Natural Disasters

Introduction

The extinction of species is a natural phenomenon that is part of the evolutionary process, but it is a rare event. It occurs when a habitat changed and the existing species found living in unfavorable conditions. The change may be caused by climate change, by major geological events or natural disasters. Frequently the extinct species replaced by other species more suited to live in the new environmental conditions, but sometimes, it takes millions of years for this to happen(Tarbuck 10).

The extinction natural species is a recurring phenomenon, very slow, occasionally punctuated by episodes of mass extinctions. Under normal conditions, disappear every year from 1 to 10 species during the last century, however, the rate of extinction has accelerated dramatically (the figures speak for the disappearance of at least 1,000 species per year). According to some scientists, we are on the verge of another mass extinction, the sixth.

Part 01: 5 Extinctions of Climate Change

There have been five considerable mass extinctions throughout the evolutionary history of Earth's complex life that are Ordovician, Devonian, Permian, Triassic, and Cretaceous. Knowing the causes of these extinctions are not only valuable in itself and enriches our culture and ability to understand the world, but also can help us understand the mass extinction in which we are now: the sixth great mass extinction.

Five extinctions occurred 450 million years ago and were the second largest of them all. The late Ordovician extinction swept away 75% of all marine species. The causes of this great loss in biodiversity remain a mystery. The Caltech scientists have discovered new details to support the idea that the extinction was due to climate change, specifically a shift to a colder climate (Raloff 325). Although it has long been suspected that this species could be linked to climate change, the precise mechanisms were unclear. A mass extinction has to meet certain characteristics to be considered as such:

The event duration is relatively short, sometimes it seems so sudden that sometimes serves as a chronological limit global chronostratigraphic. The way in which different groups are affected varies. Thus, some show a net decrease in wealth and abundance prior to extinction, while others seem to die in the throes of diversification. Over the whole of geological time (and according to current knowledge), we are nonetheless able to identify many biological attacks during the time fossil (the Phanerozoic). There have been five major mass extinctions throughout the evolutionary history of Earth's complex life. Knowing the causes of these extinctions are not only valuable in itself and enriches our culture and ability to understand the world, but also can help us understand the mass extinction in which we are now: the sixth great mass extinction.

Five extinctions occurred 450 million years ago and was the second largest of them all. The late Ordovician extinction swept away 75% of all marine species. The causes of this great loss in biodiversity remain a mystery (Philander 12). Although it has long been suspected that this species could be linked to climate change, the ...