The Dangerous Decline in Biological Diversity

 Our world is experiencing an immense crisis as thousands of species are in danger of disappearing forever, and it’s not a secret. With humans’ actions affecting the planet in the past decade and even before that, even when I was a young man, extinction rates are climbing even higher each year, with more and more animals and creatures threatened.

 Today, we are undergoing the sixth big wave of extinction in the past half billion years, the currently one being the worst extinction phenomenon since the wiping out of the dinosaurs, 65 million years ago. Although the process of extinction is a natural phenomenon, with the help of outer forces the rate has increased as much as about 1,000 times than what should be 5 species a year disappearing. Scientists and researchers of the world assert that 30 to 50 percent of all species we know today will be gone by mid-century.

 The abnormal speed of natural life and ecosystems rising are, as expected, caused by humans. Main things affecting life on earth the most negatively are pollution, global climate change, habitat loss, unnatural fires and introduction of exotic or invasive species. Nobody knows how many species exactly are in danger because of these factors, but one more extinct species is always one too many. It was reported that the world wouldn’t meet a goal for reversing the extinction rates by 2010- and here we are in the current year. Thousands of species are going to be disappearing forever in the upcoming decades, with not much to stop this process.

 The most endangered animals are amphibians, with roughly 6,300 known species being at very high risk with over more than 25,000 the regular extinction rate. Decrease in amphibians such as frogs or salamanders for example are known to be a sign that something is wrong, being a sort of detector system for researchers. If they are affected, it means there are dangerous changes in the environment. 

Even the Darwin's Frog is affected, and is currently under protection!

One more type of animals important or tracking such changes are birds, which can be a way of finding out profound changes. About 12 percent of 9,865 bird species are threatened, impacted by the effects of invasive species and capture by collectors.

 Fish are other animals affected by all the changes in our world, the effect of pollution in waters and water levels decreasing in areas. 21 percent of all fish species, which are 1,851 species are endangered, and this includes one third of all sharks and rays as well. 

Yet another animal type which has a lot of endangered species, is the intervertebrates. No one knows how many species exactly exist of them, but they are about 97 % of all Earth’s species. Out the 1.3 million known ones, about 9,526 species were evaluated and 30% of them were endangered. In addition, one third of all reef building corals are threatened by extinction, and many are dying from climate change and the waters they living becoming too hot (or too polluted) for them to continue thriving.

 One of the more important type of species, mammals, are feeling the effects as well as every other animal. The closest animal relatives to humans, primates, are in danger of extinction by about 50%, as well as the 5,491 known mammals on the globe clearly at risk with 1,131 species under threat. To add to that, marine mammals have it the worst of all mammals, with many species of whales, dolphins and porpoises rapidly slipping towards disappearing never to return. Reptiles, on the other hand are endangered “only” about 21% globally- but it is still too much.

 Plants are undeniably the most important and vital parts of many ecosystems and life on the earth itself, allowing it to thrive. As we all know, plants photosynthesize, which enables us and all animals to breathe, and reduce carbon dioxide. Of the 300,000 known species of them, about a whopping 68% of plants -of which only 12,914 species were evaluated- are highly threatened or at risk, which lets us think about if all the species were evaluated. Undoubtedly the numbers would be even higher, proving that the natural flora of our planet is being destroyed. To add to that, plants cannot move as their habitat is destroyed or changed, making them even easier to diminish. This is bad news for all species on the earth, for which plants mean food, shelter and basically, survival.

 Overall, there is a lot of proof regarding mass extinction in this day, and it is we, humans, have been ruining the planet’s whole system for decades, not willing to care about the environment enough. It is really sad to think about- millions of wonderful creatures, dead, never to come alive once again! Is it really worth it when we are decreasing all the biodiversity on the Earth? How far are we willing to continue being careless at the cost of all these creatures?

 It really is a wonder what humans have evolved into.