Give a brief account of the loss of biodiversity at the global level.
The colonization of the tropical Pacific Islands by human beings has led to the extinction of more than two thousand species of native birds. IUCN red list (2004) documents the extinction of 784 species in the last 500 years that include 359 invertebrates, 338 vertebrates, and 87 plants. Some of the animals that have become extinct in recent times are given below: Steller’s sea cow (Russia) Dodo (Mauritius) Thylacine (Australia) Quagga (Africa) Three subspecies (Bali, Javan, Caspian) of the tiger. 27 species have become extinct in the last twenty years alone. Amphibians are more vulnerable to extinction. Though about 15,5000 species are facing extinction, at present following the face the threat of extinction: 31% of gymnosperms 32% of amphibians 12% of bird species 23% of mammals Since the origin of life on earth and evolution, three have been five episodes of mass extinction, but the current rate of extinction is 100-1000 times faster than them, due to human activities.
