Why do scientists say there is a biodiversity crisis?
Scientists say there is a biodiversity crisis because the current rate of extinction is roughly 100-1,000 times faster than the natural rate. Besides diminishing the natural world around us, scientists believe that this loss of biodiversity will harm people. This is because we depend on nature for food, medicines (such as cancer treatments), industrial products (such as oils and resins), and vital ecosystem services (such as water purification, erosion control, and climate control). The rate of extinction has accelerated throughout human history, and biodiversity loss is occurring throughout the world. More than 1,000 species are known to have gone extinct in the last 400 years, including the Passenger Pigeon and Stellar’s Sea Cow. In addition, many subspecies have gone extinct. Subspecies are genetically distinct populations of a species and can be very different from each other. For example, the Greater Prairie Chicken and the Heath Hen are both subspecies of Tympanuchus cupido, and
