It will take millions of years of evolution to offset the number of extinct creatures in the next 50 years

A study shows that the rate of extinction of animals is happening faster than the rate of evolution of nature.

The time for the ecosystem to revive the number of extinct species in the next 50 years may last millions of years if people do not timely intervene to end this situation as soon as possible.

A study by scientists from University of Aarhus, Denmark and University of Gothenberg, Sweden showed that the rate of extinction of species is happening faster than the rate of evolution of nature.

Picture 1 of It will take millions of years of evolution to offset the number of extinct creatures in the next 50 years

Each breed of a species has a different evolutionary direction.

According to National Geographic, if there are no more stringent conservation measures, the Earth may take millions of years to recover the number of extinct animals and natural ecosystems within 50 years. next.

Professor Jens-Christian Svenning of Aarhus University said: "We used to live in a world of giant species, such as beavers, giant deer, . But now they're living in a day-to-day world. The bigger the animals, the rhino and the elephant, are in danger of being wiped out in the future. "

One of the best things about biodiversity is that each strain of a species has a different evolutionary direction.Macrauchenia (long-lipped camel) living in South American land millions of years ago is a good example. Their skeleton was first discovered by biologist Charles Darwin on his journey on the Beagle.

Picture 2 of It will take millions of years of evolution to offset the number of extinct creatures in the next 50 years

Macrauchenia species.

Macrauchenia is shaped like a camel, a rhino's feet and a short elephant-like tap, although it has no relationship with both camels and elephants. When the Macrauchenia species became extinct, many of the evolutionary branches of this species were also extinct. Obviously it will take a long time for evolution to fill the gap left by the Macrauchenia.

The closest families to Macrauchenia are Perissodactyla , including species such as zebras, rhinos and tapirs. However, the number of these species is seriously threatened by human impact on nature.

Not only that, there are many other species also facing the risk of permanent wiping. For example, species like black rhino, which live mainly in East Africa, are now listed as "extremely endangered" by the International Union for Nature Conservation (IUCN) .

Or like the Asian elephant, one of the two surviving species of the Proboscidea Ministry left in the world today. The ancestor of Asian elephants is the extinct mammoth mammoth mammut once inhabiting the Ice Age. Currently, Asian elephant populations are decreasing due to hunting for ivory.

Picture 3 of It will take millions of years of evolution to offset the number of extinct creatures in the next 50 years

Rhino is one of the species at risk of extinction due to changing living environment and illegal hunting.

Using a computer simulation tool and a study called "birth-death tree framework" , the team of scientists calculated the time to help the Earth revive the lost ecosystem. They examined the extinction before humans appeared, then looked at what humanity did to the Earth mother and how difficult it was to live the lives of all species.

In the best scenario, the time to recover the ecosystem will take at least 3-5 million years. It will even take more than 5 million years for Earth to restore the same biodiversity as the ice age.

With such terrible numbers, it is not difficult to understand when scientists have warned, biodiversity conservation right now is better than future redevelopment.

Over the past 500 million years, the Earth has undergone five great extinctions and if people are still comfortable destroying the ecosystem and warming the Earth, the risk of a sixth extinction will be not far away. If it really does happen, it is likely that three-quarters of species may disappear forever.

Update 16 December 2018
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