A recent report has shown that human activities such as overfishing and agriculture are leading our planet to its sixth “great extinction.”
A special analysis published by the Nature magazine shows that 41 percent of the planet’s amphibians, 26 percent of its mammal species, and 13 percent of its birds face extinction.
Many critically endangered species such as the Sumatran elephant, Amur leopard, and mountain gorilla are already close to extinction. But now it seems animals such as bonobos, bluefin tuna, and loggerhead turtles that are currently rated as merely being endangered also face extinction.
“Habitat destruction, pollution or overfishing either kills off wild creatures and plants or leaves them badly weakened,” said Derek Tittensor, a marine ecologist at the World Conservation Monitoring Center in Cambridge. “The trouble is that in coming decades, the additional threat of worsening climate change will become more and more pronounced and could then kill off these survivors.”
The data shows that the planet is heading towards another mass extinction -- which is defined as loss of over 75 percent or more of it species.
“In the case of land extinctions, it is the spread of agriculture that has been main driver,” added Tittensor. “By contrast it has been the over-exploitation of resources – overfishing – that has affected sealife.”
The planet has already gone through five great extinctions, all of which were caused by geological or astronomical events. However the next great extinction will be the work of mankind.
SRK/NN/AS
A special analysis published by the Nature magazine shows that 41 percent of the planet’s amphibians, 26 percent of its mammal species, and 13 percent of its birds face extinction.
Many critically endangered species such as the Sumatran elephant, Amur leopard, and mountain gorilla are already close to extinction. But now it seems animals such as bonobos, bluefin tuna, and loggerhead turtles that are currently rated as merely being endangered also face extinction.
“Habitat destruction, pollution or overfishing either kills off wild creatures and plants or leaves them badly weakened,” said Derek Tittensor, a marine ecologist at the World Conservation Monitoring Center in Cambridge. “The trouble is that in coming decades, the additional threat of worsening climate change will become more and more pronounced and could then kill off these survivors.”
The data shows that the planet is heading towards another mass extinction -- which is defined as loss of over 75 percent or more of it species.
“In the case of land extinctions, it is the spread of agriculture that has been main driver,” added Tittensor. “By contrast it has been the over-exploitation of resources – overfishing – that has affected sealife.”
The planet has already gone through five great extinctions, all of which were caused by geological or astronomical events. However the next great extinction will be the work of mankind.
SRK/NN/AS
