Holocene extinction
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The Holocene extinction, otherwise referred to as the Sixth extinction or Anthropocene extinction, is the ongoing extinction event of species during the present Holocene epoch (11,700 years before AD 2000) mainly due to human activity. The large number of extinctions span numerous families of plants and animals including mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles and arthropods. Although 875 extinctions occurring between 1500 and 2009 have been documented by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, with widespread degradation of highly biodiverse habitats such as coral reefs and rainforest, as well as other areas, the vast majority are thought to be undocumented. According to the species-area theory and based on upper-bound estimating, the present rate of extinction may be up to 140,000 species per year, making it the greatest loss of biodiversity since the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event.
See also
- Anthropocentrism
- Biodiversity
- Decline in amphibian populations
- Defaunation
- Ecocriticism
- Effects of global warming
- Extinction risk from global warming
- Human overpopulation
- Late Quaternary prehistoric birds
- List of extinct animals
- List of extinct plants
- Racing Extinction (2015 documentary film)
- The Anthropocene Extinction (2015 album)
- The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History (nonfiction book)
- Timeline of extinctions
