Out of all the species that have ever existed since the beginning of time, 98% of them are extinct (Facts). There are an estimated 5-10 million species that exist currently and only 1.5 million have been identified (Sherry, 2). Scientists classify species into six different groups: plants, animals, insects, algae, fungi, and microorganisms (Today’s Situation). In the tropical rainforest alone, most species are disappearing at the rate of 1% a year (Sherry, 6). If the current trend continues, at least 50% of all currently existing species will be either extinct or endangered by the year 2050 (Today’s Situation). For this reason endangered species deserve more protection than the current regulations provide.
Throughout history there have been many different reasons for the extinction of species. The earliest known reason was 64-66 million years ago when scientists believe a meteorite struck earth causing the extinction of the dinosaur and of 85% of the species existing at the time (Sherry, 2). Another major problem is the introduction of species into a new environment. Most introduced species become pests because they have no natural enemies and can easily out compete native species that have natural enemies, thus overpopulating a certain environment (Sherry, 5). The main causes of extinction are habitat destruction, commercial exploitation, damage by non-native species introduced into the environment, and pollution (Definition of endangered species). Out of all of these, habitat destruction is the major source of extinction. It is thought that at least 4,000-6,000 species become extinct each year in the rain forest alone due to burning acreage to make room for farm fields (Today’s situation). Most of the human caused extinctions occurred during the Industrial Revolution, which was 250 years ago (Sherry, 2). Another significant reason for the decline, if not extinction of species is hunting and poaching animals. A good example of this is the near extinction of the American Bison due to over hunting. Between 1870 and 1875, 2.5 million Bison were killed annually. In 1883 the last significant herd with around 10,000 members was done away with. By 1990 there were only an estimated 500 plain Bison remaining in the United State (Direct Causes). These are all key reasons for the extinction of species and if we can avoid them then we may prevent the future extinctio...
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...eature and is being born to a dairy cow (Bergley, 56). This is the first time that a specie has been cloned using the eggs and surrogate mother of an entirely different specie (Bergley, 56). If we preserve DNA from endangered species it creates the potential for an animal to be cloned, which could increase the genetic diversity of endangered species and prevent inbreeding (Bergley,56). If the cloning of endangered species continues it will increase the number of a certain specie and maybe one day will take them off the endangered species list.
Unless we take the precautions to protect and preserve endangered species, they will disappear forever. Without them, the earth’s ecosystem may very well crumble. When we endanger wildlife, we are also endangering ourselves. We as humans must learn from our mistakes and prevent the further destruction of wildlife habitat and help to preserve endangered species and conserve their natural environments. Something that will help us remember this is that “Living species today, are the end products of twenty million centuries of evolution; absolutely nothing can be done when the species has finally gone, when the last pair has died out” (Quotes).
We, as humans, mistreat the animal population. On a smaller scale, the human population wastes domestic and wild, animals for medical testing, for their fur, and for entertainment such as dog fighting. These things may not seem to be globally threatening, yet the constant waste of certain species of animals and the destruction of an animal's natural habitat will lead to the endangerment and eventually the extinction of the species. Furthermore, many people are unaware that the world is currently in the midst of the largest mass extinction in history.
Natural habitats used by man or tampered with tend to become unsatisfactory or unsuitable for the native wild species. As I learned in class, habitat loss is the number one threat to modern primates. Not only do primates suffer, but habitat loss is the greatest threat to various parts of life on this planet that humans have caused. Simply speaking, along with habitat destruction, ties in the extinction of diverse species. “Biodiversity as a whole forms a shield protecting each of the species that together compose it, ourselves included. What will happen if, addition to the species already extinguished by human activity, say, 10 percent of those remaining are taken away? Or 50 percent? Or 90 percent? As more and more species vanish or drop to
In the video, “The dawn of de-extinction. Are you Ready”, Stewart Brand, introduced us to term de-extinction, the process of creating an organism that is extinct, and the global benefits of this process. In addition, Mr. Brand mentioned how humankind didn’t realize the biological impact of extinction until 1914, when the last female passenger pigeon died at the Cincinnati zoo. Moreover, how the number of this specie went from five billion birds to zero in couple decades, because of the out of control commercial hunting and other human activities. On the other hand, this specific consequence of the commercial hunting made people realize that the extinction of other species, like the American bison, will happen and needs to stop. Subsequently,
There were 5 mass extinctions in the past, with the latest one more known to man, the Cretaceous-Tertiary mass extinction that caused the wiped out of the dinosaurs. Though the latest one happened 65 million years ago, something representing this phenomenon of mass extinction is underway in our era. While past mass extinctions were caused by natural forces, and asteroid, climate change and sea level’s changes were thought to be the culprit, this time the actor behind is not natural, and it is us Human Beings. It might occur to many that the current trend of animal extinction has no consequences on us, but in fact it is not true. Many of the endangered species does matter to us significantly. In this paper, using examples of some neglected critical endangered species as main headings, I will look into different forms of human activities that had led to their losses, and also more importantly how these losses could have impacted on us.
are at a very high risk of extinction. There are over 3000 endangered species around the world due to many factors including over-fishing, hunting, destruction of habitat, climate change and a decrease in food supply. As the number of endangered species are increasing quickly it is very important that action is taken to preserve them for a number of reasons. If endangered species are not preserved it could easily lead to the species becoming extinct which could upset the food chain and lead to further extinction of other species. This could have not only negative effects on there predators but would eventually lead to having negative effects on species further up the food chain including the human species. Over the years researches have come to discover and find that all species play an important part in looking after our ecosystem and extinction could cause a big hole in the system.
