LOSS OF BIODIVERSITY AND THE SIXTH EXTINCTION
Sophia Piro
Mrs. Rosa
Bioethics
May 29th 2020
How the Loss of Biodiversity is a Contributing Factor to the Mass Extinction
For decades now, biodiversity is something that was and is consistently and constantly brought up when the future of our climate and ecosystems are being discussed. This is because biodiversity, whether plant or animal, is absolutely vital for an ecosystem. Biodiversity is a term that refers to the variety of life in a habitat or ecosystem, including both plant and animal life. It’s even said that biodiversity is just as impactful on ecosystems as climate change and pollution and other stress factors (Arbor).
In a healthy ecosystem, every species in the ecosystem has a specific role that it plays, if an ecosystem has too few species, then it may not function properly. If too many species are lost due to extinction or removal, then the ecosystem may collapse (Biointeractive). While this may seem like an unlikely scenario, this has actually occurred on Rapa Nui (Western name is Easter Island).
Multiple factors contributed to the ecosystem collapse, like climate change and introduction of rats, but the collapse was mainly a result of the human population taking too many plant resources out of the ecosystem. They needed wood to make Moai statues, which resulted in them cutting down almost all the palm trees, which caused the soil to erode and wash away so other plants couldn't grow properly (Bressan). This meant that there was no longer a food source in the island for animals, and eventually both the people and animals began to starve (Bressan).
This is just one example that shows when we remove a single species from an ecosystem, it can cause the entire system to collapse. Oftentimes, this is caused by a species extinction or deforestation. Most ecosystems can still support themselves if only a few species are lost, but once too many are lost and a level of the food chain can’t function it collapses. Not only is biodiversity found in different levels of the taxonomic rank, but there is also intraspecies biodiversity. This refers to the different genes and traits found within a population. In John Rafferty’s article he explains the impact of biodiversity within a plant or fungi species as, “functional attributes, including carbon fixation, mycelial growth and nutrient utilization”.
Diversity within a species also prevents ‘bad genes’ from dominating a species, whether plant or animal.
Species extinction is something that has increased over time, and is predominantly caused by humans. It is estimated that humans are actively causing around one million extinctions right now (Festa). Currently, around half of the species in Africa are facing extinction by the year 2100, and this is a massive threat to biodiversity (BBC). Many of this is caused by poachers, who kill animals like elephants and rhinos for their ivory tusks/horns (Biointeractive). In recent years poachers have changed their techniques to be more deadly. For example, poachers now poison watering holes, so that they can kill more animals in a short amount of time. This has escalated the extinction rate, and is one of the reasons that within 20 years elephants will be extinct (Biointeractive).
Many people who live in Africa are dependent on these ecosystems for their food, eating things such as the ostrich, wildebeest, warthog, and zebra (Bamman). Many ecosystems in Africa are considered “high risk” because of the extinction threat of animal species, but one third of African plant species are also at risk (Davis). If these ecosystems collapsed it would affect millions of people across the African continent.
This problem is not just something that happens in Africa, because forty percent of species in Europe and Central Asia have seen declines in populations over the last decade (BBC). Problems like this are arising globally, and it is feared that this could become the cause of the sixth mass extinction. An article published by National Geographic cites a study saying that species are already going extinct, and at a rate 100 times faster than what they have previously (Drake). A mass extinction of plant and animal life would result in food and supply shortages globally, resulting in mass poverty, and could potentially kill the human population as well (Biointeractive).
Many people wonder what we can do to reverse our effects on species extinction, and how we can try to combat it. Farming and infrastructure is one of the lead causes of biodiversity loss and extinction (National Geographic), which means we need to develop more practical and less harmful ways of going about that. This would include non-toxic farming methods, renewable energy, and purchasing locally more to limit shipping (National Geographic). Other conservationists suggest that we develop more environments that resemble the United States national parks globally.
By all counts it is clear that humans are causing many species to go extinct at very high rates, and that this is just one of the reasons that we are facing the sixth mass extinction. If we continue to act the way we have been, the statistics showing that 27% of all animal species are facing extinction will only grow over time (Woodward).
Works Cited
Bressan, David. “Climate, Overpopulation & Environment - The Rapa Nui Debate.” Scientific American Blog Network, Scientific American, 31 Oct. 2011, blogs.scientificamerican.com/history-of-geology/climate-overpopulation-environment-the-rapa-nui-debate/.
Coburn, Robert. “Can We Stop the Sixth Mass Extinction?” National Geographic Society Newsroom, 14 Dec. 2017, blog.nationalgeographic.org/2015/06/23/can-we-stop-the-sixth-mass-extinction/.
Erickson, Jim. “Ecosystem Effects of Biodiversity Loss Could Rival Impacts of Climate Change, Pollution.” University of Michigan News, 2 May 2012, news.umich.edu/ecosystem-effects-of-biodiversity-loss-could-rival-impacts-of-climate-change- pollution/#:~:text=ANN%20ARBOR%E2%80%94Loss%20of%20biodiversity,from%20an%20international%20research%
20team.
Gehring, Karl, and Tui De Roy. “Will Humans Survive the Sixth Great Extinction?” National Geographic, 23 June 2015, www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2015/06/150623-sixth-extinction-kolbert-animals-conservation-science-world/.
Hadly, Dr. Elizabeth, director. Humans, Biodiversity, and Habitat Loss. Biointeractive, 8 Apr. 2015, www.youtube.com/watch? v=1drkFgHbcWY&feature=emb_rel_end.
“Half of African Species 'Face Extinction'.” BBC News, BBC, 23 Mar. 2018, www.bbc.com/news/world- 43516211#:~:text=The%20actions%20of%20mankind%20could,affect%20people's%20quality%20of%20life.
IC;, Johnson D;Martin F;Cairney JW;Anderson. “The Importance of Individuals: Intraspecific Diversity of Mycorrhizal Plants and Fungi in Ecosystems.” The New Phytologist, U.S. National Library of Medicine, pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22489902/.
“The Importance of Biodiversity.” Exploring the Environment, ete.cet.edu/gcc/?/biodiversity_importance/#:~:text=Healthy%20ecosystems%20and%20rich%20biodiversity,Protect%20freshwater%2 0resources.
“One-Third of Tropical African Plant Species at Risk of Extinction – Study.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 20 Nov. 2019, www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/nov/20/a-third-of-tropical-african-plant-species-at-risk-of-extinction-study.
Rafferty, John P. “Biodiversity Loss.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 14 June 2019, www.britannica.com/science/biodiversity-loss.
“Seeing and Eating Exotic Animals in South Africa.” BootsnAll Travel Articles, www.bootsnall.com/articles/seeing-and-eating-exotic- animals-in-south-africa.html.
“Humans Are Causing 1 Million Species to Go Extinct. Here Are 3 Ways We Can Still Save Them.” Environmental Defense Fund, www.edf.org/blog/2019/05/22/humans-are-causing-1-million-species-go-extinct-here-are-3-ways-still-save-them.
Woodward, Aylin. “18 Signs We're in the Middle of a 6th Mass Extinction.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 18 June 2019, www.businessinsider.com/signs-of-6th-mass-extinction-2019-3.