Ocean acidification has fueled biodiversity loss that outpaces the last major extinction event that account for 95% of all life on Earth to be eliminated – driven by global warming, it leads us to impending doom

Researchers examined marine ecosystems before, during, and after the “Great Dying” to better comprehend the chain of events that led to ecological destabilization in a study published in Current Biology. In doing so, the international research team, consisting of scientists from the California Academy of Sciences, the China University of Geosciences (Wuhan), and the University of Bristol, demonstrated that biodiversity loss may be a precursor to a more devastating ecological collapse, a disturbing finding given that the rate of species loss today outpaces that during the “Great Dying.” The event wiped out 95% of life on Earth, or roughly 19 out of every 20 species. It caused climatic conditions like today’s human-caused environmental challenges, such as global warming, ocean acidification, and marine deoxygenation, and was most likely caused by increased volcanic activity and a subsequent spike in atmospheric carbon dioxide. Researchers examined fossils from South China, a shallow sea during the Permian-Triassic transition, to recreate the ancient marine environment. The group analyzed prey–predator relationships and ascertained the functions ancient species accomplished by categorizing species into guilds, or groups of species that exploit resources in similar ways. These simulated food webs represented the ecosystem in a plausible way before, during, and after the extinction event. “Despite the loss of over half of Earth’s species in the first phase of the extinction, ecosystems remained relatively stable,” states Academy researcher Yuangeng Huang, Ph.D., now at the China University of Geosciences. Interactions between species lessened only slightly during the first phase of the extinction, but substantially during the second, causing ecosystems to destabilize. “Ecosystems were pushed to a tipping point from which they could not recover,” Huang adds. An ecosystem is more resistant to changes in the environment when there are multiple species that perform similar functions. If one species becomes extinct, another can fill the void, and the ecosystem is preserved. This is analogous to an economy in which multiple companies or corporations offer similar services. The downfall of one corporation does not affect the service or the economy, but it does if the service is monopolized by a single entity. The group’s results underscore the importance of considering functional redundancy when evaluating modern conservation strategies, as well as the pressing need for action to address today’s human-driven biodiversity crisis. Huang concludes, “We are currently losing species at a faster rate than in any of Earth’s past extinction events. It is probable that we are in the first phase of another, more severe mass extinction. We cannot predict the tipping point that will send ecosystems into total collapse, but it is an inevitable outcome if we do not reverse biodiversity loss.”