Species Extinction

The leatherback turtle lives on the coast of Suriname. Weighing up to 700 kilos (1,540 pounds) and as long as 2.5 meters (8 feet), it's the world's largest sea turtle.

But sheer size isn't enough to prevent it from dying out. Its reproductive patterns are highly sensitive to rising temperatures: sands in many areas are today so scorching that eggs cannot survive, and moreover, sand temperatures determine the sex ratio of turtle eggs. If the sand in which they lay their eggs gets too hot, more female turtles are produced – which destroys the natural gender balance and endangers breeding success over the long term.

A further problem is loss of nesting and feeding habitats due to rising sea-levels. Taken together, all this means their numbers are declining dramatically and they have been added to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) "red list" of threatened species. According to experts, if no action is taken to protect leatherbacks, these reptiles, which have existed for over 65 million years, will disappear in our lifetime.

Climate change and biodiversity

The United Nations declared 2010 to be the International Year of Biodiversity, with research showing that, via global warming, man is responsible for the greatest extinction of wildlife since the demise of the dinosaurs. One-fifth of the world's vertebrates face extinction, according to the latest figures released by the IUCN.

In fact, the role played by global warming is a matter of keen debate. Many scientists believe that other factors contribute, such as poaching, and the fact that the consequences of climate change are intensified by pollution.

Climate change is also having severe impacts on migratory species. That is also likely to be increasingly disruptive, experts say.

"These days, you come across species in places where they've never been before," said Wendy Foden, of the Species Program run by the IUCN in London. "Some species are migrating to colder regions, and in South America, that means further south and higher altitudes."

Marine life is equally affected but the animals have fewer migratory options. Increased CO2 levels in the atmosphere are changing ocean pH levels, a process which alters many species' habitat.

What it means for mankind

Helen Foden cites the example of the clownfish. “When the water is more acidic than usual, clownfish start to lose their sense of smell," she said.

Like many reef and coastal fish, clownfish are swept off their home reefs into the open ocean as babies, and use their acute senses of smell to find their way back. The tiny larvae of many coastal fish rely on scent cues in the water to help locate adult habitat.

IUCN experts now hope to use the popularity of the clownfish to raise awareness of how climate change is impacting ecosystems. "Thanks to the movie ‘Finding Nemo,' everyone is familiar with clownfish," said Foden.

Species extinction has an immediate effect on mankind. According to a recent survey carried out in Germany, two-thirds of those questioned said that they would be personally affected by biodiversity loss, but mainly in terms of their leisure-time activities.

In fact, the repercussions will be significantly further-reaching.

The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) study is a major international initiative set up to draw attention to the global economic benefits of biodiversity and to highlight the growing costs of biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation. It puts the worldwide economic value of the pollination service provided by insect pollinators, for example, at some €153 billion ($210 billion) – proof that species' extinction is about far more than leisure activities.

However, the TEEB study has been unable to give a precise figure to the cost of loss of biodiversity, simply because many species have never been identified.

Unknown species

Some 1.9 million species are officially catalogued, but this is believed to be just a small percentage of the species that actually exist. Researchers estimate that about 100 species die out every year, and since their function in the ecosystem is not necessarily known, scientists are not in a position to identify the consequences of their extinction.

Gudrun Mernitz is co-founder of the Resource Center for Marine Organisms. She and her team have isolated several hundred substances out of marine micro-organisms, which are now being examined as potential components in pharmaceuticals.

"Several might be active against types of cancer," said Mernitz.

In the past 10 years, some 6 percent of medicines developed were derived from natural substances, says Rolf Hoemke from the Association of Research-Based Pharmaceuticals Companies. "It might be anything, even the intestines of a bug," he said.

The pharmaceutical potential of biodiversity should not underestimated. Researchers from Conservation International take regular field trips to document biodiversity and to locate where the establishment of conservation areas would be most constructive. The idea is that by protecting animal and plant species from pollution and poaching, they may adjust over time to climate change.

Author: Marion Huetter (jp)
Editor: Jennifer Abramsohn