At that time it was a meteorite and volcanoes destroyed life on Earth, but now it is because of humans.
If there is no drastic and rapid response to climate change, greenhouse gases that heat the oceans and consume their oxygen, as well as “habitats” and coastal pollution will destroy marine life.
The article, signed by scientists at the University of Washington and Princeton, recalled that high anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions are radically altering the terrestrial climate system and threatening many species.
The study warns that it is difficult to observe the impact of climate on biodiversity, especially in marine life, if one considers the fossil record that explains previous episodes of massive extinction caused by drastic environmental changes.The future of marine life as we know it, under widespread climate change, is uncertain“.
Using a comprehensive ecological model that measures the physiological limitations of an organism according to ocean temperature and oxygen estimates, the authors of the study, Justin Ben and Curtis Deutsch, estimated the risk of extinction of marine species under different warming conditions.
The result is, If global warming continues unabated, by the end of the Permian period, known as the Great Mortality of 250 million years ago, marine ecosystems throughout the planet will have suffered massive destruction in magnitude and intensity. Two-thirds of marine animals.
Following the study, tropical oceans are likely to lose more species due to climate change, although many of them migrate to higher latitudes and have more favorable conditions for survival.
Conversely, polar species should become extinct because their “habitats” will disappear completely.
One more warning
In another article published with the quoted article, Malin Pinsky and Alexa Friedston, scientists at Rutgers University in New Jersey, “Climate change is driving organisms from the ends of the earth“.
But they pointed out that reducing the risk of greenhouse gas emissions could reduce the risk of extinction by up to 70%.
In this way, they reinforced that preventing widespread loss of biodiversity and sixth mass extinction was now a “global priority”.
“Whether mankind faces the worst or worst situation depends not only on climate change, but also on community decisions about the destruction of “habitats”, overfishing and pollution of beaches.“, He warned.
In this way, Pinsky and Friedston maintained that “a concerted focus on confronting multiple threats, marine life has the best chance of survival this century and beyond.”