Dr. Rajeev Pillay

A new study by University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC) researchers published in Frontiers in Ecology and Environment found that 62 per cent of terrestrial vertebrate species call tropical forests home. Led by post-doctoral fellow Dr. Rajeev Pillay, the researchers used mapping technology to quantify the number of terrestrial vertebrates that live in tropical forests around the world. …Through human activity, these forests are shrinking and some species are going extinct, making it all the more important to determine how many terrestrial mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians live in these rapidly vanishing ecosystems. The paper, titled Tropical forests are home to over half of the world’s vertebrate species, finds that despite covering only 18 per cent of Earth’s total land area, tropical forests are home to 63 per cent of all mammals, 72 per cent of birds, 76 per cent of amphibians and at least 42 per cent of reptiles.