"No fixed law seems to determine the length of time during which any single species or any single genus endures" Charles Darwin, Origin of Species 1st edition (on Kindle)
It is a remarkable fact that >95% of all the species that ever existed have now gone extinct. Apparently, most mass extinctions are associated with rapid climatic changes - something that should concern us. As a conservation biologist (I think that's what I am), modern extinctions sadden me. Passenger Pigeons that blotted out the sky, Labrador Ducks in the icy north, Carolina Parakeets of the eastern forests, and Ivory-billed Woodpeckers of the southern swamps and bayous - these were just out of reach in time.
Fun at home.
"No fixed law seems to determine the length of time during which any single species or any single genus endures" Charles Darwin, Origin of Species 1st edition (on Kindle)
It is a remarkable fact that >95% of all the species that ever existed have now gone extinct. Apparently, most mass extinctions are associated with rapid climatic changes - something that should concern us. As a conservation biologist (I think that's what I am), modern extinctions sadden me. Passenger Pigeons that blotted out the sky, Labrador Ducks in the icy north, Carolina Parakeets of the eastern forests, and Ivory-billed Woodpeckers of the southern swamps and bayous - these were just out of reach in time.
|
| Fun at home. |
Speaking of mass extinctions:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.sciencemag.org/content/early/2014/12/10/science.aaa0118
Tough time to be on the planet. Not the biggest mass extinction but a whopper. And from what I understand neither asteroid nor volcano are necessarily predictable though I bet our demise will be at our own hands. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDelete