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Mass Extinction
Discussion Questions
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How many species have already been
discovered on Earth?
How many animal/plant species go
extinct every year?
What do you think, is the biggest
cause of extinction?
Extinction
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An extinct species is one that is no
longer living on Earth.
Examples:
The Dodo
Passenger Pigeon
Tasmanian Wolf
Carolina Parakeet
Terms To Know
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Vulnerable Species: A species at risk because of
low or declining numbers, but not a threatened
species.
Threatened Species: A species whose population
is not yet low enough to be in danger of extinction,
but they face serious problems. If problems aren’t
resolved, they will become endangered.
Endangered Species: A plant or animal species
that is in immediate danger of becoming extinct.
Extinct Species: One that no longer exists on
Earth.
Previous Mass Extinctions
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5 great extinction events in the past.
Each one destroyed 50-95% of the life of the day.
The most recent, was the dinosaurs.
Usually driven by geological processes such as
asteroids, volcanoes and sudden climate shifts.
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Usually take millions of years to happen.
The 6th great extinction is happening right now.
Called The Holocene Extinction Event.
It will take place in only a matter of decades.
The destroying of habitats, overexploitation and
human induced climate change have increased
during the 20th century.
Previous Mass Extinctions
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Scientists believe the last mass extinction was the
dinosaurs caused by a meteor collision.
Permian Extinction
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Happened at the end of the Permian period, 251
million years ago.
Volcanic eruptions created a buildup of carbon
dioxide, which was then called global warming.
6 degree Celsius increase in global temperature.
Killed 95% of species on Earth.
Called “The Great Dying”.
Took 100 million years for species diversity to
return to normal levels.
How It Relates To Today?
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Today, carbon dioxide is coming from our industrial
activities and lifestyle.
Estimated at the end of this century there will be a
6 degree Celsius increase in global temp. if we
don’t make changes.
Global warming is already affecting timing of
seasons and animals bearing young earlier than at
beginning of 20th century.
If 95% of species die out then, humans will be one
of them.
Holocene Extinction
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1.5 million species have already been discovered on
Earth to date.
Actual amount of species is estimated between 10
and 100 million, that we don’t know of.
Approx. 150-270 species are erased from existence
everyday. Including today.
The majority of life on Earth has never been and
never will be known to us.
If we keep up what we’re doing now (pollution,
deforestation), it will lead to the extinction of half of
all plant and animal species by year 2100.
Holocene Extinction
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The dangers of mass extinction are underestimated
by almost everyone!
Humans are currently causing the greatest mass
extinction since dinosaurs.
7 in 10 biologists believe this mass extinction is a
threat to human existence. It’s a more serious
problem than global warming.
They believe we are in the middle of the fastest
mass extinction in the world’s history.
The rate of loss is greater than any time in history,
including when the dinosaurs died by a meteor
collision.
Holocene Extinction
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The Earth is currently losing about 30,000 species of
plants, animals and insects a year.
That is about 3 species every hour! Lost forever.
It will take millions of years to repair what we destroy
in just a few decades.
Causes
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These factors lead to the endangerment and
extinction of species.
Habitat Destruction
Fast paced changes= little or no time for species to
react and adjust to new circumstances.
Primary cause of species endangerment.
Humans are what cause this destruction.
Tropical forests are highly susceptible to
destruction.
Examples of habitat destruction: Clear cutting,
destroying by fire, logging, mining, expanding
human settlements and building new towns and
cities.
Causes
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Everyday about 100 species are lost due to
deforestation. That’s about 27,000 species a year!
Over half of the Earth’s original forests have
disappeared.
Tropical forests contain half of the Earth’s species.
17 million hectares are cleared/burned every year.
URBANIZATION
Increased habitat loss.
Bulldozing, paving, development, etc. for houses,
malls, businesses and roads all destroy habitat.
Causes
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Illegal Wildlife Trade/Overexploitation
Caused by the trade in animal parts.
Body Parts Trade.
Demands for items like rhino horns, walrus tusks
and tiger bones in SE Asian countries like China.
Live animals are taken for the pet trade or their
parts exported for medicines or food.
Thousands of species= part of the illegal
international wildlife trade.
Ex. African/Asian elephants, parrots, rhinos,
antelopes.
Causes massive declines in the numbers of many
species.
Causes
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Wildlife Trade Continued
Fur Trade.
Popular ins the 1950’s and 1960’s.
In the 1960’s, pelts of 10,000 leopards, 15,000
jaguars and 3000 cheetahs were legally imported in
the US and Europe every year!
Non existent now but it definitely contributed.
Bushmeat Trade.
The consumption of meat of wild animals for food
in central Africa.
Main source of income for residents.
Causes
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Bushmeat Trade Continued..
Hunting for bushmeat may even outrank habitat
loss of rainforest animals.
Most common bushmeat is primates.
Contributes to animal extinction and linked to many
diseases.
Causes
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Global Warming and Pollution
Humans releasing carbon dioxide, chemicals and
greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere which
causes climate change to take place.
The warming of the global climate then happens.
Pollution affects mainly aquatic species.
Chemicals cause mutations and fertility problems.
Seen mostly in fish and polar bears.
