By the end of this century, many species of animals will disappear from the face of the Earth. This is the conclusion reached by Danish and Swedish scientists. At the moment, the planet is going through the sixth period of mass extinction, caused by human activities. In this case, representatives of the megafauna, such as elephants and rhinos, are the first to disappear. At the same time, populations of small animals like rats are increasing. Researchers believe that it could take 3-5 million years to restore biodiversity.
Over the past 450 million years, the planet has experienced five periods of mass extinction. During these intervals, from 30 to 95% of all living beings died. The cause was various natural disasters, for example, volcanic eruptions, the fall of celestial bodies. The current period of mass extinction of species is the sixth. It began in the late Pleistocene, about 130 thousand years ago. This time, the anthropogenic factor became the main factor - already with the advent of ancient people, representatives of the Paleolithic megafauna, including mammoths and giant sloths, disappeared.
Scientists from the University of Aarhus in Denmark and the University of Gothenburg in Sweden have determined the number of extinct mammalian species since the sixth mass extinction, estimated the current rate of biodiversity loss and calculated how long it will take to recover.
Loss of megafauna
The researchers analyzed databases with information about modern representatives of the animal kingdom, as well as mammals that have become extinct since the appearance of humans. It turned out that in just the last 130 thousand years, more than 300 species of animals have died.
According to experts, within several decades, 99.9% of endangered species and 67% of vulnerable animal species will be lost. Large mammals such as rhinos and Asian elephants are most at risk. The probability of extinction of the latter by the end of the XXI century is estimated at 33%.
Simultaneously with the disappearance of large mammals, there will be a kind of "bias" towards smaller ones. There will be a disproportionate number of rodents, and, on the contrary, there will be few primates, with the exception of humans.
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Researchers estimate that it will take 3-5 million years at best to restore lost biodiversity to its current level. And it will take 5-7 million years to return to the level before the start of vigorous activity of the sapiens.
The study authors emphasized that, in terms of biodiversity, extinction of different species can have different consequences. So, in the event of the disappearance of one of the currently existing canine species (about 35), negative consequences will have little effect on their family. However, if it is not possible to save the remaining two species of the elephant family, the Indian and African elephants, as once it was not possible to save mammoths, then another branch on the evolutionary tree of mammals will be chopped off.
Indri living in Madagascar, the largest living lemurs, are also endangered. From the point of view of evolution, they are very different from their relatives. Therefore, if the species disappears, it will not be possible to restore its population.
Indri.
Easier to Protect than Restore
According to Russian experts, the offensive of man on nature leads to a catastrophic loss of biodiversity.
“About 15 years ago the term“sixth mass extinction”appeared in the scientific literature. It was then that the researchers drew attention to the fact that due to the decrease in the area of free natural territories, the populations of large mammals sharply decreased. They simply had nothing to eat and nowhere to live, said a professor at the Faculty of Biology of Moscow State University in an interview with RT. M. V. Lomonosov Andrey Zhuravlev.
The expert added that one of the reasons for the mass extinction of animals is also poaching. According to scientists, from 2007 to 2014, hunters exterminated 144 thousand elephants that inhabited the savannah and eastern Africa, reducing the population by 30%.
“The black market for rhino horns and elephant tusks is thriving. The main supplies go to Southeast Asia and China. There, various products and luxury items are made from such a valuable material. Also, fragments of tusks and horns are added to the means of traditional oriental medicine, although they do not have any useful properties, Zhuravlev said.
The population of red pandas living in the southeastern part of the Himalayas also suffered from the actions of poachers. Over the past half century, the number of representatives of this species in the region has decreased by 40%. Hunters are attracted by the beautiful fur of animals, which is used to make hats.
Red panda.
The scientist noted that not only are populations declining, but specific subspecies of animals, such as rhinos and tigers, are disappearing. Only strengthening measures to protect vulnerable representatives of the animal kingdom, the creation of new protected areas will help prevent the global extinction of species.
According to the authors of the study, conservation measures for mammals should be started as soon as possible.
Anastasia Ksenofontova