A study claims that the sixth mass extinction has already begun

New findings published in the journal Biological Reviews warn about the serious decline in animal biodiversity on our planet. The sixth mass extinction would have already begun, according to this study.

The human being seems determined to live with his back to the nature of which he depends and forms a part. The sixth mass extinction has already begun, a somber phenomenon backed by scientific evidence and which is being warned about this week by a new research published in the magazine Biological Reviews.

Experts have been ringing the bell for years at the alarming decline in animal biodiversity. extinction rates have experienced a drastic increase, while it has been documented decline in many plant and animal populations.

Despite this, “some deny that these phenomena amount to a mass extinction“, Explain a Science Alert bioscientist Robert Cowie of the University of Hawai’i at Manoa.

The denial is based on a bias: focus on birds and mammals and ignore invertebrates, which constitute the majority of species on the planet. Even the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species this skewed with this prism.

In the new research mass extinction deniers refuted, putting precisely the focus on the decline of invertebrate creatures. “Only a tiny fraction of invertebrates have been evaluated according to conservation criteria“, warns the investigation.

Since the fifteenth century, 1.5% of the evaluated species of mammals and birds have disappeared, but the numbers of invertebrates are much higher.

Between 7.5% and 13% of the 2 million known plant and animal species may already be extinct

Focusing on molluscs, the second largest invertebrate segment after arthropods, and extrapolating data from previous studies, Scientists suggest that between 7.5 and 13% of the approximately 2 million known plant and animal species on Earth may have become extinct since the year 1500.

“Including invertebrates was key to confirming that we are indeed witnessing the start of the sixth mass extinction in Earth’s history.“, anota Cowie.

According to the researchers, the particular extinction rates proposed so far by the IUCN Red List are underestimates and they are not a complete picture of biodiversity loss, much higher.

The report is a call to action for moral responsibility, urging to act carefully and urgently to preserve and document today’s endangered species for generations to come.

According WWF, the human being and the lifestyle of the Anthropocene are pushing a million different species on the verge of extinction in the next decade. The organization calculates that it would be the largest disappearance of specimens since the extinction of the dinosaurs.

Last September, A new UN report has warned that a quarter of the world’s species are at risk of disappearing. The greatest risks hang over amphibians, of which a quarter could disappear, followed by sharks (37%) and conifers (34%).

Previous studies also document that almost 60% of all vertebrate individuals have become extinct since 1970.

This article was published in Business Insider Spain by Andrea Núñez-Torrón Stock.