A: List the major ideas, concepts or key points- point by point
B: Summarize the AUTHOR’s main point or idea- at LEAST 1-2 paragraphs
In the "On the Termination of Species" article, the author talks about the realism of projected numbers for species. Many expert biologists believe that the rate of extinction has increased by 1,000 times since the modern humans. However against this belief, the extinction that we measure is less than what was earlier predicted. A recent estimate also predicted that about 27,000 thousand species go extinct every decade. But to get a clear rate of extinction, we must compare the current with the natural rate. This is hard to do as less than 4% of species that have ever lived are actually fossilized for us to research now. Other scientists also think that habitat and species are proportional to one another, the more habitat loss, the more species lost. Currently deforestation is at a rate of less than 1% yearly. Aside from deforestation, the loss of each ecosystem's keystone specie also contributes to the loss the that ecosystem. Many researchers believe the key is to preserve evolution itself.
C: Write a reaction paragraph to the article stating your own thoughts on the topic, using specific citations from the article to support your views
Before reading this article, I had thought that we were losing species incredibly fast. Now after reading this article, I'm starting to feel as if that rate is not necessarily true. However it still has a chance of being true as no one really knows the current rate of extinction. Nor does anyone know the proportion of extincting species in comparison to all species that have ever lived. To see if extinction has grown as a rate is also difficult, as it is difficult to find the natural extinction rate. With less than 4% of species that have ever lived being fossilized, calculations are difficult to determine.
- Many scientists are beginning to be grateful that they won't be around to see many species disappear off of the Earth
- Extinction rates within the past 100 years have increased about 1,000 times more since humans appeared
- Biologists and conservationists tend to be biased towards mammals, birds, and fish when most biodiversity is elsewhere. Environmental groups are also working hard to find high-priority "hotspots"
- Three arguments are used to persuade politicians to care more about the environment, however none are compelling enough
- Some scientists believe that instead of endangered species or threatened hotspots, saving evolution is more important
- Many scientists before 2000 believed that a very very high number of species would go extinct by the year 2000
- More recent estimates show the demise is at a slower rate and many species thought to be extinct have "returned from the grave"
- A recent estimate was 27,000 species would go extinct every decade
- Though estimates as such have been repeated many times, they do not equate with available evidence
- We can only know if the rate of extinction has increased or not by looking at the natural extinction rate and comparing it to the current extinction rate
- Many to believe that though a mass extinction may not be present, collapse is certain
- Many experts that many ecosystems depend on their keystone species, making them quite vulnerable
- Others believe that evolution should make many species invulnerable to losing only their keystone
- If evolution does not do the trick, artificial selection may help preserve or destroy species
- It is still uncertain whether selection whether natural or artificial is the answer
- Losses of species are inevitable
- Many believe saving evolution is the most important rather than species
B: Summarize the AUTHOR’s main point or idea- at LEAST 1-2 paragraphs
In the "On the Termination of Species" article, the author talks about the realism of projected numbers for species. Many expert biologists believe that the rate of extinction has increased by 1,000 times since the modern humans. However against this belief, the extinction that we measure is less than what was earlier predicted. A recent estimate also predicted that about 27,000 thousand species go extinct every decade. But to get a clear rate of extinction, we must compare the current with the natural rate. This is hard to do as less than 4% of species that have ever lived are actually fossilized for us to research now. Other scientists also think that habitat and species are proportional to one another, the more habitat loss, the more species lost. Currently deforestation is at a rate of less than 1% yearly. Aside from deforestation, the loss of each ecosystem's keystone specie also contributes to the loss the that ecosystem. Many researchers believe the key is to preserve evolution itself.
C: Write a reaction paragraph to the article stating your own thoughts on the topic, using specific citations from the article to support your views
Before reading this article, I had thought that we were losing species incredibly fast. Now after reading this article, I'm starting to feel as if that rate is not necessarily true. However it still has a chance of being true as no one really knows the current rate of extinction. Nor does anyone know the proportion of extincting species in comparison to all species that have ever lived. To see if extinction has grown as a rate is also difficult, as it is difficult to find the natural extinction rate. With less than 4% of species that have ever lived being fossilized, calculations are difficult to determine.