Editing Holocene extinction (section)

==Overview==
[[File:Moa mock hunt.jpg|thumb|The [[moa]] in New Zealand went extinct in the mid 15th century due to overhunting and habitat destruction by the [[Māori people]]. Prior to the arrival of the Māori a century earlier, New Zealand was uninhabited by humans.]]

The precise timing of the Holocene extinction event remains debated, with no clear consensus on when it began or whether it should be considered distinct from the [[Quaternary extinction event]].<ref name="Doughty, C. E. 2010">{{cite journal |last1=Doughty |first1=C. E. |last2=Wolf |first2=A. |last3=Field |first3=C. B. |year=2010 |title=Biophysical feedbacks between the Pleistocene megafauna extinction and climate: The first human-induced global warming? |journal=Geophysical Research Letters |volume=37 |issue=15 |pages=n/a |bibcode=2010GeoRL..3715703D |doi=10.1029/2010GL043985 |s2cid=54849882 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name="link.springer.com">{{cite journal|last1=Grayson|first1 =Donald K.|last2=Meltzer|first2=David J.|title=Clovis Hunting and Large Mammal Extinction: A Critical Review of the Evidence|journal=Journal of World Prehistory|date=December 2012|volume=16|issue=4|pages=313–359|doi=10.1023/A:1022912030020|s2cid =162794300}}</ref> However, most scientists agree that human activities are the primary driver of the Holocene extinction.<ref name="dirzo" /><ref name="Zalasiewicz2015" /><ref name="SpecialIssue">{{Cite journal |last=Vignieri |first=S. |date=25 July 2014 |title=Vanishing fauna (Special issue) |journal=Science |volume=345 |issue=6195 |pages=392–412 |bibcode=2014Sci...345..392V |doi=10.1126/science.345.6195.392 |pmid=25061199 |doi-access=free}}</ref> A 1998 survey conducted by the [[American Museum of Natural History]] found that 70% of biologists acknowledged an ongoing anthropogenic extinction event.<ref>{{cite web |year=1998 |title=National Survey Reveals Biodiversity Crisis – Scientific Experts Believe We are in Midst of Fastest Mass Extinction in Earth's History |url=http://www.mysterium.com/amnh.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190629002116/http://www.mysterium.com/amnh.html |archive-date=29 June 2019 |access-date=10 February 2018 |publisher=American Museum of Natural History Press Release}}</ref> Some researchers suggested that the activities of earlier [[archaic humans]] may have contributed to earlier extinctions,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Faith |first1=J. Tyler |last2=Rowan |first2=John |last3=Du |first3=Andrew |last4=Barr |first4=W. Andrew |date=July 2020 |title=The uncertain case for human-driven extinctions prior to Homo sapiens |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0033589420000514/type/journal_article |journal=Quaternary Research |language=en |volume=96 |pages=88–104 |doi=10.1017/qua.2020.51 |bibcode=2020QuRes..96...88F |issn=0033-5894}}</ref> especially in [[Australian megafauna|Australia]], [[List of extinct animals of New Zealand|New Zealand]], and [[List of African animals extinct in the Holocene|Madagascar]].<ref name="Kolbert-2014">{{Cite book|last=Kolbert|first=Elizabeth|author-link=Elizabeth Kolbert|title=The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History|title-link=The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History|year=2014|publisher=[[Henry Holt and Company]]|location=New York City|isbn=978-0805092998}}</ref> Even modest hunting pressure, combined with the vulnerability of large animals on [[Geographical isolation|isolated islands]], is thought to have been enough to wipe out entire species.<ref name="Perry-2014">{{Cite journal |last1=Perry |first1=George L. W. |last2=Wheeler |first2=Andrew B. |last3=Wood |first3=Jamie R. |last4=Wilmshurst |first4=Janet M. |date=2014-12-01 |title=A high-precision chronology for the rapid extinction of New Zealand moa (Aves, Dinornithiformes) |journal=[[Quaternary Science Reviews]] |volume=105 |pages=126–135 |bibcode=2014QSRv..105..126P |doi=10.1016/j.quascirev.2014.09.025}}</ref><ref name="Crowley-2010">{{Cite journal |last=Crowley |first=Brooke E. |date=2010-09-01 |title=A refined chronology of prehistoric Madagascar and the demise of the megafauna |journal=Quaternary Science Reviews |series=Special Theme: Case Studies of Neodymium Isotopes in Paleoceanography |volume=29 |issue=19–20 |pages=2591–2603 |bibcode=2010QSRv...29.2591C |doi=10.1016/j.quascirev.2010.06.030}}</ref> Only in the more recent stages of the Holocene have [[Effect of climate change on plant biodiversity|plants suffered extensive losses]], which are also linked to human activities such as deforestation and land conversion.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Li |first=Sophia |date=2012-09-20 |title=Has Plant Life Reached Its Limits? |url=http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/20/has-plant-life-reached-its-limits/?_r=0 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180620002309/https://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/20/has-plant-life-reached-its-limits/?_r=0 |archive-date=2018-06-20 |access-date=2016-01-22 |website=Green Blog}}</ref>

