Why Is Extinction Important To Evolution?

Humans played a major role in the extinction of large mammals because hunters possibly killed them off. They were also slaughtered with knives and stampeded over cliffs at that time at which their species became less and less. to extinction in a period already providing great stress due to the receding ice sheets as the last glacial maximum came to an end. Later, this would mean a lack of analogues

In a summary, Kolbert explains the extinctions of a variety of different major animal species that became extinct. She also explains that if trends in the environment continue that the biggest extinction in history will occur soon. If global warming, deforestation, and glaciers continue to melt she says that more and more species will continue to become extinct. She explains how humans need to be more conservative and careful with what they’re doing to prevent extinction.

Extinction: A Radical History is a book published by writer, professor and activist Ashley Dawson. It was published on the 22nd of April 2016. Dawson talks about multiple broad subjects in his book like how Capitalism is the main source of mass extinction. By doing so, he takes into account the lengthy history of the Homo Sapiens species, their activities and their discoveries and how us, humans, have affected today’s biodiversity, and probably the future of our planet Earth. He also offers solutions but are they realistically possible? Today, we no longer face natural risks like asteroids and comets. As Dawson states we now face anthropogenic risks like climate change and biodiversity loss which leads to a change in the earth’s ecosystem.

There have been 5 mass extinctions in Earth’s existence. The names of these are (from most recent to least recent): Cretaceous–Paleogene, Triassic–Jurassic, Permian–Triassic, Late Devonian, and Ordovician–Silurian. The most well known mass extinction, Cretaceous-Paleogene, was theorized to have occurred through a massive comet or asteroid impact. A cold winter created by the impacting object forbid any plants and plankton to carry out photosynthesis. During this time, about three quarters of all life went extinct. This happened approximately 66 million years ago. Most life forms went extinct, with some ectothermic species and tetrapods weighing less than 25 pounds. Although everything seemed to look hopeless, adaptive radiation caused evolution

An endangered species face a huge risk of extinction in the coming years. This could be due to habitat loss, natural occurring disasters, pressure from other species and climate change. Sometimes the biggest factors due to population decrease are Human Beings themselves. Some species that are facing a threat to extinction are Chimpanzees, Amur Leopard, African Wild Dog and of course the Mountain Gorilla.

Over 98% of all organisms that have lived on Earth are now extinct. A mass extinction event occurs when a large number of species die out within a small time frame (relative to the age of Earth). Mass extinctions are intensively studied for both cause and effect, as there is usually room for debate regarding catalysts that precede the extinction and the massive influx of new biological species that follows. There have been five major mass extinctions, dubbed the “Big Five,” that have wiped out at least 50% of the species living at those times. The most well known mass extinction of the Big Five, with the decimation of every species of non-avian dinosaur, is the Cretaceous-Paleogene

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.

One reason a mass extinction can be plausible is because a lot of the previous periods have also been caused by mass extinctions. A lot of these extinctions were triggered by some change in the weather or atmosphere. Earth’s climate today, is becoming increasingly warmer and carbon dioxide levels are increasing which might potential be too much for humans and animals to take.

Are we on the brink of a sixth mass extinction? Many say yes, but there is also hard evidence saying no. Nonetheless, scientists can prove five mass extinctions in history. The first mass extinction happened roughly around 445 million years ago. It was named the Ordovician Extinction. The species affected were known as Graptolite, which are different types of sea creatures. Their demise on Earth lasted around only one million years. Around sixty to seventy percent of the species disappeared, and now the remaining species have evolved into something new. The extinction was likely because of a short and dangerous ice age, or the formation of the Appalachian mountains. It was likely that glaciers formed over the oceans and caused the sea levels to rapidly drop, killing the species.

Mass extinction is defined as the global decrease in diversification during a period of time reasons due to any events that occurred in history of earth. Mass extinction occurs when a great number of species goes into extinction globally.

Natural selection was a Natural selection is the micro evolutionary process where certain species develop certain traits that help them adapt and survive

Since the beginning of life itself, some species have lived and prospered while other species have gone extinct never to be seen again by mankind. Because of this, some would claim that extinction is natural and not significantly problematic to the world that we live in. Others, however, understand that due to climate change, habitat loss, and poaching, more and more species are becoming endangered which leads to a chain reaction that can be devastating to ecosystems. Species such as the Chinook salmon, gorillas, tropical sharks, and polar bears are all directly affected by climate change, species such as northern spotted owls, Sumatran tigers, and lemurs are greatly harmed due to habitat loss, and species such as the sea turtle, Javan rhinoceros, African elephant, and the Red-Fronted Macaw are all affected by poaching driving them all closer and closer to becoming extinct.

Dinosaur extinction could arguably be the most important event that contributed to world history. Without the extinction of dinosaurs, the human race would not exist let alone world history. These beautiful creatures appeared during the Triassic period about 231.4 million years ago. These creatures lived everywhere in the world including Antarctica. During the Triassic period all of the continents were morphed together into one called the Pangaea making travel a lot easier. Since the climate was different Antarctica had forest and was able to inhabit life. The dinosaurs disappeared at the end of the cretaceous period about 65 million years ago to an unknown source.

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.

Can you imagine a world without birds chirping in the early morning or the crickets singing in the silent night or even the plants blooming in the spring? Now, more than ever, a lot of species are being exposed to endangerment. Right about now, scientists emphasize “forty-one thousand, four hundred and fifteen species are on the IUCN Red list (ARkive.org). The Red list is the world’s inventory of the global status of biological species sixteen thousand, three hundred and six of species are threatened with extinction(iucnredlist.org). A species goes extinct if it is not able to adapt to changes in its environment, or compete well with other organisms. Over the history of the earth over 99% of all the species that have ever lived have gone extinct (paleo.gly). There are many factors that are involved in the endangerment and extinction of species. This includes natural disasters, pollution, overhunting, fur trapping, and many more. One of these factors is part of the natural process, but man made causes have sped up this process.