Dispatch From The Endocene #9

[hatrack]

EDIT

Another important overview study has emerged, published in the journal Conservation Biology, which warns us that the 6th extinction is proceeding far faster than had been previously estimated. One article about the research explains that, “Hawai'i has been called the "extinction capital of the world." But, with the exception of the islands' birds, there has until now been no accurate assessment of the true level of this catastrophic loss. Invertebrates (insects, snails, spiders, etc.) constitute the vast majority of the species that make up Hawai'i's formerly spectacularly diverse and unique biota.

…The team focused on the most diverse group of Hawaiian land snails, [a family] of which 325 species have been recognized - all known only from Hawai'i. The researchers determined that only 15 of these species could still be found alive, and estimated that the rate of extinction may have been as high as 14 percent of the fauna per decade.”



http://witsendnj.blogspot.ca/2015/08/dispatch-from-endocene-9.html

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“Seahorses could be extinct in 30 years: Trade in dried wildlife souvenirs could see the marine creatures wiped out” “Seahorses will be wiped out within three decades by the illegal sale of dead wildlife as curiosities, according to a conservation charity …The majority of seahorses found for sale in the UK come from the Far East and some are sold here for as little as a few pounds. Official figures show that 64 million seahorses are taken from the wild every year and used in traditional Chinese medicine and the curio trade. But another charity, Save Our Seahorses (SOS), carried out undercover research that suggests this is grossly underestimated and in fact more than 150 million seahorses are killed annually.”

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National Geographic notes that: “Across Africa, vultures are electrocuted by power lines or crushed by wind turbines. Their brains are ground to snuff by witch doctors who believe the substance has magical powers. They die after eating pesticide-laced carcasses intended for lions and other predators.” It’s predicted that particularly due to the poisoning of animals they feed on, vultures will go extinct in the near future, thus upsetting the entire ecosystem when they no longer provide their scavenger services. Of course, there may be nothing to scavenge by then, anyway.



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http://witsendnj.blogspot.ca/2015/08/dispatch-from-endocene-9.html

[Glorfindel]

1. I'm glad I'm old

I don't even want to think about what our poor planet will be like 50 years from now.