=== Extinction rate ===
The contemporary rate of extinction is estimated at 100 to 1,000 times higher than the natural [[background extinction rate]]—the typical rate of species loss through natural evolutionary processes.<ref name="Pimm-1995">{{cite journal |last1=Pimm |first1=Stuart L. |last2=Russell |first2=Gareth J. |last3=Gittleman |first3=John L. |last4=Brooks |first4=Thomas M. |year=1995 |title=The Future of Biodiversity |journal=Science |volume=269 |issue=5222 |pages=347–350 |bibcode=1995Sci...269..347P |doi=10.1126/science.269.5222.347 |pmid=17841251 |s2cid=35154695}}</ref><ref name="Teyssèdre-2004" /><ref name="De Vos"/><ref name="lawton95">{{cite journal |author1=Lawton, J. H. |author2=May, R. M. |year=1995 |title=Extinction Rates |journal=Journal of Evolutionary Biology |volume=9 |pages=124–126 |doi=10.1046/j.1420-9101.1996.t01-1-9010124.x |doi-access=free}}</ref> One estimation suggested the rate could be as high as 10,000 times the [[background extinction rate]], though this figure remains controversial.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lawton |first1=J. H. |last2=May |first2=R. M. |year=1995 |title=Extinction Rates |journal=Journal of Evolutionary Biology |volume=9 |issue=1 |pages=124–126 |doi=10.1046/j.1420-9101.1996.t01-1-9010124.x |doi-access=free}}</ref> [[Theoretical ecologist]] [[Stuart Pimm]] has noted that the extinction rate for plants alone is 100 times higher than normal.<ref>{{cite news |last=Li |first=S. |year=2012 |title=Has Plant Life Reached Its Limits? |newspaper=New York Times |url=http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/20/has-plant-life-reached-its-limits/ |access-date=10 February 2018 |archive-date=1 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191001025602/https://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/20/has-plant-life-reached-its-limits/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

While some argue that the current extinction rates have not yet reached the catastrophic levels of past mass extinctions,<ref>{{cite news |last=Woodward |first=Aylin |date=April 8, 2019 |title=So many animals are going extinct that it could take Earth 10 million years to recover |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/mass-extinction-earth-take-10-million-years-recover-2019-4 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191008072528/https://www.businessinsider.com/mass-extinction-earth-take-10-million-years-recover-2019-4 |archive-date=October 8, 2019 |access-date=April 9, 2019 |work=Business Insider |quote="Lowery doesn't think we've strayed into Sixth Extinction territory yet. But he and Fraass agree that squabbling over what constitutes that distinction is beside the point. "We have to work to save biodiversity before it's gone. That's the important takeaway here," Lowery said. There is consensus on one aspect of the extinction trend, however: Homo sapiens are to blame. According to a 2014 study, current extinction rates are 1,000 times higher than they would be if humans weren't around."}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Brannen |first=Peter |date=13 June 2017 |title=Earth Is Not in the Midst of a Sixth Mass Extinction |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2017/06/the-ends-of-the-world/529545/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201209100725/https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2017/06/the-ends-of-the-world/529545/ |archive-date=9 December 2020 |access-date=28 November 2020 |website=The Atlantic |quote=Many of those making facile comparisons between the current situation and past mass extinctions don’t have a clue about the difference in the nature of the data, much less how truly awful the mass extinctions recorded in the marine fossil record actually were.}}</ref> [[Anthony David Barnosky|Barnosky]] et al. (2011) and Hull et al. (2015) point out that extinction rates during past mass extinctions cannot be fully determined due to gaps in the fossil record.<ref name="Barnosky2011" /><ref name="Hull et al. 2015">{{cite journal |last1=Hull |first1=Pincelli M. |last2=Darroch |first2=Simon A. F. |last3=Erwin |first3=Douglas H. |date=17 December 2015 |title=Rarity in mass extinctions and the future of ecosystems |journal=Nature |volume=528 |issue=7582 |pages=345–351 |bibcode=2015Natur.528..345H |doi=10.1038/nature16160 |pmid=26672552 |s2cid=4464936}}</ref> However, they agree that the ongoing biodiversity loss is nonetheless unprecedented.<ref name="Barnosky2011" /> Estimates of species lost per year vary widely—from 1.5 to 40,000 species—but all indicate that human activity is driving this crisis.<ref name="Briggs 2017">{{cite journal |last1=Briggs |first1=John C. |date=12 May 2017 |title=Emergence of a sixth mass extinction? |url=https://academic.oup.com/biolinnean/article/122/2/243/3869095 |url-status=live |journal=Biological Journal of the Linnean Society |volume=122 |issue=2 |pages=243–248 |doi=10.1093/biolinnean/blx063 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210822182609/https://academic.oup.com/biolinnean/article/122/2/243/3869095 |archive-date=22 August 2021 |access-date=22 August 2021 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

