Posts Tagged ‘causes of biodiversity loss’

Causes of Extinctions and Biodiversity Loss (part 2)

Hunting, killing and exploitation of animals .- hunting vermin and predators to their demise has been the practice until very recently. They were a threat to livestock, hunting and man and for that reason sought to eliminate animals such as wolves, bears, birds of prey, and so on.

Hunting has played a double role. At times it has served to preserve hunting grounds and places protected natural parks that are valuable today. In the case of other species has led to its extinction or near, as was the case of the Dodo, the fledgling American bison American prairie, the European vultures, some varieties of whale, and many other animals.

At present the trade of exotic species, collecting, capturing species with purported healing properties (especially valued in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia), mass tourism, etc.. threat to many different species. Read the rest of this entry »

Causes of Extinctions and Biodiversity Loss (part 1)

The growing impact of human activities on nature is causing a rapid loss of biodiversity. The main cause is the destruction of ecosystems of great interest, when put into cultivation land clearing forests or draining wetlands when conditions change water or air pollution or where habitats are destroyed in extracting resources.

Besides hunting, the introduction of alien species and other actions have caused the extinction of a number of species.

Human activities which are causing species extinction and a further loss of biodiversity are:

Alteration and destruction of ecosystems .- The destruction of the rainforest is the greatest threat to biodiversity and species richness that is huge. Other very delicate ecosystems and diversity are the coral reefs and in recent years are having serious problems with difficult solutions. They are also considerably damaged wetlands, marshes, etc.. Read the rest of this entry »