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Coral reefs are dying around the world. [146] Human activities have substantial impact on coral reefs, contributing to their worldwide decline. [147] Damaging activities encompass coral mining, pollution (both organic and non-organic), overfishing, blast fishing, as well as the excavation of canals and access points to islands and bays.
The diversity of species and genes in ecological communities affects the functioning of these communities. These ecological effects of biodiversity in turn are affected by both climate change through enhanced greenhouse gases, aerosols and loss of land cover [citation needed], and biological diversity, causing a rapid loss of biodiversity and extinctions of species and local populations.
Updated 2022 estimates show that even at a global average increase of 1.5 °C (2.7 °F) over pre-industrial temperatures, only 0.2% of the world's coral reefs would still be able to withstand marine heatwaves, as opposed to 84% being able to do so now, with the figure dropping to 0% at 2 °C (3.6 °F) warming and beyond.
Biodiversity loss has bad effects on the functioning of ecosystems. This in turn affects humans, [45] because affected ecosystems can no longer provide the same quality of ecosystem services, such as crop pollination, cleaning air and water, decomposing waste, and providing forest products as well as areas for recreation and tourism. [122]
The green world hypothesis proposes that predators are the primary regulators of ecosystems: they are the reason the world is 'green', by regulating the herbivores that would otherwise consume all the greenery. [1] [2] It is also known as the HSS hypothesis, after Hairston, Smith and Slobodkin, the authors of the seminal paper on the subject. [3]
This is a free online system that calculates the magnitude of the biological invasion impact or biopollution level (Narščius et al., 2012 [6]). BINPAS translates the existing data on miscellaneous invasive alien species impacts on population, community, habitat or ecosystem into uniform biopollution measurement units. The service is free of ...
Most biologists agree however that the period since human emergence is part of a new mass extinction, named the Holocene extinction event, caused primarily by the impact humans are having on the environment. [124] It has been argued that the present rate of extinction is sufficient to eliminate most species on the planet Earth within 100 years ...
The effects of climate change are impacting humans everywhere in the world. [233] Impacts can be observed on all continents and ocean regions, [234] with low-latitude, less developed areas facing the greatest risk. [235] Continued warming has potentially "severe, pervasive and irreversible impacts" for people and ecosystems. [236]