What is the Holocene extinction event?

The Holocene extinction, also known as the sixth extinction or Anthropocene extinction, is an ongoing extinction event driven by human activity during the current geological epoch. It affects diverse plant and animal families across terrestrial and marine environments, with current rates estimated to be hundreds to thousands of times higher than natural background rates. The phenomenon was preceded by Late Pleistocene extinctions at the end of the last ice age.

What we know

• The Holocene extinction is an ongoing extinction event driven by human activity during the current geological epoch. [1, 2]
• Current extinction rates are estimated at 100 to 1,000 times higher than natural background extinction rates. [2]
• The event impacts diverse families of plants and animals, including mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, and invertebrates across both terrestrial and marine species. [2]
• Drivers of the extinction include anthropogenic climate change, deforestation, overfishing, ocean acidification, pollution, and the destruction of wetlands and critical habitats. [2]
• The Holocene extinction was preceded by the Late Pleistocene extinctions at the end of the last ice age and extinctions caused by Polynesian expansion. [2]

Where to go next

• what caused itHow did human activity trigger the Late Pleistocene extinctions?
• what followedWhat are the primary effects of ocean acidification on marine species?
• how it workedHow do scientists calculate natural background extinction rates?
• how we knowWhat physical evidence records extinction events across continents?
• the bigger pictureWhat were the major mass extinctions of the Phanerozoic eon?
• an unexpected connectionHow does the current extinction compare to the end-Triassic mass extinction?Both the end-Triassic mass extinction and the modern Holocene extinction feature major disruptions driven by rapid carbon dioxide release, global warming, and severe ocean acidification.

Sources

• [1]Holocene extinction (Wikidata Q796140) · CC0 1.0
• [2]Holocene extinction · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [3]Triassic–Jurassic extinction · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [4]Permian–Triassic extinction event · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [5]Late Devonian mass extinction · CC BY-SA 4.0

Your path

1. How does a tropical cyclone form?
2. /What is the Holocene extinction event?