In ''The Future of Life'' (2002), biologist [[E.O. Wilson|Edward Osborne Wilson]] predicted that, if current trend continues, half of Earth's higher lifeforms could be extinct by 2100. More recent studies further support this view. A 2015 study on Hawaiian snails suggested that up to 7% of Earth's species may already be extinct.<ref name="Phys.org-2015">{{cite web |year=2015 |title=Research shows catastrophic invertebrate extinction in Hawai'i and globally |url=http://phys.org/news/2015-08-catastrophic-invertebrate-extinction-hawaii-globally.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191230202726/http://phys.org/news/2015-08-catastrophic-invertebrate-extinction-hawaii-globally.html |archive-date=30 December 2019 |access-date=10 February 2018 |publisher=Phys.org}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Régnier |first1=Claire |last2=Achaz |first2=Guillaume |last3=Lambert |first3=Amaury |last4=Cowie |first4=Robert H. |last5=Bouchet |first5=Philippe |last6=Fontaine |first6=Benoît |date=23 June 2015 |title=Mass extinction in poorly known taxa |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |volume=112 |issue=25 |pages=7761–7766 |bibcode=2015PNAS..112.7761R |doi=10.1073/pnas.1502350112 |pmc=4485135 |pmid=26056308 |doi-access=free}}</ref> A 2021 study also found that only around 3% of the planet's terrestrial surface remains ecologically and [[fauna]]lly intact—areas still with healthy populations of native species and minimal human footprint.<ref>{{cite news|last=Carrington|first=Damian|date=April 15, 2021|title=Just 3% of world's ecosystems remain intact, study suggests|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/apr/15/just-3-of-worlds-ecosystems-remain-intact-study-suggests|work=The Guardian|location=|access-date=April 16, 2021|archive-date=November 24, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211124133706/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/apr/15/just-3-of-worlds-ecosystems-remain-intact-study-suggests|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Plumptre|first1=Andrew J.|last2=Baisero|first2=Daniele|display-authors=etal.|date=2021|title=Where Might We Find Ecologically Intact Communities?|journal=Frontiers in Forests and Global Change|volume=4|issue= |pages= |doi=10.3389/ffgc.2021.626635|bibcode=2021FrFGC...4.6635P |doi-access=free|hdl=10261/242175|hdl-access=free}}</ref> A 2022 study suggests that if global warming continues, between 13% and 27% of terrestrial vertebrate species could be driven to extinction by 2100, with [[Habitat destruction|habitat destructions]] and [[Coextinction|co-extinctions]] accounting for the rest.<ref>{{cite news |last=Newcomb |first=Tim |date=January 18, 2023 |title=Supercomputer Says 27% of Life on Earth Will Be Dead by the End of This Century |url=https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/environment/a42556557/supercomputer-mass-extinction-predictions/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230118225320/https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/environment/a42556557/supercomputer-mass-extinction-predictions/ |archive-date=January 18, 2023 |access-date=January 19, 2023 |work=[[Popular Mechanics]] |location=}}</ref><ref name="Strona" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Murali |first1=Gopal |last2=Iwamura |first2=Takuya Iwamura |last3=Meiri |first3=Shai |last4=Roll |first4=Uri |date=January 18, 2023 |title=Future temperature extremes threaten land vertebrates |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-05606-z |url-status=live |journal=Nature |language=en |volume=615 |issue=7952 |pages=461–467 |bibcode=2023Natur.615..461M |doi=10.1038/s41586-022-05606-z |pmid=36653454 |s2cid=255974196 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230512155513/https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-05606-z |archive-date=May 12, 2023 |access-date=June 21, 2023}}</ref>

The 2019 ''[[Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services]]'', published by the United Nations [[Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services|IPBES]], estimated that about one million species are currently at risk of extinction within decades due to human activities.<ref>{{cite news |last=Plumer |first=Brad |date=May 6, 2019 |title=Humans Are Speeding Extinction and Altering the Natural World at an 'Unprecedented' Pace |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/06/climate/biodiversity-extinction-united-nations.html |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |access-date=May 6, 2019 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220103/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/06/climate/biodiversity-extinction-united-nations.html |archive-date=2022-01-03 |quote=“Human actions threaten more species with global extinction now than ever before,” the report concludes, estimating that “around 1 million species already face extinction, many within decades, unless action is taken.”}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite press release |date=May 6, 2019 |title=Media Release: Nature's Dangerous Decline 'Unprecedented'; Species Extinction Rates 'Accelerating' |work=[[Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services]] |url=https://www.ipbes.net/media-release-nature%e2%80%99s-dangerous-decline-%e2%80%98unprecedented%e2%80%99-species-extinction-rates-%e2%80%98accelerating%e2%80%99 |access-date=May 6, 2019 |archive-date=June 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230621205520/https://www.ipbes.net/media-release-nature%E2%80%99s-dangerous-decline-%E2%80%98unprecedented%E2%80%99-species-extinction-rates-%E2%80%98accelerating%E2%80%99 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=May 6, 2019 |title=World is 'on notice' as major UN report shows one million species face extinction |work=UN News |url=https://news.un.org/en/story/2019/05/1037941 |access-date=January 8, 2020 |archive-date=March 2, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200302155207/https://news.un.org/en/story/2019/05/1037941 |url-status=live }}</ref> Organized human existence is jeopardised by increasingly rapid destruction of the systems that support life on Earth, according to the report, the result of one of the most comprehensive studies of the health of the planet ever conducted.<ref name="Watts2019" />  Moreover, the 2021 ''Economics of Biodiversity'' review, published by the UK government, asserts that "biodiversity is declining faster than at any time in human history."<ref>{{cite web |last=Dasgupta |first=Partha |author-link=Partha Dasgupta |date=2021 |title=The Economics of Biodiversity: The Dasgupta Review Headline Messages |publisher=UK government |page=1 |url=https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/957629/Dasgupta_Review_-_Headline_Messages.pdf |access-date=December 15, 2021 |quote=Biodiversity is declining faster than at any time in human history. Current extinction rates, for example, are around 100 to 1,000 times higher than the baseline rate, and they are increasing. |archive-date=May 20, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220520070152/https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/957629/Dasgupta_Review_-_Headline_Messages.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Carrington |first=Damian |date=February 2, 2021 |title=Economics of biodiversity review: what are the recommendations? |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/feb/02/economics-of-biodiversity-review-what-are-the-recommendations |access-date=15 December 2021 |archive-date=24 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220524182314/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/feb/02/economics-of-biodiversity-review-what-are-the-recommendations |url-status=live }}</ref> According to a 2022 study published in ''[[Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment]]'', a survey of more than 3,000 experts says that the extent of the mass extinction might be greater than previously thought, and estimates that roughly 30% of species "have been globally threatened or driven extinct since the year 1500."<ref>{{cite news|last=Melillo|first=Gianna|date=July 19, 2022|title=Threat of global extinction may be greater than previously thought, study finds|work=The Hill|url=https://thehill.com/changing-america/sustainability/environment/3565945-threat-of-global-extinction-may-be-greater-than-previously-thought-study-finds/|access-date=July 20, 2022|archive-date=July 19, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220719180734/https://thehill.com/changing-america/sustainability/environment/3565945-threat-of-global-extinction-may-be-greater-than-previously-thought-study-finds/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Isbell |first1=Forest |last2=Balvanera|first2=Patricia|display-authors=etal.|date=2022 |title=Expert perspectives on global biodiversity loss and its drivers and impacts on people|journal=Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment |volume=21|issue=2|pages=94–103|doi=10.1002/fee.2536|s2cid=250659953|doi-access=free|hdl=10852/101242|hdl-access=free}}</ref> In a 2022 report, IPBES listed unsustainable fishing, hunting, and [[Overlogging|logging]] as some of the primary drivers of the global extinction crisis.<ref>{{cite news|last=Briggs|first=Helen|date=July 8, 2022|title=Unsustainable logging, fishing and hunting 'driving extinction'|work=BBC|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-62094405|access-date=August 8, 2022|archive-date=August 1, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220801105751/https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-62094405|url-status=live}}</ref> 

