Tragically extinct modern animals

[djeitnstine]

It is no secret that many species are endangered and some are probably becoming extinct as we speak. Here are some that were photographed before their demise.

http://ecoworldly.com/2009/04/02/11-extinct-animals-that-have-been-photographed-alive/

When will we be satisfied? When every species besides our own is gone? Then someone will turn around and say "oh we should have listened =("

 

[mgb_phys]

99.9% of all species are extinct.

The current rate of extinction is 100 to 1000 times higher than the average, or background rate,

Assuming this is true (I'm always suspicious of round numbers with factors of 10x) does it matter? Does number of species count or number of individuals?
Does the type of animal matter? There are more species of arthropod in a couple of trees in a rain forest than there are species of mammals. Are a 100species of beetle being extinct the same as a 100 species of mammal or do only cuddly animals count?

 

[Jimmy Snyder]

Although fossil reconstructions or pictorial representations can sometimes be difficult to connect with, it’s impossible to ignore the experience of seeing a photograph of an animal on the brink of extinction.

I always feel disconnected from fossils and avoid them whenever I am not in a museum or gas station. But ah, the experience of seeing a photograph of an animal on the brink of extinction. Nothing beats it. Every weekend my buddies and I go out into the woods with guns, cameras, and high hopes.

 

[epenguin]

Does the type of animal matter? There are more species of arthropod in a couple of trees in a rain forest than there are species of mammals. Are a 100species of beetle being extinct the same as a 100 species of mammal or do only cuddly animals count?

Apart from the big animals obviously being an indicator of the health of an ecosystem, when I heard this question asked by sceptical biologists the expert answer was that the big animals often play a key role in the maintenance of the whole system ("keystone species") but hopefully we shall hear from an expert.

 

[djeitnstine]

99.9% of all species are extinct.


Assuming this is true (I'm always suspicious of round numbers with factors of 10x) does it matter? Does number of species count or number of individuals?
Does the type of animal matter? There are more species of arthropod in a couple of trees in a rain forest than there are species of mammals. Are a 100species of beetle being extinct the same as a 100 species of mammal or do only cuddly animals count?

From elementary biology, remember that anyone species going extinct throws any ecosystem it resides in out of wack. Of course one or 2 species not in any direct connection of humans going extinct really matters to us. But for every species extinct, another is being endangered from natural predators etc...eventually the chain will hit closer to home.

I'm no eco nut but, i just think the death of any entire species is one step closer to the endangerment of our own...somehow.

 

[Jimmy Snyder]

From elementary biology, remember that anyone species going extinct throws any ecosystem it resides in out of wack. Of course one or 2 species not in any direct connection of humans going extinct really matters to us. But for every species extinct, another is being endangered from natural predators etc...eventually the chain will hit closer to home.

I'm no eco nut but, i just think the death of any entire species is one step closer to the endangerment of our own...somehow.

You're doing accounting on only one side of the ledger. When a species becomes extinct, its niche becomes available to another. The system has extinction built into it.

 

[Moonbear]

You're doing accounting on only one side of the ledger. When a species becomes extinct, its niche becomes available to another. The system has extinction built into it.

This is always my issue with people worrying about species becoming extinct. How many new species are there? People like to call them "previously undiscovered" when they discover a new one, but they do find them. And an awful lot of species went extinct long before humans factored into the equation...just visit any natural history museum for examples from the fossil record. If extinctions are happening due to human intervention, and it throws off the ecosystem too much, then eventually humans will become the extinct species. I have confidence that the planet will continue moving forward with or without us.

 

[humanino]

That the Syrian Wild *** disappeared is a tragedy.

edit
Apparently, this is taboo in here...
Even in $\LaTeX$ mode : $\text{Syrian Wild ***}$

 

[lisab]

That the Syrian Wild *** disappeared is a tragedy.

edit
Apparently, this is taboo in here...
I meant the $\text{Syrian Wild ***}$

...the Syrian Wild what, humanino... ?

 

[humanino]

...the Syrian Wild what, humanino... ?

