Nature: 1985 - 2019 Study Shows Global Genetic Diversity Declining Across More Than 600 Plant, Animal, Fungal Species
Genetic diversity in animals and plants has declined globally over the past three decades, an analysis of more than 600 species has found. The research, published in the journal Nature, found declines in two-thirds of the populations studied, but noted that urgent conservation efforts could halt or even reverse genetic diversity losses.
Dozens of scientists internationally reviewed 882 studies that measured genetic diversity changes between 1985 and 2019 in 628 species of animals, plants, fungi and chromists (a type of organism), forming what they have called “the most comprehensive investigation” of changes in genetic diversity within species to date. The study’s lead researcher, Assoc Prof Catherine Grueber of the University of Sydney, said within-species diversity – referring to the variation between individuals of the same species – enabled a population to better adapt to changes in its environment.
“If a new disease comes through, or there’s a heatwave, there may be some individuals in the population that have certain characteristics that enable them to tolerate those new conditions,” she said. “Those characteristics will get passed on to the next generation, and the population will persist instead of going extinct.”
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Many of the leading causes of genetic diversity loss were the same culprits as for declines in populations, Grueber said: “Things like habitat loss, climate change, invasive species, new diseases.” The researchers found ecological disturbances in 65% of the populations they studied, including human harvesting or harassment and changes in land use. But they noted that genetic diversity loss occurred even when no disturbances were reported, suggesting a “background level of genetic diversity loss across species”. “We think that this represents the more general biodiversity crisis that the planet is facing, and broader effects of ecological disruptions [such as] climate change,” Grueber said.
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https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/jan/30/study-of-more-than-600-animal-and-plant-species-finds-genetic-diversity-has-declined-globally