A 2023 study published in ''[[PLOS One]]'' shows that around two million species are threatened with extinction, double the estimate put forward in the 2019 IPBES report.<ref>{{cite news |last=Weston|first=Phoebe |date=November 8, 2023 |title=Number of species at risk of extinction doubles to 2 million, says study|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/nov/08/species-at-risk-extinction-doubles-to-2-million-aoe|work=The Guardian |location= |access-date=November 9, 2023}}</ref> According to a 2023 study published in ''[[PNAS]]'', at least 73 [[genera]] of animals have gone extinct since 1500. If humans had never existed, the study estimates it would have taken 18,000 years for the same genera to have disappeared naturally, leading the authors to conclude that "the current generic extinction rates are 35 times higher than expected background rates prevailing in the last million years under the absence of human impacts" and that human civilization is causing the "rapid mutilation of the tree of life."<ref>{{cite news|last=Rozsa|first=Matthew|date=September 19, 2023|title=Experts warn of a "biological holocaust" as human-caused extinction "mutilates" the tree of life|url=https://www.salon.com/2023/09/19/experts-warn-of-a-biological-holocaust-as-human-caused-extinction-mutilates-the-tree-of-life/|work=[[Salon.com]]|location=|access-date=September 19, 2023|archive-date=September 19, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230919114125/https://www.salon.com/2023/09/19/experts-warn-of-a-biological-holocaust-as-human-caused-extinction-mutilates-the-tree-of-life/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1= Ceballos|first1=Gerardo|last2=Ehrlich|first2=Paul R.|date=2023 |title=Mutilation of the tree of life via mass extinction of animal genera|url= |journal=[[Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America]]|volume=120 |issue=39 |pages=e2306987120|doi=10.1073/pnas.2306987120|doi-access=free |pmid=37722053 |pmc=10523489 |bibcode=2023PNAS..12006987C |access-date=}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Greenfield|first=Patrick|date=September 19, 2023|title='Mutilating the tree of life': Wildlife loss accelerating, scientists warn|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/sep/19/mutilating-the-tree-of-life-wildlife-loss-accelerating-scientists-warn|work=The Guardian|location=|access-date=September 19, 2023|archive-date=September 25, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230925213112/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/sep/19/mutilating-the-tree-of-life-wildlife-loss-accelerating-scientists-warn|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Attribution ===
{{quote box|align=right|width=25em|quote=We are currently, in a systematic manner, exterminating all non-human living beings.|source=—[[Anne Larigauderie]], [[IPBES]] executive secretary<ref>{{cite book |last=Hickel |first=Jason|author-link=Jason Hickel|title=Less is More: How Degrowth Will Save the World |year=2021|publisher=Windmill Books|page=9|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mLbIDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT17 |isbn=978-1786091215}}</ref>}}

There is widespread consensus among scientists that human activities—especially habitat destruction, resource consumption, and the elimination of species—are the main drivers of the current extinction crisis.<ref name="SpecialIssue"/> Rising extinction rates among mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and other groups have led many scientists to declare a global biodiversity crisis.<ref name="rapidrise">{{cite journal|last1=Andermann |first1=Tobias|last2=Faurby|first2=Søren|last3=Turvey|first3=Samuel T. |last4=Antonelli|first4=Alexandre |last5=Silvestro|first5=Daniele|title=The past and future human impact on mammalian diversity |journal=Science Advances|date=September 2020|volume=6|issue=36|at=eabb2313 |doi=10.1126/sciadv.abb2313 |pmid=32917612|pmc=7473673|bibcode=2020SciA....6.2313A|issn=2375-2548}} [[File:CC-BY icon.svg|50px]] Text and images are available under a [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171016050101/https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |date=2017-10-16 }}.</ref>

