PAT AN ANIMAL QUICKLY BEFORE THEY DISAPPEAR

Pat an Animal Quickly before they Disappear

This recent summary of Endangered Species and Biodiversity Loss is provided by the World Wildlife Fund and by several UN and other conservation agencies.   The conclusion is that the dominance of the planet’s ecosystems by human activity is threatening an increasing percentage of the world’s species.  Several sources are cited below and worth reviewing.

Canada is involved as even in this lightly populated country (with a few urban exceptions) human activity has changed the ecosystems, and in many places replaced natural systems by agriculture, managed forestry and other human activities.  A report from Parks Canada in January 2017 has further show the impact of human activities both within and adjacent to parks, with only about half of the “protected” ecosystems considered to be in good condition.  There is a clear correlation between human numbers and species loss.

• What we have…

  Biologists estimate there are between 5 and 15 million species of plants, animals, and micro-organisms existing on Earth today, of which only about 1.5 million have been described and named. The estimated total includes around 300,000 plant species, between 4 and 8 million insects, and about 50,000 vertebrate species (of which about 10,000 are birds and 4,000 are mammals).

  …and what is being lost

  Today, about 23% (1,130 species) of mammals and 12% (1,194 species) of birds are considered as threatened by IUCN.

  Why are species disappearing?

  Global biodiversity is being lost much faster than natural extinction due to changes in land use, unsustainable use of natural resources, invasive alien species, climate change and pollution among others.

  Land conversion by humans, resulting in natural habitat loss, is most evident in tropical forests and is less intensive in temperate, boreal and arctic regions. Pollution from atmospheric nitrogen deposition is most severe in northern temperate areas close to urban centres; and the introduction of damaging alien species is usually brought about through patterns of human activity.

  Species loss is also compounded by:

  • the ongoing growth of human populations and unsustainable consumer lifestyles
  • increasing production of waste and pollutants
  • urban development
  • international conflict.
• Other useful sources
• International Trade ‘driving nature loss’ (BBC)
• Loss of Biodiversity and Extinctions (various)
• World’s biodiversity ‘crisis’ needs action, says UN (BBC)
• Summary Statistics from the Red List of Threatened Species (IUCN)
• Decline of Amphibians (AmphibiaWeb)
• Pesticides Impacting Bee Populations (BBC)