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What is Extinction?
In biology and ecology, extinction is the termination of
an organism or of a group of organisms (taxon), normally a species. The
moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last
individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and recover may
have been lost before this point. Because a species' potential range may be
very large, determining this moment is difficult, and is usually done
retrospectively. This difficulty leads to phenomena such as Lazarus taxa,
where a species presumed extinct abruptly "reappears" (typically in
the fossil record) after a period of apparent absence.
More than 99 percent of all species, amounting to over five
billion species, that ever lived on Earth are estimated to be
extinct. Estimates on the number of Earth's current species range from 10
million to 14 million, of which about 1.2 million have been documented and
over 86 percent have not yet been described. More recently, in May 2016,
scientists reported that 1 trillion species are estimated to be on Earth
currently with only one-thousandth of one percent described.
Through evolution, species arise through the process
of speciation, where new varieties of organisms arise and thrive when they
are able to find and exploit an ecological niche and species become extinct
when they are no longer able to survive in changing conditions or against
superior competition. The relationship between animals and their
ecological niches has been firmly established. A typical species becomes
extinct within 10 million years of its first appearance, although some
species, called living fossils, survive with virtually no morphological change
for hundreds of millions of years.
Mass extinctions are relatively rare events; however, isolated
extinctions are quite common. Only recently have extinctions been
recorded and scientists have become alarmed at the current high rate of
extinctions. Most species that become extinct are never scientifically
documented. Some scientists estimate that up to half of presently existing
plant and animal species may become extinct by 2100.[13]
Every species however small may have an important role in
maintaining a well-balanced ecosystem. Recent surveys suggest that the
number of species (species richness) in an area may enhance ecosystem
productivity and stability; hence the loss of any species could be
detrimental to the ecosystem.
Direct effects (e.g. overexploitation, pollution and habitat
destruction) and indirect effects as a result of climate change and
perturbations of ocean biogeochemistry have been the major reasons for
species extinction. There is evidence that regional ecosystems such
as estuaries, coral reefs, and coastal and oceanic fish communities are
undergoing rapid losses whether in individuals, whole species or entire
functional groups.
A dagger symbol (†) placed next to the name of a species or
other taxon is often done to indicate its status as extinct.
Why Extinction Happens?
Extinction occurs when the last individual of a plant or animal
species dies out. This may happen naturally, perhaps due to a change in the
climate or other conditions, or it may occur due to human activity, such as
overhunting or through habitat destruction.
The Mass Extinction Periods
1. Ordovician–Silurian Extinction
Around 439 million years ago, 86% of life on Earth was wiped
out. Scientists believe two major events resulted in this extinction:
glaciations and falling sea levels. Some theories suggest that the Earth was
covered in such a vast quantity of plants that they removed too much
carbon dioxide from the air which drastically reduced the temperature.
Falling sea levels were possibly a result of the Appalachian mountain range
forming. The majority of the animal life lived in the ocean. Trilobites,
brachiopods, and graptolites died off in large numbers but interestingly,
this did not lead to any major species changes during the next era.
2. Late Devonian Extinction
Estimates propose that around 75% of species were lost around
364 million years ago. Information is unclear as to whether the late
Devonian extinction was one single major event or spread over hundreds of
thousands of years. Trilobites, which survived the Ordovician-Silurian
extinction due to their hard exoskeletons, were nearly exterminated during
this extinction. Giant land plants are thought to be responsible as their deep
roots released nutrients into the oceans. The nutrient rich waters resulted
in mass amounts of algal blooms which depleted the seas of oxygen and
therefore, animal life. Volcanic ash is thought to be responsible for cooling
earth’s temperatures which killed off the spiders and scorpion-type
creatures that had made it on land by this time. A distant amphibian cousin,
elpistostegalians, had also ventured onto land but became extinct.
Vertebrae did not appear on land again until 10 million years later, the
ichthyostegalians from which we all evolved. If the late Devonian extinction
had not occurred, humans might not exist today.
3. Permian–Triassic extinction
This mass extinction, which occurred 251 million years ago, is
considered the worst in all history because around 96% of species were lost.
Ancient coral species were completely lost. “The Great Dying” was caused
by an enormous volcanic eruption that filled the air with carbon dioxide
which fed different kinds of bacteria that began emitting large amounts of
methane. The Earth warmed, and the oceans became acidic. Life today
descended from the 4% of surviving species. After this event, marine life
developed a complexity not seen before and snails, urchins, and crabs
emerged as new species.