=== Scientific debate ===
[[File:Human population since 1800.png|alt=|thumb|World [[World population|human population]] since 1800 in billions. Data from the [https://population.un.org/wpp/ United Nations projections in 2019].]]
The description of recent extinction as a mass extinction has been debated among scientists. [[Stuart Pimm]], for example, asserts that the sixth mass extinction "is something that hasn't happened yet—we are on the edge of it."<ref name="Carrington">{{cite news |last=Carrington |first=Damian |date=10 July 2017 |title=Earth's sixth mass extinction event under way, scientists warn |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jul/10/earths-sixth-mass-extinction-event-already-underway-scientists-warn |access-date=November 4, 2017 |archive-date=2 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200102063436/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jul/10/earths-sixth-mass-extinction-event-already-underway-scientists-warn |url-status=live }}</ref> Several studies posit that the Earth has entered a sixth mass extinction event,<ref name="dirzo" /><ref name="Wake2008" /><ref name="Ceballos-Ehrlich-2017-05" /><ref name="Ceballos2020" /> including a 2015 paper by Barnosky et al.<ref name=ceballos/> and a November 2017 statement titled "[[World Scientists' Warning to Humanity#Second notice|World Scientists' Warning to Humanity: A Second Notice]]", led by eight authors and signed by 15,364 scientists from 184 countries which asserted, among other things, that "we have unleashed a mass extinction event, the sixth in roughly 540 million years, wherein many current life forms could be extirpated or at least committed to extinction by the end of this century."<ref name="WorldScientists">{{cite journal|vauthors=Ripple WJ, Wolf C, Newsome TM, Galetti M, Alamgir M, Crist E, Mahmoud MI, Laurance WF|title=World Scientists' Warning to Humanity: A Second Notice|journal=[[BioScience]] |volume=67|issue=12|pages=1026–1028|date=13 November 2017|doi=10.1093/biosci/bix125 |url=http://scientistswarning.forestry.oregonstate.edu/sites/sw/files/Warning_article_with_supp_11-13-17.pdf|quote=Moreover, we have unleashed a mass extinction event, the sixth in roughly 540 million years, wherein many current life forms could be annihilated or at least committed to extinction by the end of this century.|access-date=12 July 2018|url-status=dead|archive-date=15 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191215010626/https://scientistswarning.forestry.oregonstate.edu/sites/sw/files/Warning_article_with_supp_11-13-17.pdf}}</ref> The [[World Wide Fund for Nature]]'s 2020 ''[[Living Planet Report]]'' says that [[wildlife]] populations have declined by 68% since 1970 as a result of [[overconsumption]], [[population growth]], and [[intensive farming]], which is further evidence that humans have unleashed a sixth mass extinction event; however, this finding has been disputed by one 2020 study, which posits that this major decline was primarily driven by a few extreme outlier populations, and that when these outliers are removed, the trend shifts to that of a decline between the 1980s and 2000s, but a roughly positive trend after 2000.<ref>{{cite news|last=Greenfield|first=Patrick|date=September 9, 2020|title=Humans exploiting and destroying nature on unprecedented scale – report|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/sep/10/humans-exploiting-and-destroying-nature-on-unprecedented-scale-report-aoe|work=The Guardian|access-date=September 10, 2020|archive-date=October 21, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211021225045/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/sep/10/humans-exploiting-and-destroying-nature-on-unprecedented-scale-report-aoe|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Briggs|first=Helen|date=September 10, 2020|title=Wildlife in 'catastrophic decline' due to human destruction, scientists warn|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-54091048|work=BBC|access-date=September 10, 2020|archive-date=January 10, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210110233814/https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-54091048|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Lewis2020">{{cite news|last=Lewis|first=Sophie|date=September 9, 2020|title=Animal populations worldwide have declined by almost 70% in just 50 years, new report says|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/biodiversity-endangered-species-animal-population-decline-world-wildlife-fund-report-2020-09-09/|work=[[CBS News]]|access-date=October 22, 2020|archive-date=September 10, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200910152119/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/biodiversity-endangered-species-animal-population-decline-world-wildlife-fund-report-2020-09-09/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Leung|first1=Brian|last2=Hargreaves|first2=Anna L.|last3=Greenberg|first3=Dan A.|last4=McGill|first4=Brian|last5=Dornelas|first5=Maria|last6=Freeman|first6=Robin|date=December 2020|title=Clustered versus catastrophic global vertebrate declines|journal=Nature|volume=588|issue=7837|pages=267–271|doi=10.1038/s41586-020-2920-6|pmid=33208939|bibcode=2020Natur.588..267L|hdl=10023/23213|s2cid=227065128|issn=1476-4687|url=https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10116420/3/Freeman_Leung_et_al_Vertebrate_Declines_final3e.pdf|hdl-access=free|access-date=2024-04-26|archive-date=2023-12-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231203132327/https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10116420/3/Freeman_Leung_et_al_Vertebrate_Declines_final3e.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> A 2021 report in ''Frontiers in Conservation Science'' which cites both of the aforementioned studies, says "population sizes of vertebrate species that have been monitored across years have declined by an average of 68% over the last five decades, with certain population clusters in extreme decline, thus presaging the imminent extinction of their species," and asserts "that we are already on the path of a sixth major extinction is now scientifically undeniable."<ref name="Bradshaw2021">{{cite journal|last1=Bradshaw |first1=Corey J. A.|last2=Ehrlich|first2=Paul R. |last3=Beattie|first3=Andrew |last4=Ceballos |first4=Gerardo|last5=Crist|first5=Eileen|last6=Diamond|first6=Joan|last7=Dirzo|first7=Rodolfo |last8=Ehrlich|first8=Anne H.|last9=Harte|first9=John|last10=Harte|first10=Mary Ellen|last11=Pyke |first11=Graham |last12=Raven|first12=Peter H.|last13=Ripple|first13=William J.|last14=Saltré |first14=Frédérik|last15=Turnbull|first15=Christine|last16=Wackernagel|first16=Mathis|last17=Blumstein |first17=Daniel T.|date=2021 |title=Underestimating the Challenges of Avoiding a Ghastly Future |journal=Frontiers in Conservation Science|volume=1|issue=|pages=|doi=10.3389/fcosc.2020.615419|doi-access=free|bibcode=2021FrCS....1.5419B }}</ref> A January 2022 [[review article]] published in ''Biological Reviews'' builds upon previous studies documenting biodiversity decline to assert that a sixth mass extinction event caused by anthropogenic activity is currently under way.<ref name="Cowie">{{cite journal |last1=Cowie |first1=Robert H. |last2=Bouchet |first2=Philippe |last3=Fontaine |first3=Benoît |date=2022 |title=The Sixth Mass Extinction: fact, fiction or speculation? |journal=Biological Reviews |volume=97 |issue=2 |pages=640–663 |doi=10.1111/brv.12816 |pmid=35014169 |pmc=9786292 |quote=Our review lays out arguments clearly demonstrating that there is a biodiversity crisis, quite probably the start of the Sixth Mass Extinction. |s2cid=245889833}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Sankaran|first=Vishwam|date=January 17, 2022|title=Study confirms sixth mass extinction is currently underway, caused by humans|work=[[The Independent]]|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/sixth-mass-extinction-global-biodiversity-b1994346.html|access-date=January 17, 2022|archive-date=January 17, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220117205431/https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/sixth-mass-extinction-global-biodiversity-b1994346.html|url-status=live}}</ref> A December 2022 study published in ''[[Science Advances]]'' states that "the planet has entered the sixth mass extinction" and warns that current anthropogenic trends, particularly regarding climate and [[land-use change]]s, could result in the loss of more than a tenth of plant and animal species by the end of the century.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Strona |first1= Giovanni |last2=Bradshaw |first2=Corey J. A. |date=16 December 2022 |title=Coextinctions dominate future vertebrate losses from climate and land use change|url= |journal=Science Advances|volume=8 |issue=50 |pages= eabn4345|doi=10.1126/sciadv.abn4345|pmid= 36525487 |pmc= 9757742 |bibcode= 2022SciA....8N4345S |s2cid= 254803380 |access-date=}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Greenfield |first=Patrick |date=16 December 2022 |title=More than 1 in 10 species could be lost by end of century, study warns|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/dec/16/more-than-1-in-10-species-could-be-lost-by-end-of-century-study-warns-aoe|work=The Guardian |location= |access-date=18 December 2022}}</ref> 12% of all bird species are threatened with extinction.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Pimm |first1=Stuart |last2=Raven |first2=Peter |last3=Peterson |first3=Alan |last4=Şekercioğlu |first4=Çağan H. |last5=Ehrlich |first5=Paul R. |date=18 July 2006 |title=Human impacts on the rates of recent, present, and future bird extinctions |journal=[[Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America]] |language=en |volume=103 |issue=29 |pages=10941–10946 |doi=10.1073/pnas.0604181103 |doi-access=free |issn=0027-8424 |pmc=1544153 |pmid=16829570 }}</ref> A 2023 study published in ''Biological Reviews'' found that, of 70,000 monitored species, some 48% are experiencing population declines from anthropogenic pressures, whereas only 3% have increasing populations.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--not stated--> |date=May 23, 2023 |title=Biodiversity: Almost half of animals in decline, research shows |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-65681648 |work=BBC |location= |access-date=May 23, 2023 |archive-date=July 17, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230717222234/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-65681648 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Finn|first1=Catherine|last2=Grattarola|first2=Florencia |last3=Pincheira-Donoso|first3=Daniel |date=2023 |title=More losers than winners: investigating Anthropocene defaunation through the diversity of population trends|url= |journal=Biological Reviews|volume= 98|issue= 5|pages= 1732–1748|doi=10.1111/brv.12974|pmid=37189305 |s2cid=258717720 |access-date=}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Paddison|first=Laura|date=May 22, 2023|title=Global loss of wildlife is 'significantly more alarming' than previously thought, according to a new study|url=https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/22/world/wildlife-crisis-biodiversity-scn-climate-intl/index.html|work=CNN|location=|access-date=May 23, 2023|archive-date=May 25, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230525012839/https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/22/world/wildlife-crisis-biodiversity-scn-climate-intl/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

