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Vertebrate biodiversity losses point to a sixth mass extinction

McCallum, Malcolm L.·2015·Biodiversity and Conservation
DOI 10.1007/s10531-015-0940-6
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Abstract

The human race faces many global to local challenges in the near future. Among these are massive biodiversity losses. The 2012 IUCN/SSC Red List reported evaluations of ~56 % of all vertebrates. This included 97 % of amphibians, mammals, birds, cartilaginous fishes, and hagfishes. It also contained evaluations of ~50 % of lampreys, ~38 % of reptiles, and ~29 % of bony fishes. A cursory examination of extinction magnitudes does not immediately reveal the severity of current biodiversity losses because the extinctions we see today have happened in such a short time compared to earlier events in the fossil record. So, we still must ask how current losses of species compare to losses in mass extinctions from the geological past. The most recent and best understood mass extinction is the Cretaceous terminal extinction which ends at the Cretaceous–Paleogene (K–Pg) border, 65 MYA. This event had massive losses of biodiversity (~17 % of families, >50 % of genera, and >70 % of species) and exterminated the dinosaurs. Extinction estimates for non-dinosaurian vertebrates at the K–Pg boundary range from 36 to 43 %. However, there remains much uncertainty regarding the completeness, preservation rates, and extinction magnitudes of the different classes of vertebrates. Fuzzy arithmetic was used to compare recent vertebrate extinction reported in the 2012 IUCN/SSC Red List with biodiversity losses at the end of K–Pg. Comparisons followed 16 different approaches to data compilation and 288 s…

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Authors
McCallum, M. L.
Affiliations
Processus d'Activation Sélective par Transfert d'Énergie Uni-électronique ou Radiatif (FR)
Corresponding author
McCallum, Malcolm L.
ORCID
McCallum, Malcolm L.
Venue
Biodiversity and Conservation
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2015-05-27
Volume
24
Issue
10
Pages
2497-2519
ISSN
  • 0960-3115 (ISSN-L)
  • 1572-9710
DOI
10.1007/s10531-015-0940-6
OpenAlex
W368671670
Cited by
163
References
7
Citations by year
2026: 10 · 2025: 15 · 2024: 20 · 2023: 24 · 2022: 14 · 2021: 15 · 2020: 16 · 2019: 11 · 2018: 20 · 2017: 11 · 2016: 7
FWCI
9.61
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
Locations
Biodiversity and Conservation (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Paleontology › Evolution and Paleontology Studies
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Nature and Landscape Conservation › Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies
  • Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Paleontology › Paleontology and Stratigraphy of Fossils
Keywords
sixth mass extinction, vertebrate extinction, biodiversity loss, IUCN Red List, Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary, extinction rates, island endemic species, data deficient species, critically endangered species, amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals, Chondrichthyes, lamprey, hagfish, bony fishes

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McCallum, M. L. (2015). Vertebrate biodiversity losses point to a sixth mass extinction. Biodiversity and Conservation. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-015-0940-6