$\mathnormal{The}\text{ }\mathnormal{Syrian}\text{ }\mathnormal{Wild}\text{ }\mathnormal{A}\text{}\mathnormal{s}\text{}\mathnormal{s}$
nice...
$\mathrm{The}\text{ }\mathrm{Syrian}\text{ }\mathrm{Wild}\text{ }\mathrm{A}\text{}\mathrm{s}\text{}\mathrm{s}$
Where are the moderators ?

 

[NeoDevin]

The Syrian Wild Ass
The Syrian Wild Ass

 

[humanino]

The Syrian Wild Ass
The Syrian Wild Ass

Why do I always come up with solutions which are neither simple nor effective...
Hey NeoDevin, where do you plan to go during the banning period awaiting us ?

 

[NeoDevin]

Hey NeoDevin, where do you plan to go during the banning period awaiting us ?

I don't know, maybe I'll have time to make a website like I've been planning to do for a while.

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

From elementary biology, remember that anyone species going extinct throws any ecosystem it resides in out of wack.

Contrary to most new age crap an ecosystem is not a perfectly balanced and pristine landscape save for the intervention of humans. Its is naturally chaotic and ever changing otherwise it would have died out long ago and Earth would look a lot more like Mars right now.

 

[CRGreathouse]

Contrary to most new age crap an ecosystem is not a perfectly balanced and pristine landscape save for the intervention of humans. Its is naturally chaotic and ever changing otherwise it would have died out long ago and Earth would look a lot more like Mars right now.

Agreed. I like the idea that humans should preserve species (to better serve human needs, natch), but the preservation itself is unnatural! (Of course, we're failing at that aim regardless...)

 

[Phrak]

Contrary to most new age crap an ecosystem is not a perfectly balanced and pristine landscape save for the intervention of humans. Its is naturally chaotic and ever changing otherwise it would have died out long ago and Earth would look a lot more like Mars right now.

New age? That old stuff? Isn't this standard fare in kindergarden through high school?

 

[Ivan Seeking]

New age? That old stuff? Isn't this standard fare in kindergarden through high school?

Yes, new age; you know, like the warnings about DDT, dioxins, mercury, and lead.

Just listen to Rush sometime. He'll tell you all about it.

 

[Phrak]

Yes, new age; you know, like the warnings about DDT, dioxins, mercury, and lead.

Just listen to Rush sometime. He'll tell you all about it.

Do you ever make any sense? What are you talking about.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Do you ever make any sense? What are you talking about.

I was alluding to the fact that anytime we have concerns about evironmental issues, it is dismissed by people like Limbaugh as new-age mumbo jumbo.

The dangers of DDT, dioxins, mercury, and lead, were all once political issues, like species preservation is today. I can still remember people complaining about taking the lead out of [not adding] paint and gasoline! They too blamed the new-age mumbo jumbo [by whatever names were popular then...probably labled as "tree-hugger" or "hippy" issues]. It seems hard to believe now, but it's true. In fact to this day you can find people who complain about unleaded gasoline.

A book called Silent Spring, which was about the ravages of DDT, is [generally considered to be] what started the modern environmental movement. A point to note: The environmental movement was started by a biologist - Rachel Carson - not "hippies".

The world grows increasingly complex, but the nay-sayers just keep singing the same dead song. It is a mentality of simple denial.

 

[Jimmy Snyder]

I was alluding to the fact that anytime we have concerns about evironmental issues, it is dismissed by people like Limbaugh as new-age mumbo jumbo.

Guilt by association.

The dangers of DDT, dioxins, mercury, and lead, were all once political issues like species preservation. A book called Silent Spring, which was about the ravages of DDT, is [generally considered to be] what started the modern environmental movement.

I forget what this one's called. They laughed at Einstein too, so I must be right. Something like that.

The world grows increasingly complex, but the nay-sayers just keep singing the same dead song. It is a mentality of simple denial.

Somebody said "no" in the past and they were wrong. You are saying "no" now, so you must be wrong. You have a mentality of denial. I think this one has a name too, but I forget it.

 

[djeitnstine]

http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1888702,00.html

More animals currently on the brink.