The earth is facing a sixth mass extinction crisis, all thanks to humans. Previously the earth has seen five such episodes as a result of natural phenomena.
What is the sixth mass extinction all about?
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Experts believe that the sixth mass extinction is currently underway. Also known as the Holocene or Anthropocene extinction, it is an ongoing event during the current epoch as a result of human activities. Several birds, reptiles, animals, plants, bacteria, and fungi are facing the danger of their end. Since the beginning of life on earth, there have been five mass extinction events. A mass extinction event is where a species vanishes faster than the rate of replacement. According to the definition by the National History Museum in London, “about 75 percent of the world’s species being lost in a ‘short’ amount of geological time (less than 2.8 million years)”.
The first five extinctions are- Ordovician, Devonian, Permian, Triassic-Jurrasic, and Cretaceous mass extinction. They were all a result of natural phenomena unlike the sixth which is due to humans. Biologists from the University of Hawaii and Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris studied evidence of the event. The study, published in Biological Reviews helps in understanding the situation. It “drastically increased rates of species extinctions and declining abundances of many animal and plant populations are well documented, yet some deny that these phenomena amount to mass extinction,” stated Robert Cowie. Cowie is the lead author of the study.
Humans: The only species manipulating the environment
Unfortunately, there is a biased view of the sixth mass extinction due to the denial of invertebrates. Based on snails, the study estimates that the Earth has lost between 7.5 to 13 percent of the known 2 million species of organisms since 1500. In short, this means that in the next 500 years, as many as 1,50,000 to 2,60,000 species may go extinct. Moreover, the situation affects aquatic and terrestrial organisms differently. Marine organisms suffer a greater risk but, there is no concrete evidence to support this. The study also noted that the extinction rate of plants is lower than terrestrial animals.
According to Cowie humans are the only species that is capable of exploiting the biosphere on such a large scale. The study also assesses that humans are the only species with a conscious choice on the Earth’s biodiversity and its future. But, denying or accepting the crisis without reacting is an abrogation. They are paving the way towards the sixth mass extinction.