The world is on the verge of the sixth great extinction of species, according to one of the new studies by American scientists. Animal and plant species are currently dying out at least 1000 times faster than they would have happened without human intervention.
Before humans began to play a dominant role on Earth, an average of one animal or plant species in 10 million died out every year. But now 100 to 1000 species per million are disappearing every year. This is stated in a study by a group of scientists led by biologist Stuart Pimm from the American Duke University.
“We are on the verge of a sixth extinction,” Pimm said. "Whether we can prevent this or not will depend on our actions," he stressed.
The research of scientists focused not on the number of endangered species, but on the rate of their extinction. Biologists estimated the rate of extinction using molecular phylogeny, a technique that traces connections between different species through similarities and differences in their DNA.
The findings did not come as a big surprise. Previous studies have shown that the rate of extinction of species is now higher than they used to be.
One of the reasons for the sad trend is the loss of habitat, including due to active urbanization and climate change, according to a study published in the journal Science.
However, Stuart Pimm argues that there is hope for the preservation of biodiversity, provided that humanity becomes more careful with the environment.
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In the history of the Earth there have already been five mass extinctions of the animal and plant world. About 66 million years ago, one such extinction wiped out the dinosaurs and three out of four animal species on Earth. About 252 million years ago, the extinction took away about 90% of the species. Pimm is confident that if we do not reconsider our attitude to nature, we will follow the path of the dinosaurs.
“It is not too late to save mammals whose extinction threat has not crossed the critical line. This will require the elimination of a whole range of immediate threats, including habitat loss, the impact of invasive species, disease and global warming,”the American biologist said.