According to the [[UNDP]]'s 2020 [[Human Development Report]], ''The Next Frontier: Human Development and the Anthropocene'':

{{blockquote|text=The planet's biodiversity is plunging, with a quarter of species facing extinction, many within decades. Numerous experts believe we are living through, or on the cusp of, a mass species extinction event, the sixth in the history of the planet and the first to be caused by a single organism—us.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://hdr.undp.org/sites/default/files/hdr_2020_overview_english.pdf|title=The Next Frontier: Human Development and the Anthropocene|date=December 15, 2020|page=3|publisher=UNDP|access-date=December 16, 2020|archive-date=December 16, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201216001954/http://hdr.undp.org/sites/default/files/hdr_2020_overview_english.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>}}

The 2022 ''Living Planet Report'' found that vertebrate wildlife populations have plummeted by an average of almost 70% since 1970, with agriculture and fishing being the primary drivers of this decline.<ref>{{cite news |last=Greenfield|first=Patrick |date=October 12, 2022 |title=Animal populations experience average decline of almost 70% since 1970, report reveals |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/oct/13/almost-70-of-animal-populations-wiped-out-since-1970-report-reveals-aoe|work=The Guardian |access-date=October 15, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Einhorn|first=Catrin|date=October 12, 2022|title=Researchers Report a Staggering Decline in Wildlife. Here's How to Understand It.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/12/climate/living-planet-index-wildlife-declines.html|work=The New York Times|location=|access-date=October 15, 2022|archive-date=October 14, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221014202709/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/12/climate/living-planet-index-wildlife-declines.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Some scientists, including [[Rodolfo Dirzo]] and [[Paul R. Ehrlich]], contend that the sixth mass extinction is largely unknown to most people globally and is also misunderstood by many in the scientific community. They say it is not the disappearance of species, which gets the most attention, that is at the heart of the crisis, but "the existential threat of myriad population extinctions."<ref name="Dirzo2022">{{cite journal |last1=Dirzo |first1=Rodolfo|last2=Ceballos|first2=Gerardo|last3=Ehrlich |first3=Paul R. |date=2022 |title=Circling the drain: the extinction crisis and the future of humanity |journal=[[Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B]] |volume=377|issue=1857 |pages= |doi=10.1098/rstb.2021.0378|pmid=35757873 |pmc=9237743}}</ref>

