The five past mass extinctions

Approximate date

Impact

Probable cause

65 million years ago

Extinction of 85% of species including

dinosaurs

Asteroid

207 million years ago

Extinction of nearly 50% of all marine

families extinct

Undersea volcano/
climate change

251 million years ago

Extinction of 95% of species on planet

Volcanic eruption
or asteroid

364 million years ago

Extinction of 70% of all species

Possibly climate
change

439 million years ago

Some groups losing half their species

A fall in sea level

as glaciers formed

What are we doing

about biodiversity loss?

Analysing the role plants, animals and bacteria play in

keeping ecosystems functioning.
The science of naming and classifying plants and animals
taxonomy groups species according to shared physical
characteristics for example fingers or fins. While DNA
analysis has revolutionised this enormous task, we have
only named less than a quarter of all species alive today.
Safeguarding ecosystems containing rare species or high
biodiversity. We protect 11.5 % of the planets land surface
this ranges from complete exclusion of humans, to weak
regulations on what we are allowed to do in certain areas.
Tracking the effects of climate change on plant and animal
species.
Identifying invasive alien species.
Building economies based on sustainable development
creating fish reserves, developing eco-tourism, investing in
forest management, recycling, using energy from
renewable sources.
Investigating the impact of GM crops on biodiversity.

The UKs twenty-year conservation plan, based on

the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, has three
main goals:
to conserve biological diversity;
to use its components sustainably;
to share benefits from using genetic resources
fairly.
Britain has the most comprehensive records on bird,
plant and butterfly populations of any country on the
planet. British scientists can accurately compare
past and present populations of these species. The
results of recent analyses are alarming.
Species
Butterfly
Native birds
Native plant

Decline
71%
54%
28%

Period
1983-2003
1983-2003
1963-2003

Insects are often believed to be more resilient to

change than birds or plants, but this survey suggests
at least one group of insects butterflies have
suffered more than either birds or plants.

Britain, by virtue of its well-known and well-studied biodiversity,

is the canary for the rest of the globe.

UK

Sandy Knapp, Natural History Museum

Contacts
The Natural Environment Research Council is one of seven UK
research councils. We support universities and the following
NERC Research Centres and Collaborative Centres researching
biodiversity:

Other Agencies

Centre for Ecology & Hydrology

The leading UK body for researching, surveying and monitoring
terrestrial and freshwater environments
www.ceh.ac.uk

The Natural History Museum

www.nhm.ac.uk

Centre for Population Biology

www.cpb.bio.imperial.ac.uk
Centre for Terrestrial Carbon Dynamics
www.shef.ac.uk/ctcd
We also support programmes of directed research into
biodiversity. Recent programmes include:
Marine and Freshwater Microbial Biodiversity Programme
www.nerc.ac.uk/funding/thematics/mfmb
Soil Biodiversity Programme
http://soilbio.nerc.ac.uk
URGENT Programme (Urban Regeneration and the Environment)
http://urgent.nerc.ac.uk/

The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council

www.bbsrc.ac.uk

Species Survival Commission

www.iucn.org/themes/ssc/sgs/sgs.htm
National Biodiversity Network
www.nbn.org.uk
David Suzuki Foundation
www.davidsuzuki.org
Biodiversity & Macroecology Research Group
The University of Sheffield
The Global Canopy Programme
www.globalcanopy.org
UK Biodiversity Partnership and the UK government
www.ukbap.org.uk

The UKs Natural Environment Research Council funds and carries out impartial scientific research in the
sciences of the environment. NERC trains the next generation of independent environmental scientists.
For further information about NERC and its work, contact: NERC Communications, Polaris House,
North Star Avenue, Swindon SN2 1EU, tel: 01793 411500, fax: 01793 411510,
email: requests@nerc.ac.uk, www.nerc.ac.uk

Designed and produced by NERC. Printed

by The Beacon Press using their
environmental print technology. Picture
credits - moths/Ardea, proboscis monkey/NPL.
08/04 20k.

When researchers analysed a small sample of

water from the Sargasso Sea in early 2004 they
found it contained 148 new species of bacteria. The
sample was taken from water famous for its lack of
diversity. Modern scientific methods are changing
our fundamental ideas about biodiversity. We are
beginning to understand how little we know.
Scientists believe that the sheer diversity of life is
richer now than it has been in any other period in
Earths history. They know diversity naturally
increases over time, then some catastrophe an
asteroid or volcanic eruption reduces it for a
while. The most famous mass extinction claimed the
dinosaurs.
Right now the world is losing huge numbers of plant
and animal species and this loss is accelerating. It
will soon approach previous mass extinction rates.
But there is a big difference between the current
loss of biodiversity and previous extinctions.
Physical events caused mass extinctions in the
past. One life-form is overwhelmingly responsible
for present-day extinctions humans you and me.

The information presented here is gathered from a wide

range of published international sources and includes
work by scientists funded by the Natural Environment
Research Council.

What is a species?
Species are the basic units of diversity.
A species is a group of organisms with a unique
set of characteristics, such as shape or behaviour,
distinguishing them from all other organisms. If they
reproduce, individuals within the same species can
produce fertile offspring.
Each species has a particular role within an
ecosystem so the addition, or loss, of single
species may have consequences for the whole
system.