4. Triassic–Jurassic extinction
The Triassic-Jurassic extinction happened between 199 million
and 214 million years ago and as in other mass extinctions, it is believed
there were several phases of species loss. The blame has been placed on an
asteroid impact, climate change, and flood basalt eruptions. During the
beginning of this era, mammals outnumbered dinosaurs. By the end,
dinosaurs’ ancestors (archosaurs) reined the earth’s surface. This
extinction laid the path that allowed for the evolution of dinosaurs which
later existed for around 135 million years.
5. Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction
Perhaps the most well-known of the Big 5, the end of the
Cretaceous-Paleogene brought on the extinction of dinosaurs. A
combination of volcanic activity, asteroid impact, and climate change
effectively ended 76% of life on earth 65 million years ago. This extinction
period allowed for the evolution of mammals on land and sharks in the sea.
6. Holocene extinction
The Holocene extinction, otherwise referred to as the Sixth
extinction or Anthropocene extinction, is the ongoing extinction
event of species during the present Holocene epoch, mainly as a result of
human activity. The large number of extinctions spans numerous families
of plants and animals,
including mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles and arthropods. With
widespread degradation of highly biodiverse habitats such as coral
reefs and rainforest, as well as other areas, the vast majority of these
extinctions are thought to be undocumented. The current rate of extinction
of species is estimated at 100 to 1,000 times higher than natural
background rates.
5.) Disease/Epidemic
Each species has defense mechanisms like immunities and the
ability to fight disease. With the changing climate and landscape certain
species are losing their ability to fend off disease. They are becoming more
susceptible to disease and epidemics, which can lead to their eventual
extinction.
6.) Spread of Invasive Species
Invasive species invade foreign territory. They use resources
that the other species depend on. Once competition gets too great, the
survival of the fittest plan will begin, and one of the species, usually the
natural one, will die off.
Endangered species
An endangered species is a species which has been categorized
as very likely to become extinct. Endangered (EN), as categorized by
the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, is the
second most severe conservation status for wild populations in the IUCN's
schema after Critically Endangered (CR).
In 2012, the IUCN Red List featured 3079 animal and
2655 plant species as endangered (EN) worldwide. The figures for 1998
were, respectively, 1102 and 1197.
Many nations have laws that protect conservation-reliant
species: for example, forbidding hunting, restricting land development or
creating preserves. Population numbers, trends and species' conservation
status can be found at the lists of organisms by population.
The conservation status of a species indicates the likelihood that
it will become extinct. Many factors are considered when assessing the
conservation status of a species; e.g., such statistics as the number
remaining, the overall increase or decrease in the population over time,
breeding success rates, or known threats. The IUCN Red List of Threatened
Species is the best-known worldwide conservation status listing and
ranking system.
Though labeled a list, the IUCN Red List is a system of assessing the global
conservation status of species that includes "Data Deficient" (DD) species –
species for which more data and assessment is required before their status
may be determined – as well species comprehensively assessed by the
IUCN's species assessment process. Those species of "Near
Threatened" (NT) and "Least Concern" (LC) status have been assessed and
found to have relatively robust and healthy populations, though these may
be in decline. Unlike their more general use elsewhere, the List uses the
terms "endangered species" and "threatened species" with particular
meanings: "Endangered" (EN) species lie between "Vulnerable" (VU) and
"Critically Endangered" (CR) species, while "Threatened" species are those
species determined to be Vulnerable, Endangered or Critically Endangered.
The IUCN categories, with examples of animals classified by them, include:
Extinct in the wild (EW)
Captive individuals survive, but there is no free-living, natural
population.
Examples:
Guam kingfisher Northern white rhinoceros
Guam Rail Père David's deer
Hawaiian crow
Critically endangered (CR)
Faces an extremely high risk of extinction in the immediate future.
Examples:
addax Amur leopard
African wild ass Asiatic cheetah
Asiatic lion
Endangered (EN)
Faces a high risk of extinction in the near future.
Examples:
Mexican Wolf Bengal tiger
Amur tiger blue whale
Asian elephant
Vulnerable (VU)
Faces a high risk of endangerment in the medium term.
Examples:
dugong gaur
Far Eastern curlew blue headed macaw
Galapagos tortoise
Near-threatened (NT)
May be considered threatened in the near future.
Examples:
American bison jaguar
blue-billed duck manned wolf
emperor goose
Least concern (LC)
No immediate threat to species' survival.
Examples:
Saltwater crocodile
Indian peafowl
olive baboon
bald eagle
brown bear