What You Can Do
Since about 1500 AD humans have been responsible for most recorded extinctions. Almost all the factors that have led to the extinction of species in the modern era continue to operate, many with ever-increasing intensity.
There is virtual unanimity among scientists that we have entered a period of mass extinction not seen since the age of the dinosaurs. This could have disastrous effects on our air and water, our future food supplies, and even our search for new medicines.
Stop Habitat Loss 85% of extinctions are due to increasing loss of habitat. In Ireland, one off houses in the countryside and the suburbanization of rural areas is a major factor. Forestry of ‘marginal’ lands must be stopped. Peat extraction must end.
Stop Polluting You are a polluter. Everyone is. Minimize your footprint. Limit your food to in fresh foods in season. Recycle your waste. Cut down on travel. Use public transport.
Overexploitation Eat only sustainable sourced products. Minimize your consumption of fish. 29% of commercial fish species have collapsed – on present trends the remainder will have collapsed in 40 years time. Minimize consumption of meat. A meat based diet needs seven times more land than a vegetarian diet.
Alien Species Stick to native species when planting gardens or landscaping. Grub out rhododendrons. Go on a Volunteers Ireland weekend to Killarney National Park. The ‘domestic’ cat is credited with the extinction of 10 species on its own.
Climate Change Visit the new climate change Government site and see how you can minimize your impact. [LINK]
Habitat Loss and Fragmentation:Habitat loss is probably the greatest threat to the variety of life on this planet today. It is identified as a main threat to 85% of all species described in the IUCN's 2004 Red List (those species officially classified as "Threatened" and "Endangered"). Increasing food production is a major agent for the conversion of natural habitat into agricultural land. Forest loss and degradation is mostly caused by the expansion of agricultural land, intensive harvesting of timber, wood for fuel and other forest products, as well as overgrazing.
Overexploitation: Overexploitation or overkill results from hunting at a rate above the maximum sustained yield.The number of individuals that are hunted are higher than the number of individuals that will be born, so that the population cannot recover and will decline. Overexploitation is not only a problem of the past. Overexploitation is now becoming a greater problem on our planet because of the fast growing human population. Many animals cannot cope with the amount we harvest for consumption or other use (e.g. Chinese medicine). Overexploitation and bycatch by commercial fisheries is such a recent problem, which causes the decline of several fish species, such as the Northern Cod. Modern fishing technology means there is no place the fish can hide.
Pollution Pollutants do not recognize international boundaries. Now, chemicals used thousands of kilometers away from the pristine expanses of the Arctic and Antarctic can be found in the blood of some native animals there.These chemicals can cause mutations and fertility problems - a fact evidenced already in the reproductive organs of fish, alligators, and polar bears. And it affects us too: according to some sources, in Europe, human breast milk passes on more dioxin to our babies than is legally allowed for cow's milk. Even with this knowledge, the amount of pesticide sprayed on our crops around the world has increased 26x in the last 50 years. Fertilisers too can kill. In Ireland, the intensive use of phosphates on peaty upland soils is released on clearfell, making the fresh water pearl mussel functionally extinct in Ireland
Alien Species Humans have been transporting animals and plants from one part of the world to another for thousands of years, sometimes deliberately (e.g., livestock released by sailors onto islands as a source of food) and sometimes accidentally (e.g., rats escaping from boats). In most cases, such introductions are unsuccessful, but when they do become established as an invasive alien species, the consequences can be catastrophic. Invasive alien species can affect native species directly by eating them, competing with them, and introducing pathogens or parasites that sicken or kill them or, indirectly,by destroying or degrading their habitat. Relatively good data exist for birds with invasive species being associated with the extinction of at least 65 species. Predation by introduced dogs, pigs and mongooses, and habitat destruction by sheep, rabbits and goats have been implicated in the extinctions of some of these species. However, it is predation by introduced rats and cats, and diseases caused by introduced pathogens that have been the most deadly overall, contributing to the extinction of some 30, 20 and 10 species respectively. Growing global trade and communication are directly contributing to the problem of alien species.
Climate change There are many examples of the effects of climate change on species from around the world, which taken together, provide compelling evidence that climate change will be catastrophic for many species. Some species have already disappeared due to climate change. For example recent changes in the distribution and abundance of bird, reptile and amphibian species at Monteverde (Costa Rica) are associated with a decline in dry-season mist frequency,which in turn is correlated with the warming of sea surfaces in the equatorial Pacific. The most dramatic change was the disappearance of 20 of 50 frog and toad species after a period of reduced mist frequency in 1987.
Edited largely from:
Recently Extinct Animals
http://extinctanimals.petermaas.nl/
See also:
Global Invasive species database
http://www.issg.org/database/welcome/
Every Little Helps