The rate at which vertebrate species are dying far exceeds the normLife on Earth is in worry. That much we know. But how atrocious possess things become – and how expeditiously are events moving? How soon,indeed, before the Earth’s biological treasures are trashed, or in what will be the sixth great mass extinction event? This is what Gerardo Caballos of the National Autonomous University of Mexico and his colleagues possess assessed,in a paper that came out on Friday.
These are extraordinarily difficult questions. There are many millions of species, many elusive and rare, or inhabiting remote and dangerous places. There are too few skilled biologists in the field to keep track of them all. Demonstrating beyond fair doubt that any single species is extinct is arduous and painstaking (believe how long it took to show – to most people,at least – that Loch Ness probably does not harbour a large monster).
Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com