A review of the mortality of wild fauna in Europe in the last century, the consequences of human activity

The exponential growth of the human population and their activity in the last decades have adverse effects on biodiversity. The main objective of this review was to present a compilation of works on causes of mortality of native wildlife in Europe, in the last decades linked to human activity. Here, a total of 130 peer-reviewed publications were reviewed for the period between 1942 to 2017 from thirty-eight countries. Sixty-five percent of the studies were focused on the bird’s species. Our results showed that the leading cause of mortality was due to traumatic origin, particularly collision with infrastructures and motor vehicles. Based on the papers analysed in the present study, it is possible to conclude that human development and its anthropogenic pressures have a negative effect on some species of wildlife, while the potential impact on the vast majority of other species is still unknown. This study provided an insight into the effects of the different anthropogenic pressures on the European fauna, giving valuable information on its main threats and raising important questions on rehabilitation management practices.

Keywords:

anthropogenic pressures , Europe , Mortality , Urban , wild fauna