A chemical commonly found in shampoos is
responsible for causing many fish in the ocean to
not reproduce.
Fish populations are decreasing.
As global temperature rise, many species will be
forced into extinction.
Causes
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Sewage dumped in water affects fish, frogs, etc.
50% of freshwater species populations are
declining from pollution and pesticides.
Global warming puts at least 20-40% of
plant/animal species at risk of extinction.
Commercial Fishing
Overfishing affects fish populations and they begin
to decrease.
About 1000 whales and dolphins drown everyday
from getting tangled in fishing gear.
Causes
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Pesticide
Spraying pesticides affects the insect populations.
Diseases
Rabies is currently destroying carnivore populations
in East Africa.
Charts
Charts
Charts
How You Can Help
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Visit a national park or wildlife reserve and
appreciate the animals. Follow the guidelines, like
fire regulations, don’t litter and leave flowers and
plants where you find them.
Make space for wildlife. Build a birdhouse or have a
birdbath, plant a tree, compost your wastes and
don’t use harmful chemicals in your home or
garden.
Recycle, Reduce and Reuse. Carpool, take public
transportation, walk, ride bikes.
How You Can Help
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Turn lights and appliances off when not using them.
Turn off the tap while brushing teeth.
Take your own bags to the grocery store.
Use energy efficient light bulbs.
Buy organic fruits and veggies.
Join an organization like WWF Canada or one in your
community.
Facts and Stats
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There are more than 1000 endangered species worldwide.
There are more than 3500 protected wildlife areas in the
world. They cover 5 million sq. miles or 3% of our total land
area.
1/3rd of the United State's fish species are in trouble.
More than 16,000 of the world’s mammals, birds and plants
are threatened with extinction.
Most species in the world, will become extinct before they are
even known to man.
¼ of the known 5487 wild mammal species on the planet are
threatened with extinction. That’s 1372 mammals, almost
gone from the face of the Earth.
Humans are responsible for all of these problems.
Facts and Stats
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12% of all birds, 33% of amphibians and 50% of palm trees
are threatened with extinction.
Climate change alone could lead to further extinction of 1537% of all species by the end of the century.
There are 25 biodiversity hotspots– areas of the world that
are rich in species found nowhere else. They cover 1% of the
global land mass yet account for 44% of the plants and 35%
of the world’s animals.
Between 1960 and 2000, human population of the world has
doubled but the animal populations have declined by 30%.
137 species are estimated to go extinct each day.
50,000 species are estimated to go extinct each year.
95% of known plant species have not yet been screened for
their medicinal values.
Facts and Stats
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30 million species of plants and animals, more than half of all
life forms on the plant, live in rainforests.
And rainforests are the most susceptible to destruction.
Since the year 1600, 83 mammal species are known to have
become extinct.
Why Save Endangered
Species?
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They must be protected and saved so that future generations
can experience their value.
MEDICINAL VALUES
Plants and animals are responsible for many useful medicines.
40% of all prescriptions written today are made of natural
compounds from different species.
These species help save lives and contribute to a
pharmaceutical industry.
Only 5% of known plant species have been screened for their
medicinal values and we lose up to 100 of these species daily.
Some species could have important compounds needed for
medicine, but because they are disappearing so fast, we will
never be able to find out.
Why Save Endangered
Species?
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More than 3 million heart disease sufferers would die within
72 hours of a heart attack, without a drug from the purple fox
grove.
AGRICULTURAL VALUES
80,000 edible plants in the world. Humans depend on 20
species of these, like corn and wheat to provide 90% of the
world’s food.
ECOLOGICAL
Plant and animal species are the foundation of healthy
ecosystems.
Humans depend on ecosystems like prairie grasslands and
ancient forests to supply us with food and purify the air.
When species become endangered it means the ecosystems
are not healthy.
Why Save Endangered
Species?
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Losing one plant species can trigger the loss of up to 30 other
plant and animal species.
Pollution is killing the coral reefs which cause hundreds of fish
species to decline.
COMMERICAL VALUE
Many wild species are commercially raised which contributes
to the economy.
Commercial salmon fishing in the Pacific northwest provides
60,000 jobs and 1 billion dollars annually in income.
Salmon populations are declining due to habitat degradation
from dams, clearcutting and overgrazing along streams.
RECREATIONAL VALUE
Plant and animal species form the basis of America’s tourism
industry.
Why Save Endangered
Species?
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Every year, over 108 million people in the US participate in
wildlife related recreation like observing, feeding and
photographing wildlife.
Americans spend over $59 billion annually on travel, food,
lodging, etc. to engage in wildlife recreation.
We depend on plants and animals to survive.
They purify our air, provide us with food and materials for
clothes, homes, medicines, books, etc.
Goods that we may need someday, will come from species still
unknown to us. (ex. The cure for cancer, AIDS)
Extinct Species
Extinct Species
Extinct Species
Extinct Species
Critically Endangered
Animals
Endangered Animals
Endangered Animals
Vulnerable Animals
How To Change
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Helping farmers grow more food while conserving
habitats.
Use less polluting farming methods.
Increasing productivity on land already being
farmed to reduce need for more land.
Establishing protected areas near farmed land.
Cutting back on greenhouse gasses on a global
scale could save many species.