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6th Mass Extinction Research Paper

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Three Potential Effects of the Next Extinction When the 6th Mass Extinction does occur, the effects will be tremendous. Unlike the other extinctions, it is predicted that the changes associated with this extinction will not only create a new epoch in history, but also shape the Earth in the way microbes evolved into multicellular organisms did (Hance, 2015). The effects, however, will be somewhat similar to past extinctions. One predicted effect of the 6th Mass Extinction is the availability of empty niches-unoccupied habitats and places in an environment. When a species is killed off by some natural or anthropogenic event, the habitat it once lived in is left empty, unless that is also destroyed. The species of animals that weren’t harmed …show more content…

Many of the animals and plants that currently exist in this world are important pillars of the existing economy. Unless no dramatic alterations occur over the next couple decades, most likely, these organisms will continue to play and important role in society. Certain crops, such as corn and tomatoes, as well as animals, such as cows and pigs, serve as important food sources for the ever-growing human population (Extinction: Causes and Consequences, n.d.). Furthermore, insects such as bees are invaluable as they help fertilize food sources and help keep a healthy diet available for people. In the UK, as depicted in the graphic below, the value of honeybees to the economy is significantly greater than 400 billion euros, the total averaging about two billion euros. With an extinction of bees would come an extinction of plants and crops, and then animals that relied on those crops, and animals that relied on those animals and so on (Holland, 2009). Soon enough, food webs would be toppled, many would starve, and the 6th Mass Extinction would occur. With the depletion of resources because of it, any organisms left on the planet would have to adapt because everyone that was left would be in a state of poverty. The damage that was caused would take centuries to recover and build from (Extinction: Causes and Consequences,

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