Reacción a "Genetic diversity has decreased in more than 600 species in the last three decades"

It is hard to deny that human activities are diminishing biodiversity. So much so that any one of us can name a species that is in serious danger of extinction or has already disappeared from the Earth. The problem goes far beyond specific, iconic animals such as the white rhinoceros or the gorilla, or considerably larger groups such as frogs or pollinating insects. This work shows that the loss of biodiversity associated with human action is evident when looking at all eukaryotes on the planet (i.e. animals, plants, fungi and chromists, or all living things except bacteria and archaea). Of the many ways in which biodiversity can be measured (e.g. by simply noting the presence or absence of a species at a given location or, instead, by counting the number of individuals of that species at that location), the authors have turned to quantifying genetic diversity. That is, they have reviewed tens of thousands of articles and chosen those that estimate how variable the DNA sequences of the species studied are. These diversity estimates also make it possible to compare these values over time. In this way, the authors have observed that the most important losses in genetic diversity have occurred in birds and mammals over the last 30 years and have shown that human activities are responsible for this negative trend.

Among several findings that suggest an uncertain future for living things on our planet, the authors show that there is still some room for hope. Firstly, because existing protocols for species monitoring are effective and make it possible to identify losses in diversity early enough to take action. Secondly, because conservation actions undertaken to preserve specific regions or organisms actually bear fruit. In other words, when the experts' recommendations are followed, it is possible to halt or even reverse the loss of genetic diversity. With the results provided by these researchers, we can therefore confirm that we know that biodiversity is in danger, that we know how to monitor it and that we know how to conserve it. Science has done its part but still calls for urgent action to save (at least part of) the fabulous diversity of life on Earth.