http://www.earthtimes.org/nature/invasive-species-trigger-mass-extinctions/191/
Picture: This picture is depicted as the asteroid that supposedly hit Earth, creating the most recent mass extinction Earth has ever faced.
Summary: There have been five mass extinctions throughout Earth’s history. From 434 million years ago to 65 million years ago, the time periods were wide but the overall results of all of these extinctions were deadly. The first of these five was back at the end of the Ordovician, 434 million years ago. Around this time, 60% of sea and land life was exterminated from the global freezing and warming of Earth, causing sea levels todip and rise dramatically. Next, during the Late Devonian Extinction 360 million years ago, marine life was affected with major consequences. The third, and worst, event happened 250 million years ago when 95% of all species were wiped out, with speculation as to the cause. The fourth major event, 200 million years ago, is what caused about 80% of all land quadrupeds and half of marine invertebrates to become extinct. This event was likely caused by a volcano that opened up in the Atlantic Ocean, leading to a harmful period of global warming. And most recently, 65 million years ago, the dinosaurs who roamed the Earth were wiped out from what people speculate to be an asteroid collision. Large land animals, plants, and tropical marine life all became extinct or were greatly impacted.
Opinion: Before reading this article, I never knew that there were five mass extinctions in Earth’s history. I always thought there was one; the event that decimated all the dinosaurs on Earth. It is interesting to see how Earth was impacted by five major extinctions but still managed to recover from these events. 65 million years ago seems like a very long time in human years, but in actuality it is not very long when the entire life span of the Earth is considered. It is frightening how various events can wipe out an entire species.
Questions:
1. Is there a possibility for a sixth mass extinction in the future? If so, when is it predicted to happen?
2. How did scientists recover information to prove that there were five extinctions in Earth’s history?
3. What other species other than the dinosaur became extinct from the five mass extinctions?
4. How powerful were the events to have the capability of decimating an entire species or land?
-Angela Mei
-Angela Mei
Opinion/Reflection:This article seems very interesting. Like Angela, I did not know that ther were five mass extinctions in Earth's histoy. I knew about the extinction of the dinosaurs, but I have never heard of the other four events. I also think it is interesting that scientists do not know for sure the causes of most of the mass extinctions that took place on the Earth. A connection with this article that I have personally is when I went to the Museum of Natural History in Washington DC. This article connects to that museum because the museam shows the history of the Earth and the humans and animals that walk upon it. It also shows the changes and mass extinctions that the Earth has gone through throughout the years.
ReplyDeleteAsk More Questions:
1. Can scientists predict when a mass extinction will happen? If so, how?
2. Will there be a mass extinctions of humans? If so, how soon?
3. Should we be worried about mass extinctions?
Opinion- I did not know that there were 5 mass extinctions in earths history and I find that very interesting and even a little scary. It is scary because scientists can still not pinpoint the factor that set off these mass extinctions. If they do not know what happened then we could be undergoing another mass extinction as we live our daily lives, and we would not realize it until it is too late. Also I never knew what a big deal invasive species were until I read this article. I always thought they were just species that are not supposed to be here, I did not know that they can actually do very harmful damage.
ReplyDeleteMore Questions
1. Do we know how Earth was able to rebound from the mass extinctions? If so, how?
2. Could we possibly be having a mass extinction right now, just not they ones we are used too?
3. Do we know how were some animals able to survive the extinctions, but others were not able to?
After reading this article, I strongly agree with Angela in the fact that its really surprising to see that there were 5 mass extinctions. I can only imagine what scientists must have gone through trying to figure out how and why. I fear that maybe some day in the future these mass extinctions will move forward to a whole new degree and cause a collapse of life on Earth. I really hope there is a more effiecent and quick way to recover or rebuild from these events then there was in the past. The impact that these extinctions had, and the wiping out of an entire species like 95% of species 250 million years ago is unbelivable and is a scar left on our Earth. Mass extinctions are events that I never thought about before but now its a very concerning matter.
ReplyDeleteMORE QUESTIONS
1) How did the previous extinctions impact humans and how did they react?
2) If a mass extinction were to occur in the near future, how quickly would our Earth rebuild itself?
3) Could a mass extinction occur where it would be almost impossible to get back to equalibrium?
Opinion: After reading this article, did not know that there were five mass extinctions that have impacted earth. I thought that there was only one like Angela said. It was very interesting to read about all the different mass extinctions and how many types of species they have wiped out. In the article “Asteroid Killed Off the Dinosaurs, Says International Scientific Panel” it says that the force of the asteroid was one billion times more powerful than the atomic bomb. Mass extinction’s connects to my life because what if there is another one when I am on the planet or would I be alive today if it was not for them? Mass extinction is a very serious matter that we should be more concerned about.
ReplyDeleteQuestions:
1.Would the human race ever recovered if a mass extinction happened to us?
2.Is there a way to stop these mass extinctions?
3.How can we find out when the next mass extinction will hit us?