Exaggerated global vertebrate decline

Good news! Less alarmism is always welcome! When statistical methods are faulty!

"... Here we show, however, that this estimate [of global vertebrate decline] is driven by less than 3% of vertebrate populations; if these extremely declining populations are excluded, the global trend switches to an increase. The sensitivity of global mean trends to outliers ..."

A glimmer of hope on vertebrate biodiversity - Cosmos Magazine It’s been estimated that half to two-thirds of the world’s vertebrate populations, from birds and marine animals to elephants, frogs and snakes, have declined over the past five decades.

But the true picture is somewhat more hopeful, according to a new study published in the journal Nature. These “catastrophic” numbers are driven by a small fraction of populations in extreme decline.

Here is the respective research paper:

Clustered versus catastrophic global vertebrate declines