The mass extinction of our oceans is already underway and this is part of a wider trend of species destruction. While species like tigers capture headlines, many less well known species are also being lost each and everyday.The list of endangered species keeps growing. There are almost 4000 animal species that are critically endangered, 5,700 that are endangered, and more than 10,000 that are vulnerable.
The world is losing its wildlife at a rate not seen in 65 million years. We are in the midst of the sixth mass extinction of plants and animals in the past half-billion years. Through a combination of climate change, habitat loss/degradation, poaching and the introduction of exotic species, we are killing off species at an unprecedented rate.
What makes this extinction crisis unique is that it is man-made. As explained by the Center for Biological Diversity, humans are responsible for 99 percent of currently threatened species.
Typically, extinction of a species occurs at a rate of about one to five species per year. We are currently losing 1,000 to 10,000 times that amount. On average, dozens of species are going extinct every day. At the current rate, by 2050, as much as half of all species may be eradicated.
A wide range of species are threatened including mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fish, birds and invertebrates.
According to the World Wildlife Fund, there are a number of critically endangered species that may go extinct in 2015 thanks to human activities. This list includes the Black Rhino, Javan Rhino, Hawksbill Turtle, Soala, South China Tiger, Yangtze Finless Porpoise, Western Lowland Gorilla, Vaquita, Sumatran Elephant, and the Mountain Gorilla.
The 2014 WWF Living Planet report indicates that plant and animal biodiversity is on the decline. Marine and terrestrial species populations, for example, have dropped by 30 percent since 1970.
In addition to the obvious tradgedy of individual species loss, there is a host of other less obvious ramifications, including the insights from nature that are lost when species and ecosystems vanish. This includes everything from cures to diseases like cancer and a host of useful extrapolations from nature, such as those we find in biomimicry.
We are coming to a better understanding of the relationships between species. We are beginning to appreciate the interconnected and interdependent webs in nature. We do not know what will happen as we start removing individual elements on such a mass scale. It may very well lead to widespread collapse.
Much of the adverse impact on the animal world is attributable to climate change. Things like changing weather patterns, ocean acidification and warmer temperatures can all prove to be deadly.
One of the species most at risk are honeybees which have suffered dramatic declines in recent years. These deaths are being attributed to both climate change and pesticide use.
Declining sea ice attributable to climate change poses a major problem for a wide range of animals including polar bears, wolves, arctic foxes, grizzly bears, caribou and walruses. To dramatically illustrate the point, last October, 35,000 walruses were forced ashore on a beach in Northwest Alaska because of the disappearance of sea ice in the Chukchi Sea.
Declining bird populations have also been attributed to climate change. According to a report from the Audubon society, the situation will get far worse with nearly half of all North American bird species under threat from climate change.
A Thinkprogress article reviewed several other species being harmed by climate change. This includes Alpine Mountain goats, which according to an October study, weigh 25 percent less than their healthy peers did in the 1980s. Researchers think this is attributable to less grazing due to increasing heat from climate change.
Fish species are also being impacted by climate change and drought in particular. A July population assessment of Chinook salmon and Steelhead in California’s Salmon river found that low water levels caused a significant number to die before they had a chance to spawn.
Similar impacts have been recorded with mollusks and other marine life. This is attributed to acidification and warmer ocean temperatures. Last February, 10 million scallops died due to ocean acidity. In October, scientists recommended that Maine cancel its shrimp season due to depleted populations.
While action to protect species is important, the broader issue of reducing climate change causing greenhouse gases is instrumental to protecting the Earth’s biodiversity and wildlife in particular.
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