Biologists from Duke University reported in May that Earth is on the verge of the sixth mass-extinction event. Their study, which focused on the past and present rates of extinction, found that plant and animal life are going extinct 1,000 times faster than they did before the arrival of human populations. While humans may be responsible for kickstarting another mass-extinction event, there might still be time to react. As Scientific American notes, current extinction rates suggest that humans still have a century or two to change course. Ben Collen, a lecturer at the University College of London and a co-author of the new mass-extinction analysis, says scientists need to focus on species that are thriving. Prevention of further declines will require us to better understand what species are winning and losing in the fight for survival and from studying the winners, apply what we learn to improve conservation projects, Collen said in a statement. We also need to develop predictive tools for modelling the impact of changes to the ecosystem so we can prioritize conservation efforts, working with governments globally to create supportive policy to reverse the worrying trends we are seeing.
Posted on: Mon, 28 Jul 2014 10:46:23 +0000