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500 species are on the verge of extinction
Translated from Dutch. View the original post
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And once the marble rolls, many more species will face a similar fate.
In 2015 Stanford researcher Paul Ehrlich made a somewhat controversial statement. In a study he claimed that the sixth mass extinction is now in progress. Meanwhile, we see around us that indeed more and more animal species are threatened with extinction. Ehrlich now, five years later, comes with a grim update. The extinction rate is probably much higher than he thought possible.
In 2015 Stanford researcher Paul Ehrlich made a somewhat controversial statement. In a study he claimed that the sixth mass extinction is now in progress. Meanwhile, we see around us that indeed more and more animal species are threatened with extinction. Ehrlich now, five years later, comes with a grim update. The extinction rate is probably much higher than he thought possible.
The five mass extinctions in a row
Over the past 540 million years, the Earth has been hit five times by mass extinction, or the mass extinction of many species of organisms worldwide in a relatively short time.
Over the past 540 million years, the Earth has been hit five times by mass extinction, or the mass extinction of many species of organisms worldwide in a relatively short time.
(1) The first mass extinction — the Late Ordovician mass extinction — took place some 445 million years ago and was possibly caused by the cooling of the global climate or by a gamma burst causing an imploding nearby star.
(2) The second mass extinction — the Late Devonian extinction — happened some 360 million years ago. A possible cause is the emergence of land plants or a meteorite impact.
(3) In the transition between the Permian and Triassic some 252 million years ago, the third mass extinction took place; the Perm-Triassic mass extinction. This was possibly caused by methane producing bacteria.
(4) Then follows the Trias-Jura extinction which appeared on the scene some 202 million years ago. The current study claims that these massive extinction were volcanic eruptions.
(5) Finally, the Cretaceous Paleogenic mass extinction follows, which is also known as the most famous. This extinction took place some 66 million years ago and put an end to the dinosaur era. Probably, for this mass extinction, the impact of a meteorite can be identified as the culprit.
The researchers calculated that in the entire 20th century at least 543 vertebrate species have died out on land. But, in the next two decades alone, almost the same number of species is heading towards its demise. For example, the researchers discovered that 515 terrestrial vertebrates — or 1.7 percent of the 29,400 endangered species studied by the research team — are about to extinct. It means that these animal species include a population consisting of less than 1000 individuals. Of about half of the species investigated, however, only 250 individuals are still alive. The most endangered species live, according to the study, in tropical and subtropical areas seriously affected by humans.
The researchers calculated that in the entire 20th century at least 543 vertebrate species have died out on land. But, in the next two decades alone, almost the same number of species is heading towards its demise. For example, the researchers discovered that 515 terrestrial vertebrates — or 1.7 percent of the 29,400 endangered species studied by the research team — are about to extinct. It means that these animal species include a population consisting of less than 1000 individuals. Of about half of the species investigated, however, only 250 individuals are still alive. The most endangered species live, according to the study, in tropical and subtropical areas seriously affected by humans.
We will continue
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