The development of Anthropocene biotas
Biodiversity has always responded dynamically to environmental perturbations in the geological past, through changes to the abundances and distributions of genes and species, to the composition of biological communities, and to the cover and locations of different ecosystem types. This is how the ‘n...
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crroyalsociety:10.1098/rstb.2019.0113 2024-06-02T08:12:36+00:00 The development of Anthropocene biotas Thomas, Chris D. 2020 http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2019.0113 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rstb.2019.0113 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full-xml/10.1098/rstb.2019.0113 en eng The Royal Society https://royalsociety.org/journals/ethics-policies/data-sharing-mining/ Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences volume 375, issue 1794, page 20190113 ISSN 0962-8436 1471-2970 journal-article 2020 crroyalsociety https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2019.0113 2024-05-07T14:16:49Z Biodiversity has always responded dynamically to environmental perturbations in the geological past, through changes to the abundances and distributions of genes and species, to the composition of biological communities, and to the cover and locations of different ecosystem types. This is how the ‘nature’ that exists today has survived. The same is true in the Anthropocene. The entire planet surface has been altered by humans, ranging from direct vegetation transformation and removal of most of the world's megafauna, through to atmospheric changes in greenhouse gasses and consequent climatic changes and ocean acidification. These anthropogenic perturbations have led to the establishment of genes and species in new locations, thus generating novel communities and ecosystems. In this historical context, recent biological changes should be seen as responses to multiple drivers of change, rather than being a problem per se . These changes are the means by which the biosphere is adjusting to and will ultimately survive the Anthropocene. Thus, management and conservation of the biological world, and our place in it, requires a transition from trying to minimize biological change to one in which we facilitate dynamism that accelerates the rates at which species and ecosystems adjust to human-associated drivers of change. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Climate change and ecosystems: threats, opportunities and solutions’. Article in Journal/Newspaper Ocean acidification The Royal Society Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 375 1794 20190113 |
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English |
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Biodiversity has always responded dynamically to environmental perturbations in the geological past, through changes to the abundances and distributions of genes and species, to the composition of biological communities, and to the cover and locations of different ecosystem types. This is how the ‘nature’ that exists today has survived. The same is true in the Anthropocene. The entire planet surface has been altered by humans, ranging from direct vegetation transformation and removal of most of the world's megafauna, through to atmospheric changes in greenhouse gasses and consequent climatic changes and ocean acidification. These anthropogenic perturbations have led to the establishment of genes and species in new locations, thus generating novel communities and ecosystems. In this historical context, recent biological changes should be seen as responses to multiple drivers of change, rather than being a problem per se . These changes are the means by which the biosphere is adjusting to and will ultimately survive the Anthropocene. Thus, management and conservation of the biological world, and our place in it, requires a transition from trying to minimize biological change to one in which we facilitate dynamism that accelerates the rates at which species and ecosystems adjust to human-associated drivers of change. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Climate change and ecosystems: threats, opportunities and solutions’. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Thomas, Chris D. |
spellingShingle |
Thomas, Chris D. The development of Anthropocene biotas |
author_facet |
Thomas, Chris D. |
author_sort |
Thomas, Chris D. |
title |
The development of Anthropocene biotas |
title_short |
The development of Anthropocene biotas |
title_full |
The development of Anthropocene biotas |
title_fullStr |
The development of Anthropocene biotas |
title_full_unstemmed |
The development of Anthropocene biotas |
title_sort |
development of anthropocene biotas |
publisher |
The Royal Society |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2019.0113 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rstb.2019.0113 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full-xml/10.1098/rstb.2019.0113 |
genre |
Ocean acidification |
genre_facet |
Ocean acidification |
op_source |
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences volume 375, issue 1794, page 20190113 ISSN 0962-8436 1471-2970 |
op_rights |
https://royalsociety.org/journals/ethics-policies/data-sharing-mining/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2019.0113 |
container_title |
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |
container_volume |
375 |
container_issue |
1794 |
container_start_page |
20190113 |
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1800759081431990272 |