Apex Scavengers Are Declining – And That’s A Public Health Problem
Vultures often get a bad blow, but they play a vital role. You can consider this bird of prey as one of the collectors of nature waste – devour carcasses and other animal materials, by disintegrating the pathogens potentially harmful in the process.
The problem is that population populations and other APEX scales decrease worldwide. In fact, around 36% of world treasury populations are threatened or in decline. According to researchers who write in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of AmericaIt is not only a disaster for biodiversity – it could express problems for public health.
“There is this prejudice that these scavengers – vultures and hyenas and others – are unpleasant animals and that we must get rid of them, but they are important not only for the functioning of ecosystems, but also for human well -being” A press release.
Required Apex figures
In the 1990s, India experienced a drop in vulture populations thanks to the use of diclofenac, a veterinary drug used to treat livestock. The result? Wild dogs filled the void. According to estimates, this has led to 39 million additional dog bites and an additional 48,000 rabies between 1992 and 2006. It was not until 2006, when the Indian government prohibited the medication, that the populations of Vautour began to reconstruct.
This story highlights the key role played by Apex sieve to keep pathogens at a distance. Other studies have shown the important role that eagles play in cleaning the false layers of the Wapitis in Wyoming and the prevention of bacterial infections of Brucellosis in Wapiti herds. However, examples continue to multiply.
Learn more:: How to coexist with coyotes in your neighborhood
Scales decrease, with exceptions
To discover the impact, a loss of scavengers such as vultures and eagles could have on human health, Dirzo and his team analyzed 1,376 species of treasure, large and small. This included animals of the five classes of vertebrates (mammals, fish, amphibians, reptiles and birds), ranging from lions and tigers to the less known pond turtle.
The researchers used databases, such as the International Union for the Conservation of the Red List of the Nature of Threatened Species, and previous studies to determine the population status of different species and the factors that affected them.
The results suggest that more than a third (36%) are threatened or are facing population cuts. It is thanks to a fatal combination of loss of housing, intensive pastoral agriculture and wildlife trade. However, not all scales are faced with such existential threats – in fact, small species such as rats “thrive” thanks to a combination of increased food supplies and fewer predators.
“The scavengers are declining, but it is not homogeneous. These are particularly large and specialized.
Already, millions of people are killed by zoonotic diseases each year. Researchers warn that the loss of our scales could significantly add to this number and warn that the fight against threats to scavengers is “critical”.
“We are starting to understand exactly how we depend on each individual species,” said the first author Chinmay Sonawane, a doctoral student at the Stanford School of Humanités and Sciences, in a press release. “I think that when we become more aware of these connections, we will be more inclined to protect these species, because, in turn, we ultimately protect our health.”
Find out more: The extinction of the vulture could release deadly diseases on fauna and humans
Article Sources
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Rosie McCall is an independent writer living in London. She has covered scientific and health subjects for publications, including Iflscience, Newsweek and Health.
