The ongoing sixth mass extinction possesses serious environmental threats to the persistence of civilization. Elaborate (200 Words)
Refer - The Indian Express
Enrich the answer from other sources, if the question demands.
IAS Parliament 5 years
KEY POINTS
· Mass extinction refers to a substantial increase in the degree of extinction or when the Earth loses more than three-quarters of its species in a geologically short period of time. So far, during the entire history of the Earth, there have been five mass extinctions. The sixth, which is ongoing, is referred to as the Anthropocene extinction.
· Researchers have described it as the “most serious environmental problem” since the loss of species will be permanent.
· In a sample of 177 species of large mammals, most lost more than 80 per cent of their geographic range in the last 100 years, and as per a 2017 study published in the same journal, 32 per cent of over 27,000 vertebrate species have declining populations.
· Significantly, the study calls for a complete ban on wildlife trade as many of the species currently endangered or on the brink of extinction are being decimated by legal and illegal wildlife trade.
· According to the Center for Biological Diversity, when species go extinct, the impact can be tangible such as in the form of a loss in crop pollination and water purification. Further, if a species has a specific function in an ecosystem, the loss can lead to consequences for other species by impacting the food chain.
· For instance, an example referenced by Columbia University’s Earth Institute states that when the wolves in Yellowstone Park in California, US, were hunted to near extinction by the 1930s, the deer and elk they preyed upon thrived, as a result of which their grazing decimated the streamside willows and aspens, which provided habitat for songbirds.
· This also left the stream susceptible to erosion and a decline in the songbirds allowed mosquitoes and other insects that the birds would have eaten to multiply.
· Subsequently, the wolves were reintroduced into the park in 1995, after which they preyed on the elks and deer once again, the plant life returned and so did the songbirds.
Sonali 5 years
Please review
IAS Parliament 5 years
Good attempt. Try to include about the death of song birds, wolves in yellow stone national park. Keep Writing.
Sanjeev Kumar Singh 5 years
Kindly give feedback
IAS Parliament 5 years
Try to include about the death of song birds and its reintroduction. Keep Writing.
Vicky 5 years
Please review. First attempt of answer writing.
IAS Parliament 5 years
Try to stick to word limit, emphasize more on threats caused by mass extinction. Keep Writing.
