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Sixth mass extinction will be worse than previously thought, say scientists

  • July 26, 2023
  • Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
  • Category: DPN Topics
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Sixth mass extinction will be worse than previously thought, say scientists

Subject: Environment

Section: Biodiversity

Context:

  • The planet’s sixth mass extinction, fuelled by human activities, may trigger a rapid biodiversity imbalance, according to scientists.

About the Study:

  • The researchers analysed more than 71,000 animal species from five strata, including mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and insects and found that the next mass extinction will be worse than previously thought.
  • The study offers the first comprehensive global scale picture of four categories of trends — decreasing, stable, increasing and species for which they remain unknown (for vertebrates and insects) — sourcing data from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List.
  • Nearly 50 per cent of the animal population across all strata is being driven towards extinction.
  • Mass extinction occurs when 75 per cent of the world’s species collapses in less than 2.8 million years.
  • Study findings:
  • The analysis portrayed a widespread global erosion of species, with 48 per cent undergoing declines, while 49 per cent remain stable and 3 percent of species currently increasing.
  • Around 33 per cent of the species currently categorised as ‘non-threatened’ by the IUCN Red List show a declining trend. The declining population pattern indicates an imminent extinction.
  • Extinction threat is particularly severe for amphibians compared to others and the decline was higher in the tropical regions than temperate.
  • The mammals with declining populations were estimated to be 56 per cent.
  • The insect population is dropping at a rate of 54 per cent, with just two per cent undergoing population growth.
  • The researchers estimated that “around 40 percent of global species many become extinct in coming decades”.

What happens when species go extinct?

  • Impact can be tangible such as in the form of a loss in crop pollination and water purification.
  • If a species has a specific function in an ecosystem, the loss can lead to consequences for other species by impacting the food chain.
  • Effects of extinction will worsen in the coming decades as the resulting genetic and cultural variability will change entire ecosystems.
  • When the number of individuals in a population or species drops too low, its contributions to ecosystem functions and services become unimportant, its genetic variability and resilience are reduced, and its contribution to human welfare may be lost.

About the Mass Extinctions:

  • Mass extinction refers to a substantial increase in the degree of extinction or when the Earth loses more than three-quarters of its species in a geologically short period of time.
  • So far, during the entire history of the Earth, there have been five mass extinctions.

Sixth mass extinction or Anthropocene extinction:

  • Some researchers have pointed out that we are currently experiencing a sixth mass extinction as the result of human-induced climate change.
  • More than 99 per cent of all organisms that have ever lived on Earth are extinct.
  • As new species evolve to fit ever-changing ecological niches, older species fade away. But the rate of extinction is far from constant.
Mass Extinction Time Period Size of extinction Cause of Extinction
1stMass Extinction-The Ordovician Mass Extinction The Ordovician Period of the Paleozoic Era (about 440 million years ago) Up to 85% of all living species eliminated  Continental drift and subsequent climate change
2ndMass Extinction-Devonian Mass Extinction The Devonian Period of the Paleozoic Era (about 375 million years ago) Nearly 80% of all living species eliminated Lack of oxygen in the oceans, quick cooling of air temperatures, volcanic eruptions and/or meteor strikes
3rdMass Extinction-Permian Mass Extinction

 

The Permian Period of the Paleozoic Era (about 250 million years ago)  An estimated 96% of all living species eliminated Unknown—possibly asteroid strikes, volcanic activity, climate change, and microbes
4thMass Extinction-The Triassic-Jurassic Mass Extinction

 

The end of the Triassic Period of the Mesozoic Era (about 200 million years ago) More than half of all living species eliminated Major volcanic activity with basalt flooding, global climate change, and changing pH and sea levels of the oceans
5thMass Extinction-The K-T Mass Extinction

 

The end of the Cretaceous Period of the Mesozoic Era (about 65 million years ago) Nearly 75% of all living species eliminated Extreme asteroid or meteor impact
6thMass Extinction-Holocene extinction, Ongoing

 

The loss of species has been occurring since human ancestors developed agriculture over 11,000 years ago.

 

1 million animal and plant species face extinction and thousands of these would become extinct within decades.

 

About 40 per cent of the planet’s amphibian species are threatened with extinction.

 

Since 1900, the number of native species in most of the land-based habitats has declined by 20 per cent.

changes in land and sea use (habitat loss and degradation),

 

overexploitation of species,

 

invasive species and disease,

 

pollution and

 

climate change.

Environment Sixth mass extinction will be worse than previously thought
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