Threats to Biodiversity

Although biodiversity has changed throughout geological time, rising and falling as a result of five major mass extinctions throughout Earth's history. The 6th mass extinction, known as the present Holocene extinction, can be attributed to human activities.

The explosion of the human population is at the core of current biodiversity loss resulting in habitat loss, over exploitation, the introduction of invasive species and global climate change.

The large increase in need for resources for human food and shelter has caused habitat loss for many species. Deforestation and transformation of land for agriculture pushes species out of their natural habitats into smaller and fragmented home ranges with fewer resources and more survival challenges.

Many species utilized for food and medicine are over exploited beyond the species' ability to recover. This is caused by a high economic demand that is not met by the reproductive capacity of the species.

Furthermore, the introduction of invasive species, has resulted in drastic changes to ecosystems, removing native species through predation and competition for resources. Without natural predators, invasive species cause rapid declines in biodiversity.

Finally, the increase in global emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases has resulted in incremental rises in the average global temperature. This effect has decreased the amount of habitable space for many species and has changed migratory and other seasonal activity patterns.