The living world on Earth has entered a new phase of extinction, and people themselves may be among the first victims. This is the conclusion reached by researchers from three leading US universities: Stanford, Princeton and Berkeley.
Scientists estimate that vertebrates are disappearing at a rate 114 times faster than under normal conditions. The conclusion of experts: "We are entering the era of the sixth great extinction."
The last such event happened 65 million years ago. Then, as scientists are almost sure today, as a result of a collision with the Earth of a large meteorite, all dinosaurs became extinct.
Humans are first in line for extinction
“If the extinction is not stopped, it will take millions of years to restore life to its previous volume, and people themselves are likely to be among the first to disappear,” says one of the authors of the current study, Gerardo Ceballos.
In the study, scientists compared the historical extinction rates of vertebrates based on the available fossils. As a result, they concluded that the current rate of extinction is more than 100 times higher than when the Earth did not go through the mass extinction phase.
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Since 1900 alone, more than 400 species of vertebrates have disappeared. In normal periods, such a loss occurs over 10 millennia.
Pollination of plants by bees can stop after three generations
The researchers cite climate change, pollution and deforestation as the causes of extinction.
Taking into account the domino effect in the destruction of ecosystems, scientists predict, in particular, that such phenomena as pollination of plants by bees may stop after three human generations.
The bitch we're sitting on
“There are many examples of doomed species all over the world,” said Paul Ehrlich, a professor at Stanford University. "We're literally sawing the branch we're sitting on."
According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), at least 50 animal species are approaching extinction every year. In total, 41% of amphibians and 25% of mammals face extinction.
As the most striking example, IUCN cites lemurs, which in the coming years may completely disappear into the wild. 94% of all lemurs are under the threat of extinction, while for a fifth of this threat is critical.
IUCN officials say that in addition to destroying the habitat of lemurs in Madagascar through illegal deforestation, they are also hunted.
The last mass extinction of species occurred 65 million years ago after the fall of a large meteorite, scientists say.
The warning that we are entering the sixth era of mass extinction sounded last year. But then biologist Stuart Pimm, an expert on extinction processes at Duke University in North Carolina, argued that the extinction of species is happening a thousand times faster than usual.
The current study cites a more modest but still impressive figure of 114 times.
At the same time, in the opinion of its authors, it is still possible to avoid a catastrophic reduction in biological diversity of species through active conservation measures. However, he believes, action must be taken decisively and immediately.