
becomes less likely. Ecosystem diversity is also jeopardized by human expansion,
thus compounding the threat.
Our analyses have demonstrated that species richness, human population den-
sity, and agricultural land use are the best predictors of species threats. Increases in
human population density and concomitant lifestyle practices are the primary cause
of biodiversity threats. Malthusian principles, although much maligned for two
centuries due to the successes of the human enterprise, have snuck up behind us as
the biodiversity on which we rely has continued to quietly dwindle to dangerous
levels of vulnerability. We need to overcome the public aversion toward identifying
and addressing population issues. With the sustainability of global ecosystems
4 Behavioral Mediators of the Human Population Effect on Global Biodiversity Losses 57

under threat, the human family needs to realize that addressing the crisis of
overpopulation is in everybody’s best interest.
Acknowledgments We would like to thank Richard Cincotta for the invitation to write this
chapter as well as his insights that helped guide our analysis.
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