On the Road to Extinction

Something was wrong. As tropical ecologist Brad Lister walked through the Puerto Rican rainforest a few years ago, he wondered: Where are all the butterflies? When he’d last visited, 35 years before, there had been hundreds in the air, and his traps had quickly become covered in bugs. Now he and his colleague, Andrés García, caught only a few lonely insects, if anything at all.

“We were incredulous,” Lister says. “It was clear there had been a catastrophic collapse of the insect population.”

Lister’s research ultimately showed that 98 percent of the area’s ground insects had vanished since the 1970s. Other scientists have had similar findings in different locations; one global review published in February even suggested that insects as a whole might “go down the path of extinction in a few decades.”

Then, earlier this year, the United Nations released a shocking report: Insects aren’t the only ones in trouble. Humans are transforming Earth’s natural landscapes so dramatically, the assessment says, that as many as 1 million plant and animal species are now at risk of extinction. (Including insects, there are an estimated 8 million species on the planet in total.) In most major land habitats—from the savannas of Africa to the rainforests of South America—the average abundance of native plant and animal life has fallen by 20 percent or more, mainly over the past century.

As tropical ecologist Brad Lister walked through the Puerto Rican rainforest a few years ago, he noticed something was wrong. He couldn’t help but wonder: Where are all the butterflies? It had been 35 years since his last visit. Back then there had been hundreds of butterflies in the air and his traps had quickly become covered in bugs. Now he and his colleague, Andrés García, caught only a few lonely insects, if anything at all.

“We were incredulous,” Lister says. “It was clear there had been a catastrophic collapse of the insect population.”

Lister decided to look into what was driving the changes. His research showed that 98 percent of the area’s ground insects had disappeared since the 1970s. Other scientists have had similar findings in different locations. One global review published in February even suggested that insects as a whole might “go down the path of extinction in a few decades.”

Then, earlier this year, the United Nations released a shocking report. They discovered that insects aren’t the only ones in trouble. Humans are dramatically transforming Earth’s natural landscapes, the assessment says. Including insects, there are an estimated 8 million species on the planet in total. The rapid shift has put as many as 1 million plant and animal species at risk of extinction. The changes are also impacting major land habitats, from the savannas of Africa to the rainforests of South America. In most of these areas the average amount of native plant and animal life has fallen by 20 percent or more. And this drop has mainly taken place over the past century.

And in September, research published in the journal Science appeared to support the findings by the U.N. There are 2.9 billion fewer birds in the U.S. and Canada than there were 50 years ago, the study says.

Scientists are alarmed by these results in part because of how closely human well-being is intertwined with the fate of other species.

“For a long time, people just thought of biodiversity as saving nature for its own sake,” says Robert Watson, the British chemist who chaired the group of scientists that authored the U.N. report. “But this report makes clear the links between biodiversity and nature and things like food security and clean water in both rich and poor countries.”

As more research continues to emerge, people all over the world are beginning to ask: Can anything be done to slow the losses?

In September, research published in the journal Science appeared to support the findings by the U.N. There are 2.9 billion fewer birds in the U.S. and Canada than there were 50 years ago, the study says.

Scientists are alarmed by these results. Part of their concern is that human well-being is closely tied to the fate of other species.

“For a long time, people just thought of biodiversity as saving nature for its own sake,” says Robert Watson, the British chemist who chaired the group
of scientists that authored the U.N. report. “But this report makes clear the links between biodiversity and nature and things like food security and clean water in both rich and poor countries.”

More research continues to emerge. And people all over the world are beginning to ask: Can anything be done to slow the losses?

There are multiple reasons for the rapid declines, according to the report—but humans are behind all of them. Farming, logging, poaching, fishing, and mining are altering the natural world at a rate “unprecedented in human history.” Plastic pollution has grown by leaps and bounds since 1980, much of it ending up in oceans, where it kills marine life that ingest it. And then there’s global warming, which scientists say is altering the habitats that many of these creatures and plants evolved to survive in.

“It could be death by a thousand cuts,” says David Wagner, an entomologist at the University of Connecticut. “When you have large numbers of people living in small areas, it’s hard to protect nature.”

Unless nations step up their efforts to safeguard the natural habitats that are left, the planet could lose a massive number of species, including 40 percent of amphibian species, one-third of marine mammals, one-third of reef-forming corals, and about 10 percent of insects, the report says. More than 500,000 land species, according to the assessment, do not have enough natural habitat left to ensure their long-term survival.

