Human Impact on Extinction: Final Post

Although extinction is a natural part of life, humans are taking it to a new level. It was calculated in 2004 by the IUCN that the annual extinction rate had reached 100-1,000 times that suggested by the fossil records before humans. Furthermore, this may be greatly underestimated or may have dramatically increased within the last 9 years, or at least according to E O Wilson who is a renowned Harvard biologist. He has stated that the rate of extinction could reach 10,000 times the background rate in two decades. For a while now, evolution has not been able to keep up with extinction which has resulted in a huge loss in biodiversity across the globe. And with that, it is hard for scientists to say if a species is actually “new” or just had not been discovered in our world yet. Biodiversity is dwindling and if it gets any worse it will have a larger impact on us than we think.

 

 

The human species does not think of the impacts it is having on the environment as a mass extinction, but it could be comparable to that within the next few decades. Conservation efforts need to be drastically enhanced in order to save critically threatened species. Being the top of the food chain, it is easy for us to forget about anything below us. But we need to realize that even though we are at the very top of the species, we are still a species. We are animals. We are just like all of the endangered species, except we have amazing capabilities that most animals do not. This should be a positive thing; to be the smartest of the land, but it is really not. We are becoming too smart for our own good which makes us extremely careless about anything inferior to us. Extinction has been increased way beyond the rate that it should naturally be occurring, and its main cause is us.

 

To help or donate to conservation efforts, visit the sites below:

http://worldwildlife.org/

http://www.conservation.org/Pages/default.aspx

http://savingspecies.org/

 

 

Sources:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/mar/07/extinction-species-evolve

Miller's Grizzled Langue

One of the world’s most endangered species is a primate, the Miller’s grizzled langur. This species was speculated to be extinct, but were rediscovered by a student, Eric Fell, who was doing research in the protected Wehea Forest in east Kalimatan, Borneo in Indonesia. Fell showed study researcher Stephanie Spehar, a primatologist at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, who helped him to confirm this was the “extinct” animal he thought it was. The pictures that he obtained in his find were the first ever to be taken of the animal.

 

The forests that the monkeys were previously inhabited in were devastated by fires and illegal logging for the conversion of land for agriculture and mining. A survey showed that in 2005, not one specimen of this type was found. When Fell came across these monkeys, it was a very exciting time for many people. It shows that this could be happening with other “extinct” species as well, and that there is some hope that they may be hiding out. Although the grizzled langur still remains one of the worlds most endangered species (for obvious reasons), there are conservation efforts in effect and more research is expected to be done on this rare primate. This discovery is still fairly new, so there is lots of hope for this species and their return.

To learn more about this animal, visit one of the links below.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/20/millers-grizzled-langur_n_1218602.html

http://www.livescience.com/18024-rare-monkey-rediscovered.html

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120120183044.htm

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ajp.21983/full