===Anthropocene===
{{Main|Anthropocene}}
[[File:Ecological Processes Coral Reefs.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|A diagram showing the ecological processes of [[coral reef]]s before and during the [[Anthropocene]]]]
The abundance of species extinctions considered [[human impact on the environment|anthropogenic]], or due to human activity, has sometimes (especially when referring to hypothesized future events) been collectively called the "Anthropocene extinction".<ref name="SpecialIssue"/><ref name="wooldridge2008">{{cite journal|doi=10.5194/bgd-5-2401-2008|last=Wooldridge|first=S. A.|date=9 June 2008|title=Mass extinctions past and present: a unifying hypothesis|journal=Biogeosciences Discussions|volume=5|pages=2401–2423|issue=3|url=https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00298014/file/bgd-5-2401-2008.pdf|bibcode=2008BGD.....5.2401W|s2cid=2346412|doi-access=free|access-date=2 September 2019|archive-date=2 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190902164730/https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00298014/file/bgd-5-2401-2008.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="jackson2008">{{Cite journal|issn=0027-8424 |pmid=18695220|pmc=2556419|doi=10.1073/pnas.0802812105|date=Aug 2008 |title=Colloquium paper: ecological extinction and evolution in the brave new ocean |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America|volume=105|issue=Suppl 1|pages=11458–11465|last1=Jackson|first1=J. B. C. |bibcode=2008PNAS..10511458J|doi-access=free}}</ref> ''[[Anthropocene]]'' is a term introduced in 2000.<ref name="Crutzen-2000">{{cite journal|last1=Crutzen|first1=Paul J.|last2=Stoermer|first2=Eugene F.|title=The 'Anthropocene'|journal=Global Change NewsLetter|issue=41|date=May 2000|publisher=[[IGBP]]|url=http://www.igbp.net/download/18.316f18321323470177580001401/1376383088452/NL41.pdf|issn=0284-5865|page=17|access-date=2021-11-23|archive-date=2015-04-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150418122558/http://www.igbp.net/download/18.316f18321323470177580001401/1376383088452/NL41.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="NatGeo-2019">{{cite web|author=National Geographic Society|title=Anthropocene|url=https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/anthropocene/|date=June 7, 2019|website=National Geographic|access-date=23 November 2021|quote=coined and made popular by biologist Eugene Stormer and chemist Paul Crutzen in 2000.|archive-date=31 May 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220531233810/https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/anthropocene/|url-status=live}}</ref> Some now postulate that a new geological epoch has begun, with the most abrupt and widespread extinction of species since the [[Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event]] 66 million years ago.<ref name="Kolbert-2014" />

The term "anthropocene" is being used more frequently by scientists, and some commentators may refer to the current and projected future extinctions as part of a longer Holocene extinction.<ref name="Zalasiewicz"/><ref>{{cite book|last=Elewa|first=Ashraf M. T.|chapter=Current mass extinction |title=Mass Extinction|pages=191–194 |doi=10.1007/978-3-540-75916-4_14|year=2008|isbn=978-3-540-75915-7}}</ref> The Holocene–Anthropocene boundary is contested, with some commentators asserting significant human influence on climate for much of what is normally regarded as the [[Holocene]] [[Epoch (geology)|Epoch]].<ref name="Ruddiman-2003"/> Some experts mark the transition from the Holocene to the Anthropocene at the onset of the [[Industrial Revolution|industrial revolution]]. They also note that the official use of this term in the near future will heavily rely on its usefulness, especially for Earth scientists studying late Holocene periods.

