Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2001 May 8;98(10):5466-70.
doi: 10.1073/pnas.091093698.

The current biodiversity extinction event: scenarios for mitigation and recovery

M J Novacek  1 , E E Cleland
Affiliations

The current biodiversity extinction event: scenarios for mitigation and recovery

M J Novacek et al. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. .

Abstract

The current massive degradation of habitat and extinction of species is taking place on a catastrophically short timescale, and their effects will fundamentally reset the future evolution of the planet's biota. The fossil record suggests that recovery of global ecosystems has required millions or even tens of millions of years. Thus, intervention by humans, the very agents of the current environmental crisis, is required for any possibility of short-term recovery or maintenance of the biota. Many current recovery efforts have deficiencies, including insufficient information on the diversity and distribution of species, ecological processes, and magnitude and interaction of threats to biodiversity (pollution, overharvesting, climate change, disruption of biogeochemical cycles, introduced or invasive species, habitat loss and fragmentation through land use, disruption of community structure in habitats, and others). A much greater and more urgently applied investment to address these deficiencies is obviously warranted. Conservation and restoration in human-dominated ecosystems must strengthen connections between human activities, such as agricultural or harvesting practices, and relevant research generated in the biological, earth, and atmospheric sciences. Certain threats to biodiversity require intensive international cooperation and input from the scientific community to mitigate their harmful effects, including climate change and alteration of global biogeochemical cycles. In a world already transformed by human activity, the connection between humans and the ecosystems they depend on must frame any strategy for the recovery of the biota.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

  • The Minderoo-Monaco Commission on Plastics and Human Health.
    Landrigan PJ, Raps H, Cropper M, Bald C, Brunner M, Canonizado EM, Charles D, Chiles TC, Donohue MJ, Enck J, Fenichel P, Fleming LE, Ferrier-Pages C, Fordham R, Gozt A, Griffin C, Hahn ME, Haryanto B, Hixson R, Ianelli H, James BD, Kumar P, Laborde A, Law KL, Martin K, Mu J, Mulders Y, Mustapha A, Niu J, Pahl S, Park Y, Pedrotti ML, Pitt JA, Ruchirawat M, Seewoo BJ, Spring M, Stegeman JJ, Suk W, Symeonides C, Takada H, Thompson RC, Vicini A, Wang Z, Whitman E, Wirth D, Wolff M, Yousuf AK, Dunlop S. Landrigan PJ, et al. Ann Glob Health. 2023 Mar 21;89(1):23. doi: 10.5334/aogh.4056. eCollection 2023. Ann Glob Health. 2023. PMID: 36969097 Free PMC article. Review.
  • Hydroids (Cnidaria, Hydrozoa) from Mauritanian Coral Mounds.
    Gil M, Ramil F, AgÍs JA. Gil M, et al. Zootaxa. 2020 Nov 16;4878(3):zootaxa.4878.3.2. doi: 10.11646/zootaxa.4878.3.2. Zootaxa. 2020. PMID: 33311142
  • Pollution, habitat loss, fishing, and climate change as critical threats to penguins.
    Trathan PN, García-Borboroglu P, Boersma D, Bost CA, Crawford RJ, Crossin GT, Cuthbert RJ, Dann P, Davis LS, De La Puente S, Ellenberg U, Lynch HJ, Mattern T, Pütz K, Seddon PJ, Trivelpiece W, Wienecke B. Trathan PN, et al. Conserv Biol. 2015 Feb;29(1):31-41. doi: 10.1111/cobi.12349. Epub 2014 Aug 7. Conserv Biol. 2015. PMID: 25102756 Review.
  • Heathlands confronting global change: drivers of biodiversity loss from past to future scenarios.
    Fagúndez J. Fagúndez J. Ann Bot. 2013 Feb;111(2):151-72. doi: 10.1093/aob/mcs257. Epub 2012 Dec 6. Ann Bot. 2013. PMID: 23223202 Free PMC article. Review.
  • Freshwater biodiversity: importance, threats, status and conservation challenges.
    Dudgeon D, Arthington AH, Gessner MO, Kawabata Z, Knowler DJ, Lévêque C, Naiman RJ, Prieur-Richard AH, Soto D, Stiassny ML, Sullivan CA. Dudgeon D, et al. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc. 2006 May;81(2):163-82. doi: 10.1017/S1464793105006950. Epub 2005 Dec 12. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc. 2006. PMID: 16336747 Review.
See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Wilson E O. The Diversity of Life. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Univ. Press; 1992.
    1. Myers N. Environ Conserv. 1993;20:9–16. - PubMed
    1. Lawton J H, May R M. Extinction Rates. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press; 1995.
    1. Pimm S L, Russel G J, Gittleman J L, Brooks T M. Science. 1995;269:347–350. - PubMed
    1. Sepkoski J J., Jr . In: Systematics, Ecology and the Biodiversity Crisis. Eldredge N, editor. New York: Columbia Univ. Press; 1992. pp. 77–100.