Page 91 - Sustainability REPORT'23

REGARDING THE DECLINE OF SPERMOPHILUS POPULATION

Having become the symbol of our university campus with their cute and active
nature, there has been a decline in the Spermophilus population in recent

years. As a result of examinations conducted by the Spermophilus Monitoring
Committee, affiliated to the Rectorate, possible factors causing the decline in
the Spermophilus population were identified and solutions were proposed.

According to the latest report published by
the Intergovernmental Science-Policy
Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem

Services (IPBES), for the first time in human
history, 1 million living species on Earth are in
danger of extinction. As stated in the report,
the biggest causes of biodiversity loss are

listed as climate change, consumer
preferences, urbanization, changes in
demographics, changes in land use, water
pollution, cutting trees, mining, overfishing

and the expansion of residential areas.

The decline in the Spermophilus population, also known as the Anatolian
ground squirrel, having a large number of nests on the campus of our
university, has alarmed our university. Possible factors causing the decline in
the Spermophilus population and solution proposals were reported at the
meeting as a result of the examinations conducted by the Spermophilus

Monitoring Committee, including expert scientists in the field.

ERCİYES UNIVERSITY
SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2023