© (a) Rhett A Butler (b) Claudio Contreras Koob (c) and (d) Gerardo CeballosTerrestrial vertebrates on the brink include (a) the Sumatran rhino (b) Clarion island wren (c) Española Giant Tortoise (d) Harlequin frog.
"The ongoing sixth mass extinction may be the most serious environmental threat to the persistence of civilisation, because it is irreversible.The research article this statement precedes - just published in Proceedings Of The National Academy Of Sciences - is titled "Vertebrates on the brink as indicators of biological annihilation and the sixth mass extinction". Biological annihilation - the authors' words.
Thousands of populations of critically endangered vertebrate animal species have been lost in a century, indicating that the sixth mass extinction is human caused and accelerating. The acceleration of the extinction crisis is certain because of the still fast growth in human numbers and consumption rates.
In addition, species are links in ecosystems, and, as they fall out, the species they interact with are likely to go also. In the regions where disappearing species are concentrated, regional biodiversity collapses are likely occurring. Our results re-emphasise the extreme urgency of taking massive global actions to save humanity's crucial life-support systems."
More than 500 terrestrial vertebrate species, the study says, are on the brink of extinction. They include icons such as the Sumatran rhino (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) and Española Giant Tortoise (Chelonoidis hoodensis) and their decline is likely driven in large part by human activities in biodiversity hotspots.
Comment: Biblical-style events appear to be a pretty common occurrence in our days.