Holocene extinction
The Holocene extinction is the extinction of nearly all large mammal species after the end of the ice age. This was done by humans hunting the animals, and by climate change.[1]
Habitat destruction and over-harvesting are two of the primary causes which drive species extinct in more recent times. The fundamental cause of this is the huge increase in human population since the agricultural revolution.
Forests and natural habitats have been greatly reduced throughout the world, and this has been the cause of many extinctions.
Holocene Extinction Media
- Pioneers in South Africa (1914) (14576727409).jpg
The dodo became extinct during the mid-to-late 17th century due to habitat destruction, overhunting, and predation by introduced mammals. It is an often-cited example of a human-driven extinction.
- Moa mock hunt.jpg
The moa in New Zealand went extinct in the mid 15th century due to overhunting and habitat destruction by the Māori people. Prior to the arrival of the Māori a century earlier, New Zealand was uninhabited by humans.
- Ecological Processes Coral Reefs.jpg
A diagram showing the ecological processes of coral reefs before and during the Anthropocene
- Extinctions Africa Austrailia NAmerica Madagascar.gif
The percentage of megafauna on different land masses over time, with the arrival of humans indicated.
- Operação Hymenaea, Julho-2016 (29399454651).jpg
Deforestation in the Maranhão state, Brazil, in July 2016
- Aridity ice age vs early holocene vs modern.jpgTop: Arid ice age climateMiddle: Atlantic period, warm and wetBottom: Potential vegetation in climate now if not for human effects like agriculture.
- Susa group, mountain gorilla.jpg
There are roughly 880 mountain gorillas remaining. 60% of primate species face an anthropogenically driven extinction crisis and 75% have declining populations.
- Giraffe koure niger 2006.jpg
As of 2023, giraffe populations have been driven to extinction in seven countries.
References
- ↑ Martin P.S. & Klein R.G. (eds) 1984. Quarternary extinctions: a prehistoric revolution. Tucson: Arizona University Press. ISBN 0-8165-1100-4