Biodiversity Is Nearing an ‘Extinction Crisis,’ Animal Researchers Say

Man has killed off much of the Earth’s existing wildlife, and some scientists argue that human activity has set off the world’s sixth mass extinction event. New research now shows global animal populations are declining more rapidly than earlier believed. Authors of the study published in the journal Biological Reviews on May 15 analyzed more than 71,000 animal species—spanning mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fishes and insects—to assess their population growth over time. They found 49% of these species are stable, but 48% have shrinking populations, and only 3% have populations on the rise. Assessing the extent of mass extinction has traditionally relied on the conservation status the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) assigns to a species. The IUCN’s Red List marks down these statuses from time to time to provide a snapshot of the changing composition of wildlife. Of the populations and extinction risks of more than 150,300 species evaluated by the committee, 28% are considered facing the threat of extinction. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Animal populations disappear all the time to make way for new species, but the new study highlights the extent of “real” biodiversity loss as the species with declining populations far outnumber those with increasing numbers, says research co-author Daniel Pincheira-Donoso. “The issue with this mass extinction in particular is that it is happening too ...
Source: TIME: Science - Category: Science Authors: Tags: Uncategorized climate climate change Environment Source Type: news