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End-Ordovician Mass Extinction

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In the last five hundred and forty million years, the Earth has been the host to five mass extinctions (AccessScience Editors, 2014). Mass extinctions are defined as a global event during which at least fifty percent of all species die out in a geological period of time that is too short to allow adaptation (Mass Extinction, n.d.). It is important to note that species are always going extinct, just at a much slower rate than that of a mass extinction. This slow but constant extinction is known as background extinction, and is a normal part of the Earth’s cycle which has much less of an effect on biodiversity (Kohrs, 2018). Biodiversity is an invaluable resource to humans, which makes the recent changes in the Earth system alarming because many …show more content…
While the Ordovician event was primarily caused by climate change, scientists also believe several other events such as asteroid impact, volcanic eruptions, sea level changes, habitat destruction, hunting, invasive species, and atmospheric changes could trigger mass extinction. These events often happen in conjunction with one another over a geologically short period of time, leaving species little to no time to adapt, evolve, or move. Modern scientists believe that there is proof of one or more of these events taking place today, and feel that we are either already in the midst of a sixth mass extinction or on the verge of …show more content…
According to some of NASA’s research and observation, the Arctic’s sea ice maximum extent has dropped by an average of two and eight tenths percent, and the summertime minimum extent losses are thirteen and a half percent per decade since 1979 (see Appendix B for visuals about ice variation)(Garner, 2015). Besides shrinking in extent, the sea ice cap is also thinning and becoming more vulnerable to the action of ocean waters, winds and warmer temperatures (Garner, 2015). Furthermore, the global sea ice loss has accelerated (Despite, 2015). The melting of polar ice not only causes sea levels to rise, but put many species in danger due to habit and resource loss, as well as contributes to higher ocean temperatures.
As the polar ice continues to melt, animals such as polar bears, walrus, narwhals, beluga, fish, caribou, reindeer, Antarctic Krill, penguins, and seals are losing resources and homes. Without ice, these animals are often unable to rest, breed, hunt, or hide from predators, meaning they slowly die off. This slow extinction of polar animals due to melting ice leads to greater losses in global biodiversity, another sign of a mass extinction

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