Eva Maria Griebeler is Professor of Ecology and Evolution at the Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz. She received her Ph.D. with a thesis on the survival of animal populations living in fragmented landscapes. She was a member of the research project “The Impact of Climate Variability on Aquatic Ecosystems (AQUASHIFT, DFG)" and heads the biodiversity module of a project on changes in climate and land use in Rhineland-Palatinate (KlimLandRP). As a researcher, she is chiefly interested in what makes a species survive and how it reacts to environmental changes.

Key messages

(1) We are currently facing a serious biodiversity crisis caused by the increase in the human population and economic growth. The first Global Assessment on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES report 2019) reports that about one eighth of animal and plant species living on earth are already endangered. This is mainly due to the overexploitation of nature, accompanying habitat loss and fragmentation, pollution, climate change, the commercial depletion of species, and the expansion of exotic species.

(2) Biodiversity and functional ecosystems are essential for humans. Ecosystems with their species provide many important services to humans. For example, they provide the air we breathe, drinking water, food, medical plants, and building materials.

(3) Although we are far from understanding how the loss of species affects the functioning and long-term stability of our ecosystems, we are already experiencing its consequences and we must respond. The establishment of protected and restored areas, stopping habitat destruction as well as reducing contaminants from industry, agriculture, and settlements will counteract the ongoing species decline. A sustainable use of nature at the societal and individual level and a shrinking world population will decrease the overexploitation of nature and mitigate climate change and other threats to biodiversity to maintain functional and stable ecosystems for future generations.