Essays on Mass Extinction

Introduction

Every parent envisions a future where their children and grandchildren live in a rich and resourceful environment that essentially provides them with everything that they need to survive. However, what if parents were informed of a pending doom where their children will live in an extremely toxic environment where there aren't enough basic resources such as fresh drinking water or where the climate is comprised of harsh conditions that threaten their lives on a daily basis? What if they were informed that by the time their children are adults, a diverse range of the existing species of animals will ...

Human overpopulation presents one of the most pressing social, political and environmental issues in the modern world, dramatically aggravating the forces behind environmental pollution, global warming, mass extinction, loss of natural habitats and overexploitation of finite natural resources. According to McKibben (34), fresh water is the most important finite natural resource with no immediate substitute for most uses. Yet, this resource is being depleted at a higher rate than is being replenished. As the human population expands, the amount of fresh water available decreases, which puts the human species at a great danger. It is estimated that by 2030, ...

Scientists, the world over, have a common belief that over 90% of earth’s species have become extinct over the last three billion years that the planet has supported life . It is estimated that there have been at least five mass extinctions spread over millions of years at a time. The latest known mass extinction was towards the end of the Cretaceous period. It is most likely so well known because, the event which occurred over 65 million years ago, caused the end of the dinosaurs. Although in terms of the scale it was smaller than the previous four, ...

Ordovician-Silurian mass extinction is one of the greatest mass extinction in the history. According to statistics, over one hundred families became extinct. This was associated with the movement and fragmentation of the supercontinent. Secondly was as a result of ocean cooling beyond levels the organisms could survive. While the organisms had initially adapted to the warm tropical conditions, the sudden transition to the cold climate was unbearable for most organisms (“Ordovician”,n.d.).. The late Devonian mass extinction is thought to have been warm and dry period. It was characterized by Devonian fish that was the main components of ...

The Permian Extinction was the major event which creates a meaningful boundary between the Permian and Triassic period, and the Paleozoic and Mesozoic eras. It represents a significant loss of biodiversity, and is interesting to study as it relates to the way that a mass extinction impacts the planet. In order to fully understand the topic, however, it is first important to define what mass extinction is. Mass extinction is actually a mathematical construct, based upon an established ratio. More specifically, when up to 75 % of the existing species fail, globally, in a relatively compact geological time frame, it ...

Global warming is probably among some of the most major issues that our planet and its inhabitants are facing. Indeed, the phenomenon has some very alarming effects on agriculture and on animals, and it has even more frightening effects on the human population. The media and politicians are often heard debating over the fact about global warming. However, even though there is widespread disagreement about the causes, but the reality of the global and measurable effects of global warming cannot be denied. The fact of the matter is that, it is the human race is the source of the ...

- (6 pt.) Describe the effects harvest, disturbance, and nutrient enrichment by humans have had on other wild populations. Be sure to explain how these activities act as selective agents and what the most-fit phenotype will be under these circumstances. Human activities have emerged to be the most precarious and dreadful to the wild population. Notably, human interfere with biodiversity and wild population in a number of ways. Overharvesting includes activities such as target haunting, gathering or fishing for a particular species. Overharvesting has been associated with extinction of some species of organisms. For example, advancement in technology after the ...

Abstract

The K–Pg mass extinction took place at the end of Cretaceous Era and the onset of the Paleogene System. At the end of the Cretaceous, just before the K–Pg event, between 40% and 75% of marine life forms and terrestrial species disappear from fossilized records. Included in K-Pg mass extinction were well-known groups as flightless dinosaurs, related reptile species and many species of marine plankton.

Introduction

The K-Pg (Cretaceous–Paleogene) mass extinction, also termed as the K-T (Cretaceous–Tertiary) extinction, is documented as a mass extinction of nearly three-quarters of fauna and flora on Earth, which includes all non-avian ...