Premium
The Extinction Spasm Impending: Synergisms at Work
Author(s) -
MYERS NORMAN
Publication year - 1987
Publication title -
conservation biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.2
H-Index - 222
eISSN - 1523-1739
pISSN - 0888-8892
DOI - 10.1111/j.1523-1739.1987.tb00004.x
Subject(s) - extinction (optical mineralogy) , isolation (microbiology) , scale (ratio) , frame (networking) , risk analysis (engineering) , computer science , environmental science , biochemical engineering , business , biology , engineering , geography , cartography , paleontology , telecommunications , microbiology and biotechnology
We are well aware of the main mechanisms of extinction, especially those which derive from human activities. But these mechanisms tend to be studied in isolation from each other. We know much less and understand less still about the dynamic interplay between the discrete mechanisms. When we consider the likely outcome of several mechanisms operating at once, we can reasonably surmise that many of their effects will serve to amplify each other. These synergistic interactions are the subject of this exploratoy paper. It is proposed that synergisms between discrete mechanisms, working collectively and with compounding impact on each other, will surely lead to a greater scale extinction episode ultimately. In the more immediate term, they may cause the episode to be telescoped in its time frame especially in the early phases. This means that a large‐scale elimination of species may occur even sooner than some observers anticipate. To the extent that this is so, there is all the greater premium on anticipatory planning and conservation measures, to be taken with due urgency.