In the industry, the earth is recognized as a process of five mass extinctions, and the impact of each mass extinction can be said to be enormous. However, as to whether the sixth mass extinction on Earth has occurred, in recent years, many biologists have said that human beings are likely to encounter this "catastrophe", that is, they will suffer a new round of mass extinction.
No, in February 2022, "evidence that the sixth mass extinction is happening" once again rushed to the hot search, triggering a hot discussion. Is it true that humanity cannot escape the effects of mass extinction? Let's take a step-by-step look.
Evidence points to a sixth mass extinction taking place
This is a paper published in the scientific journal Biological Reviews that clearly points out that the results of The Sixth Mass Extinction on Earth are taking place. According to the study, of the 2 million known species on Earth since 1500, 7.5%-13% of the 2 million known species on Earth may have been extinct, of which island species have been affected much more than continental species.
At the same time, experts also believe that the sixth mass extinction has begun to occur and is underway. The evidence given by the research team is still relatively obvious, mainly based on the extinction of invertebrate species, because invertebrates account for 95-97% of known animal species, and if this large group has decreased, it is bound to be a trend.
Moreover, they also point out that many species on Earth may have gone extinct before they were discovered, and that invertebrates, even after death, would leave their shells behind, which is enough to prove and statistically — and give an immediate explanation of whether a new round of mass extinctions has occurred.
It just so happens that this data is really problematic, by inferring the number of species of snails and slugs on land, researchers have found that of the 2 million known species on Earth, about 150,000 to 260,000 species have become extinct, accounting for 7.5%-13% of the total number of species! This figure is much larger than the 882 (0.04%) published by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
So, this further shows that this may be evidence of a new round of mass extinction, and that the extinction of species on Earth may be far more serious than people think, which is the evidence given by experts, is it convincing?
Is it credible that a sixth mass extinction is taking place?
For this study, the controversy is here, that is, everyone is still controversial about the sixth mass extinction of the earth, and some people say that this does not explain anything. Because the research team found that the list mainly involves amphibians, birds, mammals species, compared with other historical research species classification may be biased.
Simply put, it is assumed that the experts' research may not be "holistic" or "universal", and that their research can only represent some types of species.
So, is it credible that the sixth mass extinction is happening? In fact, we can't talk about it, but it does show that some organisms are decreasing. This also shows that the Earth's ecosystem is undergoing great changes, and some biological populations are also decreasing. So it can at least serve as a reference for the direction of the organism.
As for whether the sixth mass extinction really occurred, this may require more comprehensive data to explain. And the evidence given by experts, we just look at it.
Of course, it is undeniable that experts say that the sixth mass extinction is happening, and from their point of view, it is also a certain persuasiveness, but to convince everyone, more evidence needs to be added, and only if their evidence is internationally recognized, it will be determined.
If it happens, can humans escape?
Of course, for the first five mass extinctions, there was no human existence. And if there is the sixth biological mass extinction on the earth, human beings are also a member of the earth, and they may inevitably be affected by the biological mass extinction, so can human beings escape?
If human beings cannot get out of the "earth circle", they will inevitably be affected by the mass extinction of organisms, and if they go out of the "earth circle", move to other celestial bodies, and can survive on other celestial bodies, they will inevitably be able to escape.
As we call "Martian colonization". But we haven't found any celestial bodies suitable for human habitation for the time being, and that's the key.
Therefore, if the sixth mass extinction of the earth occurs, then human beings will also be slowly affected, and it is inevitable that they will not be able to escape. Instead of this, we can only find a way to change the earth's ecosystem, "block" all this from happening, and make the earth's ecosystem more stable, so that maybe there will be no problems that everyone is worried about, which is the general situation.