A new study by the Switzerland-based World Wildlife Fund has found that thousands of species of wildlife have lost over half of their populations. The "Living Planet Report," released last month, found that nearly 3,038 species of wildlife have declined by 52 percent between 1970 and 2010. The losses of populations of most of the world's vertebrate species' are much more than previously understood. In large part, the decline is due to human causes.
Previous editions of the report, carried out every two years since 1970 by scientists together with the WWF, showed declines of around 28 percent. However, improved methods of measuring animal populations produced more accurate and more frightening results. The analysis of data from 10,380 populations of 3,038 species of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish revealed much greater devastation and more precipitously declining populations than ever imagined.
The survey found that land animal populations declined by around 38 percent since 1970, mainly because of hunting, fishing and habitat loss. Populations of marine species, such as turtles, fish and seabirds declined by 39 percent. More dangerous is how much the freshwater populations of fish, frogs and shorebirds, among many others, have declined — by 76 percent. Those populations have been devastated by contact with humans.