E. O Wilson Invasive Species

The number of wild animals on Earth has halved in the past 40 years . Creatures across the land, rivers, and the seas are destroyed as humans killed them for food in unsuitable numbers, while polluting or destroying their habitats.

Invasive species are an important mechanism of this extinction because there are many different species of things that have been relocating. An example of this she talks about in the book is how the American chestnut was effected by humans. Humans introduced the chestnut to a fungus that made it poisonous to other species. Which

In the book The Sixth Extinction written by Elizabeth Kolbert there are a lot of examples that are going on in the world today and also examples of things that started when the first human being was around. This book talks about how we are in the sixth mass extinction, and that is caused by humans. Overall the book goes chapter by chapter and talks about the different mass extinctions there have been, and how they were caused, but also the book talks about different species that have gone extinct and the reasons why. For example the book talks about golden frogs that are located in Panama and how they were seen everywhere located in El Valle de Anton, but they suddenly started disappearing. They were disappearing because of a chytrid fungis cause by humans, when humans travel they were bring this fungis to different places, this ended up killing the frogs (Chapter 1, Kolbert). That is just one example, but throughout the book Kolbert talks about different extinctions like this and what caused them.

Extinction: Most species become extinct because they can’t cope with the environmental change, and also because of introduced species that turned into competitors for

Forests have been cut, crops planted, pastures seeded, and urban areas paved. One of the most troubling consequences of human modification of ecosystems is an ongoing loss of species and therefore a loss of biodiversity around the world. The current extinctions have a human cause: habitat loss (such as clearing of tropical rainforests); the introduction of invasive species; unregulated hunting and fishing; and pollution of water, air, and

There are several hypotheses that are used to explain the causes of mass extinctions. Climate change, the warming or cooling of global environments over a short period of time, can lead to other occurrences. Shifts in climate can cause extinction by

Summarize: The result of one species extinction could potentially be fatal to the environment. In the animal kingdom, there is a food chain. Keystone animals, are the key ingredient to the food chain. When that keystone animals goes extinct, it sets off a chain reaction on the other animal’s food source. This causes one species to flourish and another to dwindle. The environment needs a healthy checks and balance system to keep each animal population under control (Stuart, 1990 ). Humans can cause the keystone animal to become extinct and therefore, responsible for rise and decline of other species, ultimately, throwing the food chain off balance.

For instance, gray wolves, according to the authors of “Using Small Populations of Wolves for Ecosystem Restoration and Stewardship”, “...influence the abundance of ungulates, which in turn affects the structure and composition of plant communities”(Licht et al. 2). Wolves prey on herbivores such as deer and elk, keeping their population under control and thus allowing more plant species that the prey feed on to grow and reproduce. If wolves were to go extinct the prey populations would soar. There would be no predators to hunt the animals, so they would spend less time worrying about predators and more time feeding. This would drastically reduce the population of plant species that the prey animals feed on until there is not enough food to sustain the ever growing prey species. The prey species population would begin to die of starvation and the few animals left would develop a variety of diseases due to malnutrition and genes that were passed through generations of animals. The genes would have not passed through the animals if the wolves had not gone extinct. This is due to the fact that wolves would have eaten the weak prey animals, therefore reducing the chance of weak and sickly offspring and improving the health of future generations of prey animals. Additionally, with the plant

In the ecosystem organisms rely on each other for food and protection. The Food chain is like a pyramid you have the producers, primary consumers, secondary consumers, tertiary consumers, and quaternary consumers. It’s an almost perfect balance and if any level were to just stop existing then the food chain would be destroyed. An example of organisms relying on others is an issue of isle royale were the wolves and moose population are in jeopardy. This relationship is important because without the other animal the population would die.

Throughout evolution, many species have come and gone. What causes a species to become extinct and what can the human race due to prevent it? Many species’ population decline has been linked to human causation. An endangered species is defined as “plant and animal species that are at risk for extinction” (Funk). Endangered species can be placed into two more specific categorizes. Threatened species are species at risk for endangerment, while endangered species are at risk for extinction. Despite the fact that many people believe extinction is a major issue, the Funk and Wagnall’s New World Encyclopedia states that, “extinction is actually a normal process in the course of evolution” (Funk). Over time, numerous species have become extinct, usually as a result of climate changes, inability to adapt, or predation. Another major cause of endangerment is the human population. Pollution, global warming, and hunting is all causing a decline in the population of numerous species. While the encyclopedia is entirely fact based, many authors have worked to sensitize people to threatened species. For example, renowned author Sharon Begley, has written numerous articles to inform people of the importance of many species that are often overlooked.

Throughout the history of earth, several mass extinction events have occurred, thus changing life on earth forever. Elizabeth Kolbert, in her novel The Sixth Extinction, defines mass extinctions as "...events that eliminate a significant proportion of the world's biota in a geologically insignificant amount of time" (Kolbert 16). Five major mass extinctions have transpired that significantly changed biodiversity. Kolbert argues that Earth currently faces a Sixth mass extinction, one caused by humans. Ever since humans roamed this earth, they have significantly affected biodiversity.

Humans are the cause of mass extinction, in just 500 years,humans have been the cause of 322 animal extinctions, with two thirds of those occurring in the last century alone. Humans are making animals, endangered, or extinct; by our hunting, killing habitats, and most of all pollution. We should start making the Earth more friendly, for animals, and less deadly.

Bill Freedmen, author of “Endangered Species—Human Causes Of Extinction and Endangerment” notes, “scientists approximate that present extinction rates are 1,000 to 10,000 times higher than the average natural extinction rate.” These distressing numbers should be acted upon to save the endangered species and avoid the catastrophic change to this planet if these species were to become extinct. In order to produce change, people need to recognize that habitat loss, climate change, and poaching are all factors in why our animal species are going extinct.

There have been five well known extinctions on this earth. The one most well known is the mass extinction that ended the dinosaurs. Mass extinction is often described as the elimination of a large number of species in a short period of time. Despite what many think, the elimination of species is almost commonplace at this point. The Earth is currently in the middle of a sixth mass extinction, and it’s been caused by the human race.

Habitat destruction, deforestation, ozone depletion, global warming, and poaching. These actions and ecological happenings are creating a world where animals are going extinct at rapid rates. Our world is on the brink of what scientists believe is the sixth mass extinction. Unlike the five previous mass extinction, the latest one killing a majority of the dinosaurs, the main causes for this current extinction are anthropogenic reasons, not natural events.