הסמינר החוגי The Global Biomass of Wild Mammals

Please join us for our next Monday departmental seminar on the 1st of November from 15:00 to 16:00 at the Porter Auditorium

 https://tau-ac-il.zoom.us/j/83229921170

Lior Greenspoon

The Weizmann Institute of Science

The Global Biomass of Wild Mammals

Abstract

Mammals are icons of conservation efforts, yet there is no rigorous estimate available for their global biomass. Here, we present a thorough assessment, arriving at a total wet biomass of ≈26 million metric tons (Mt) for all terrestrial wild mammals, the equivalent of about 2 kg per person on earth. The primary contributor to the biomass of wild land mammals is the white-tailed deer, followed by the wild boar, African elephant and eastern grey kangaroo. In addition, we estimate the total biomass of wild marine mammals at ≈47 Mt. We find that even-hoofed mammals represent ≈45% of the combined mass of terrestrial wild mammals, with baleen whales comprising ≈60% of the mass of marine mammals. Our estimate for the class as a whole, ≈1200 Mt, is dominated by livestock and (≈670 Mt) and humans (≈420 Mt). This work is a provisional census of wild mammal biomass on Earth, and can serve as a benchmark for human impacts.