Temporal and sociocultural effects of human colonisation on native biodiversity: filtering and rates of adaptation

Modern human societies have negatively impacted native species richness and their adaptive capacity on every continent, in clearly contrasting ways. We propose a general model to explain how the sequence, duration and type of colonising society alter native species richness patterns through changes in evolutionary pressures. These changes cause different 'filtering effects' on native species, while simultaneously altering the capacity of surviving species to adapt to further anthropogenic pressures. This framework may better explain the observed native species extinction rates and extirpation legacies following human colonisation events, as well as better predict future patterns of human impact on biodiversity.

Automated summary

Modern human societies have negatively impacted native species richness and their adaptive capacity on every continent in contrasting ways. A general model is proposed to explain how the sequence, duration, and type of colonizing society alter native species richness patterns through changes in evolutionary pressures, affecting extinction rates, extirpation legacies, and future patterns of human impact on biodiversity.