It has been suggested that human activity has made the period starting from the mid-20th century different enough from the rest of the Holocene to consider it a new [[geological epoch]], known as the Anthropocene,<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Syvitski|first1=Jaia|last2=Waters|first2=Colin N.|last3=Day |first3=John |last4=Milliman |first4=John D. |last5=Summerhayes |first5=Colin |last6=Steffen |first6=Will |last7=Zalasiewicz |first7=Jan |last8=Cearreta |first8=Alejandro |last9=Gałuszka |first9=Agnieszka |last10=Hajdas |first10=Irka |last11=Head |first11=Martin J. |last12=Leinfelder |first12=Reinhold |last13=McNeill |first13=J. R. |last14=Poirier |first14=Clément |last15=Rose |first15=Neil L. |last16=Shotyk |first16=William |last17=Wagreich |first17=Michael |last18=Williams |first18=Mark |date=2020|title=Extraordinary human energy consumption and resultant geological impacts beginning around 1950 CE initiated the proposed Anthropocene Epoch |journal=Communications Earth & Environment|volume=1|issue=1 |at=32|doi=10.1038/s43247-020-00029-y |bibcode=2020ComEE...1...32S|s2cid=222415797 |doi-access=free|hdl=20.500.11850/462514 |hdl-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|title=The Anthropocene is functionally and stratigraphically distinct from the Holocene|journal=Science|date=2016-01-08|issn=0036-8075|pmid=26744408|at=aad2622 |volume=351|issue=6269 |doi=10.1126/science.aad2622|first1=Colin N.|last1=Waters|first2=Jan |last2=Zalasiewicz|first3=Colin|last3=Summerhayes|first4=Anthony D. |last4=Barnosky|first5=Clément |last5=Poirier|first6=Agnieszka|last6=Gałuszka |first7=Alejandro|last7=Cearreta|first8=Matt |last8=Edgeworth|first9=Erle C.|last9=Ellis|bibcode=2016Sci...351.2622W |s2cid=206642594}}</ref> a term which was considered for inclusion in the timeline of Earth's history by the [[International Commission on Stratigraphy]] in 2016, but the proposal was rejected in 2024.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Working Group on the 'Anthropocene'|publisher=Subcommission on Quaternary Stratigraphy|url=http://quaternary.stratigraphy.org/workinggroups/anthropocene/|access-date=21 January 2016|archive-date=17 February 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160217014924/http://quaternary.stratigraphy.org/workinggroups/anthropocene/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/aug/29/declare-anthropocene-epoch-experts-urge-geological-congress-human-impact-earth|title=The Anthropocene epoch: scientists declare dawn of human-influenced age|first=Damian|last=Carrington|date=August 29, 2016|work=The Guardian|access-date=August 30, 2016|archive-date=June 11, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200611230701/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/aug/29/declare-anthropocene-epoch-experts-urge-geological-congress-human-impact-earth|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="IUGS-ICS-2024">"[https://www.iugs.org/_files/ugd/f1fc07_ebe2e2b94c35491c8efe570cd2c5a1bf.pdf The Anthropocene]": IUGS-ICS Statement. March 20, 2024.</ref> To constitute the Holocene as an [[extinction event]], scientists must determine exactly when anthropogenic [[greenhouse gas emissions]] began to measurably alter natural atmospheric levels on a global scale, and when these alterations caused changes to global climate. Using chemical proxies from Antarctic ice cores, researchers have estimated the fluctuations of [[carbon dioxide]] (CO<sub>2</sub>) and [[methane]] (CH<sub>4</sub>) gases in the Earth's atmosphere during the [[Late Pleistocene]] and Holocene epochs.<ref name="Ruddiman-2003">{{Cite journal|last=Ruddiman|first=W. F.|date=2003|title=The anthropogenic greenhouse gas era began thousands of years ago|url=http://www.arp.harvard.edu/sci/climate/journalclub/Ruddiman2003.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060903232016/http://www.arp.harvard.edu/sci/climate/journalclub/Ruddiman2003.pdf|archive-date=2006-09-03|url-status=dead|journal=Climatic Change|volume=61|issue=3|pages=261–293 |doi=10.1023/b:clim.0000004577.17928.fa|bibcode=2003ClCh...61..261R |citeseerx=10.1.1.651.2119|s2cid=2501894}}</ref> Estimates of the fluctuations of these two gases in the atmosphere, using chemical proxies from Antarctic ice cores, generally indicate that the peak of the Anthropocene occurred within the previous two centuries: typically beginning with the [[Industrial Revolution]], when the highest greenhouse gas levels were recorded.<ref name="Cruzten-2002">{{Cite journal |last=Cruzten|first=P. J.|date=2002|title=Geology of mankind: The Anthropocene|journal=Nature|volume=415|issue=6867|page=23|doi=10.1038/415023a|pmid=11780095 |bibcode=2002Natur.415...23C|s2cid=9743349|doi-access=free |s2cid-access=free |bibcode-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|first1=Will|last1=Steffen |first2=Åsa|last2=Persson|first3=Lisa|last3=Deutsch|first4=Jan|last4=Zalasiewicz|first5=Mark |last5=Williams|first6=Katherine|last6=Richardson|first7=Carole|last7=Crumley|first8=Paul |last8=Crutzen |first9=Carl|last9=Folke|first10=Line|last10=Gordon|first11=Mario|last11=Molina|first12=Veerabhadran |last12=Ramanathan|first13=Johan|last13=Rockström|first14=Marten|last14=Scheffer|first15=Hans Joachim |last15=Schellnhuber|first16=Uno|last16=Svedin|year=2011|title=The Anthropocene: From Global Change to Planetary Stewardship|journal=Ambio|volume=40|issue=7|pages=739–761|doi=10.1007/s13280-011-0185-x |pmc=3357752 |pmid=22338713|bibcode=2011Ambio..40..739S }}</ref>

=== Human ecology ===
{{Further|Human ecology}}
A 2015 article in [[Science (journal)|''Science'']] suggested that humans are unique in ecology as an unprecedented "global superpredator", regularly preying on large numbers of fully grown terrestrial and marine [[apex predators]], and with a great deal of influence over food webs and climatic systems worldwide.<ref name="Darimont-2015" /> Although significant debate exists as to how much human predation and indirect effects contributed to prehistoric extinctions, certain population crashes have been directly correlated with human arrival.<ref name="Faurby2015" /><ref name="Kolbert-2014" /><ref name="link.springer.com" /><ref name="SpecialIssue" /> Human activity has been the main cause of mammalian extinctions since the Late Pleistocene.<ref name="rapidrise" /> A 2018 study published in ''[[PNAS]]'' found that since the dawn of human civilization, the [[Biomass (ecology)|biomass]] of wild mammals has decreased by 83%. The biomass decrease is 80% for marine mammals, 50% for plants, and 15% for fish. Currently, livestock make up 60% of the biomass of all mammals on Earth, followed by humans (36%) and wild mammals (4%). As for birds, 70% are domesticated, such as poultry, whereas only 30% are wild.<ref name="Carrington2018">{{cite news|last=Carrington|first=Damian|date=May 21, 2018|title=Humans just 0.01% of all life but have destroyed 83% of wild mammals – study|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/may/21/human-race-just-001-of-all-life-but-has-destroyed-over-80-of-wild-mammals-study|access-date=May 25, 2018|archive-date=September 11, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180911035201/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/may/21/human-race-just-001-of-all-life-but-has-destroyed-over-80-of-wild-mammals-study|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Biomass2018">{{cite journal|last1=Bar-On |first1=Yinon M.|last2=Phillips|first2=Rob|last3=Milo |first3=Ron|year=2018|title=The biomass distribution on Earth|journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences|volume=115|issue=25|pages=6506–6511|pmc=6016768 |doi=10.1073/pnas.1711842115 |pmid=29784790|bibcode=2018PNAS..115.6506B |doi-access=free}}</ref>