Pressures on biodiversity
Parts of our life support system plants, animals, their genetic
variations and diverse habitats - are being lost or altered irreversibly.
A species usually has a specific function, or niche, in an ecosystem. If
a species dies out, another will eventually replace it. But we are not
just destroying the species; we are destroying the niche too.
Habitat Loss is the greatest threat to biodiversity. We use more and
more land for houses, factories and agriculture destroying
ecosystems in the process.
Invasive Species are organisms that thrive after they are
accidentally or intentionally transplanted from one ecosystem to
another. When invasive species enter an ecosystem, they occupy
habitats and compete for food.
Pollution. Our oceans, rivers, lakes and lands have become rubbish
bins for societys industrial and organic waste. Nature can dispose
of some of our waste, but large volumes overwhelm the Earths
capacities to absorb, transform or break down pollutants.
Over-exploitation of renewable resources. We have drastically
reduced some fish populations, hunted some whales to the verge
of extinction and destroyed whole forests and their ecosystems.
Climate change. Many plant and animal species are unlikely to
survive climate change. For some species there will no longer be
anywhere suitable to live.

Why is biodiversity so important?

Our natural environment provides us with food, medicine, fuel,
clothes, timber, climate regulation, water purification, soil
regeneration, nutrient cycling, waste recirculation and crop
pollination, for free. Ecologists and economists estimate the
monetary value of natures services to society is at least $33
trillion each year.
Variety really is the spice of life: less diverse ecosystems are
less productive and less stable. But just 30 crops supply about
90% of the calories in our diet. And just 14 animal species make
up 90% of the livestock we raise. Since we depend on so few
plant and animal species to supply us
with food, we are vulnerable to
environmental changes and crop
diseases.

We have identified and named about 270,000 species

of plants. At least 1,650 known tropical forest plants
could be grown as vegetable crops. This could
reduce our reliance on the few crops grown today.
Nature provides medicines such as aspirin, heart
stimulants, antibiotics, anti-malarial and cancer
fighting compounds. About a quarter of all prescription
drugs come from plants. Yet less than 1% of rainforest
plants have been tested for their medicinal properties.
Ecosystems drive the natural cycles that make the
Earth habitable: these cycles rely on a huge number of
species to operate effectively.

Energy cycle
Plants, bacteria and phytoplankton tiny marine plants
photosynthesise, transforming energy from the sun into
stored chemical energy. This is the foundation for
virtually all food webs.

Water cycle
Forests catch, hold and recycle rainwater, moderating
water flows. Plants absorb rainwater, and then release it
back into the air. Wetlands and estuaries purify water and
control flooding.

Carbon and oxygen cycles

Plants absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen back into
the air, creating a breathable atmosphere and contributing
to climate stability.

Nitrogen cycle
Nitrogen is essential for plant growth. Bacteria living on
some plant roots convert nitrogen from the atmosphere into
a form the plant can use. Creatures feeding on these plants
release nitrogen in their waste products. When the waste is
broken down by micro-organisms the nitrogen is recycled
back into the atmosphere.

What do we know?

Evolution is a dynamic process. New species emerge in

response to new opportunities, while others die out, unable
to adapt fast enough to changing conditions. Fossil records
tell us the natural background rate of extinction is about one
or two species per year.

We know more about the biodiversity on land than in any

other environment.

Grassland, open shrubland, desert and tundra tend to have

lower numbers of species than most forests. Notable
exceptions are Mediterranean-type shrublands which
support a huge variety of plants.

Inland waters are a minute proportion of the worlds water

resource. Despite this they contain a very wide range of
habitats and a disproportionately high fraction of the worlds
biodiversity. Fresh water is a vital resource for us, putting
inland water ecosystems under enormous pressure.

We have extensively altered most grassland areas by

growing crops and grazing livestock.

Micro-organisms, invisible to the naked eye, drive many

ecosystem functions and play a vital role in maintaining soil
fertility, detoxifying pesticides and other pollutants. In terms
of weight, they are the single most abundant form of life on
this planet.

Life originated in the sea, and most life never left. Of the 34
major animal phyla if species are twigs then phyla are
trunks - all but one occur in the ocean and 15 are found there
alone.

We dont know the impact of people taking yet more of the

Earths resources. Humans commandeer an enormous
amount of the planet's productivity - experts estimate we
use up to 40% of all plant growth on land, 25 -30% of marine
production and we take 60% of available fresh water.

We dont know how many different species once lived but

are now extinct. Estimates range from two to five billion.

Forest canopies. We dont fully understand the structure,

function and resilience of the worlds forest canopy.

We dont know the number of different species here on

Earth right now. Estimates range from 10-100 million. We
have named 1.75 million but scientists know some species
have been described more than once so the actual number
is lower.

Although we know micro-organisms are important, we do

not know their abundance or their diversity, or the full extent
of their role in keeping the Earth habitable. This makes it
difficult to predict the effect of losing microbial biodiversity.

Abundant, widespread species tend to survive between one

and ten million years, according to fossil records.

We know there have been five mass extinctions in the past.

The last, 65 million years ago, wiped out the dinosaurs.

Forests and woodlands hold more biodiversity than any other

land-based habitat. In fact, forests in the tropics hold most of
the worlds known species.

Although mass extinctions are dramatic they only account

for about 4% of all species extinctions.

Over many generations, animals and plants adapt to the

conditions where they live.

Biodiversity is not evenly spread across the planet. Some

habitats, such as coral reefs, are astonishingly rich in the
number and type of species they support, whereas others
are relatively species-poor.

Approximately half the forests that developed since the last

ice age have been cleared or degraded by humans.

What dont we know?