The dwindling number of species won’t just make the world a less colorful or wondrous place. It also poses risks to people.

There are multiple reasons for the rapid declines, according to the report. But humans are behind all of them. Our activities are altering nature at a rate “unprecedented in human history.” That includes farming, logging, poaching, fishing, and mining. it also includes plastic pollution, which has grown by leaps and bounds since 1980. Most plastic ends up in oceans, where it kills marine life that ingest it. And then there’s global warming. Scientists say it’s altering the habitats that many of these creatures and plants evolved to survive in.

“It could be death by a thousand cuts,” says David Wagner, an entomologist at the University of Connecticut. “When you have large numbers of people living in small areas, it’s hard to protect nature.”

Nations have made moves to safeguard the natural habitats that are left. Unless they step up their efforts, the planet could lose a massive number of species. That loss would include 40 percent of amphibian species, one-third of marine mammals, one-third of reef-forming corals, and about 10 percent of insects, the report says. More than 500,000 land species, according to the assessment, do not have enough natural habitat left to ensure their
long-term survival.

The dwindling number of species won’t just make the world a less colorful or wondrous place. It also poses risks to people.

Nature provides some $125 trillion worth of services to humans each year, according to the World Wildlife Fund. More than 75 percent of global food crops rely on animal pollination, for example. Forests and oceans absorb about 60 percent of global fossil fuel emissions each year. Plants form the basis of a majority of cancer drugs, and approximately 4 billion people rely primarily on natural medicines. If the planet loses biodiversity, humans will likely have a harder time surviving.

“Life on Earth is an intricate fabric, and it’s not like we’re looking at it from the outside,” says Sandra M. Díaz, a lead author of the U.N. report and an ecologist at the National University of Córdoba in Argentina. “We are threads in that fabric. If the fabric is getting holes and fraying, that affects us all.”

Nature provides some $125 trillion worth of services to humans each year, according to the World Wildlife Fund. More than 75 percent of global food crops rely on animal pollination, for example. Forests and oceans absorb about 60 percent of global fossil fuel emissions each year. Plants form the basis of a majority of cancer drugs. And approximately 4 billion people rely primarily on natural medicines. If the planet loses biodiversity, humans will likely have a harder time surviving.

“Life on Earth is an intricate fabric, and it’s not like we’re looking at it from the outside,” says Sandra M. Díaz, a lead author of the U.N. report and an ecologist at the National University of Córdoba in Argentina. “We are threads in that fabric. If the fabric is getting holes and fraying, that affects us all.”

Countries will need to make transformative changes to slow the loss of biodiversity, the authors say. That could include cutting back on wasteful consumption, developing more eco-friendly agricultural practices, and cracking down on illegal logging and fishing. Efforts to limit global warming will also be critical, the report says.

Scientists do offer some hope. When governments have acted forcefully to protect threatened species, they’ve managed to fend off extinction in many cases (see “Comeback Critters”). And nations have protected more than 15 percent of the world’s land and 7 percent of its oceans by setting up nature reserves and wilderness areas.

Countries will need to make drastic changes to slow the loss of biodiversity, the authors say. That could include cutting back on wasteful consumption. More eco-friendly agricultural practices could be developed. Another tactic might be cracking down on illegal logging and fishing. Efforts to limit global warming will also be critical, the report says.

Scientists do offer some hope. Some governments have acted forcefully to protect threatened species. When they’ve done so, they’ve managed to fend off extinction in many case (see “Comeback Critters”). And nations have set up nature reserves and wilderness areas. That’s protected more than 15 percent of the world’s land and 7 percent of its oceans.

Ultimately, experts say, it will take a great deal of financial and political support to save endangered wildlife.

“There is finite space and energy on the planet, and we must decide how much of it we’re willing to share,” a report in Science recently declared. “This question requires deep consideration as it will determine the fate of millions of species and the health and well-being of future generations.”

Ultimately, experts say, it will take a great deal of financial and political support to save endangered wildlife.

“There is finite space and energy on the planet, and we must decide how much of it we’re willing to share,” a report in Science recently declared. “This question requires deep consideration as it will determine the fate of millions of species and the health and well-being of future generations.”

With reporting by Brad Plumer of The New York Times.