Today's endangered species are also dwindling away due to their homes being altered and destroyed for human activities. Forests are being cleared by loggers to sell timber, and to create road networks. Homes are being destroyed because of humans wanting to expand and take up even more space for their own benefit ("Tigers"
Over the whole history of the earth, millions of plants and animals have disappeared. The major reason might be the natural causes such as climate changes and some catastrophic events. However, something is different recently. Today, with the development of human civilization, human activity exerts a strong influence on the cause of the endangered species. We are looking into how the reason why plants and animals are endangered relates to human activity. There are four reasons in the following passage.
When the extinction of animals happens, it will decrease the number and populations of the animals on the earth. It will require more energy and time for the hunters to find these special species to make experiment or to make a television show about these animals. The hunters have to searched at day or night, whether if it dangerous or not just to know about the truly existence of these animals. These kind of animals would be hard to find because they like to hide their presence from been seen by the hunters. Besides, these animals also could be more aggressive to the people. This will cause the animals to attacks and bite the people who try to get closer to them. This is because they were afraid that the people may hunt and kill them. The ecosystem also could be unstable when amount of animals lesser that the amount of trees on the earth. But, if the numbers of animal increases, the placed served for them wo...
There are time periods in the history of life on Earth during which exceptionally large numbers of species gone extinct. These extinctions are quite different from the rate of extinction, which occurs even when the diversity of life is increasing. Many species vanished from many ways of mass extinctions and today, almost of all species that have existed on Earth are extinct. Many species extinction risk studies require an accounting of both local and global threats. It is challenging to develop methods to make scientifically sound and unfailing extinction risk duties of species for which is little known. “Between a third to a half of land animal and plant species will face extermination” (Bhattacharya, 2004). The rapid loss of species seen today is estimated by experts to be between thousand and ten thousand times higher than the natural extinction rate. These experts calculate that between 0.01 and 0.1% of all species will become extinct each year. If the low estimate of the number of species out there is true it means that there are around 2 million different species on our planet then that means between two hundred and two thousand extinctions occur every year. But if the upper estimate of species numbers is true it also means that there are a hundred million different species co-existing with us on our planet and between ten thousand and hundred thousand species are becoming extinct each year. Most of our species are considered endangered in our environment through many causes that are leading them towards extinction such as disease, climate and ocean change, and human activity.
Animals can become endangered for many different reasons, Scientists and Researchers believes that the Habitat loss is the main cause. Pollution, overhunting and overfishing can also affect the population. In other words, the human activities are the biggest problems. Food chain and diseases disruption are involved in this issue, however, many different kind of issues can put the life of the creatures at risk. Due to human expansions, many animals are on their way to extinction, it’s our job as human to protect these species from extinction.
The methods and causes of many species becoming endangered and extinct are many and varied. Yet they are all related and caused by one all important underlying factor, humans. Humans are responsible for nearly every endangered species being that way and for very many of the species that have become extinct within the past few hundred years.
Loss of biodiversity is an environmental issue that is causing a lot of global concern. Some of the main causes for loss in biodiversity are alteration of habitats, increasing levels of pollution and human population growth. There are measures that are being taken worldwide to prevent loss of biodiversity. Many wildlife sanctuaries have been built worldwide to preserve the lives of various endangered species. However, it is important to remember that every individual has a role in the protection of wildlife and biodiversity. Every human being should play his part of the role by following simple rules such as stopping others from the hunting of endangered species, preventing deforestation, encouraging reforestation and creating awareness among fellow human beings.
Imagine a world with barren trees in overgrown fields. The only sound to be heard is the wind blowing through the tall grass. A world once full of life now lays empty do to extinction. This is the result of a world that failed to understand the importance of wildlife conservation. Why is wildlife so important? What steps need to be taken to preserve wildlife? How can one become involved in wildlife conservation? These are all important questions that need to be explored in order to help maintain the delicate ecosystem on Earth. Wildlife plays a vital role in this fragile ecosystem and without wildlife the human race would not survive.
In our world today we have approximately 26,021 endangered species. Endangered species are organisms that may possible become extinct. The term 'endangered species' refers to all species that fits this description. However some conservation biologists and scientists normally use the term ‘endangered species’ to refer to species that are put on the IUCN(International Union for Conservation of Nature)Red List. Many factors can be looked at when considering the conservation status of a species. Factors such as human threats or environmental threats can cause a species to become endangered.
Some main causes of Endangerment are habitat loss, pollution, hunting, competition from non-native plants and animals, plant collecting, logging, clearing forests, and trading animal parts. The growing population also causes some effect because man cause most problems. Diseases or viruses are al...