'The ongoing sixth mass extinction may be the most serious environmental threat to the persistence of civilization because it is irreversible,' is the study's opening statement. The team assessed that over the last 100 years, 543 species were lost, which should have taken 10,000 years. The rate of extinction tremendously exceeds natural occurrences as humanity races faster towards the point of collapse.
Ecologist Gerardo Ceballos from the National Autonomous University of Mexico shared that humans are 'eroding the capabilities of the planet to maintain human life and life in general.' At current rates, 500 more terrestrial species can go extinct in 20 years what would naturally occur over a 16,000-year time frame.
Dr. Ceballos, alongside Paul Ehrlick of Stanford University and Peter Ravel of the Missouri Botanical Garden, assessed 29,400 vertebrate land species from the International Union for Conservation of Nature database. They determined that 1.7%, or 515 species, are on the brink of extinction. About 50% of these species have less than 250 individuals.
Four reasons are accelerating this decline of numerous species which are all caused by humans. First is that today's endangered species will likely become extinct in the near future.
Second, the distribution of endangered species on the brink of extinction coexists with hundreds of other species all surviving in human-impacted regions. It is probable that biodiversity will collapse in entire regions.
Next is extinction breeds extinction, meaning that species on the brink drive others toward annihilation because of close ecological interactions. Lastly, human activity increasingly adds pressure to biodiversity such as COVID-19 being linked to wildlife trade.
A Brick House
'In addition, species are links in ecosystems, and, as they fall out, the species they interact with are likely to go also,' the study reveals. The team concluded that their 'results reemphasize the extreme urgency of taking massive global actions to save humanity's crucial life-support systems.'
Dr. Ceballos compared the process to a house whose bricks are being removed one by one. Removing one brick might just affect noise or humidity while taking too many out will cause a house to collapse.
More than just species nearing extinction, Rebecca Shaw of World Wildlife Fund (WWF), raises concern regarding common species even though she was not part of the research team. The decline of top predators and 'herbivores like the rhino, pollinators, and others - have large effects on the way ecosystems function even when they are far from extinction.'
Stop Extinction
An initiative by Global Conservation started 'Stop Extinction,' a movement that addresses and publicizes 'the extent of the extinction crisis and its impacts on the loss of biodiversity, ecosystem services, and human well-being,'
The authors warn that while many people remain ignorant, 'there is time, but the window of opportunity is almost closed. We must save what we can, or lose the opportunity to do so forever. There is no doubt, for example, that there will be more pandemics if we continue destroying habitats and trading wildlife for human consumption as food and traditional medicines.
The increasing rates of extinction and ecological damage is 'something that humanity cannot permit, as it may be a tipping point for the collapse of civilization. What is at stake is the fate of humanity and most living species. Future generations deserve better from us.'
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