Does it matter if some animal and plant species die out?
I believe it should matter if some animal and plant species die out. All plants and animals are interdependent. The various animals in an ecosystem act as cards in a ‘house of cards’. Even if one of these cards fall of all the other cards are bound to come tumbling down.
In school we are taught about the food chain and food web. The food web depicts the feeding relationship between animals. These food webs start with plants and end in carnivores. If one of these plants or animal species go extinct then the predators or herbivores will have one less plant or animal to feed on which means that they have fewer portions left and their chance of finding food has decreased. As the food options decrease the population of the animals which feed on those plants and animals will also decrease due to lack of food. This leads to a continuous cycle which will eventually cause the end of all these animal species. The humans are no exception to this law. If these plants and animal species die out then ultimately we shall be effected by it.
Another major factor is that these plant and animal are a part of a habitat. These plants and animals not only act as food but also as shelter to various birds, animals and parasites. Habitat loss is one of the major reason why more and more animal species are going extinct. Entire habitat is like a pyramid, when the blocks of this pyramid disintegrate the pyramid comes down crashing even faster. This can be easily understood in the fact that the baseline extinction rate is a specie per million of animals but now the extinction rate has increased manifold and the extinction rate now is around ten thousand times more.
One of the best examples of an animal specie that has gone extinct due to loss of habitat is the Spix’s Macau, this bird was brought to fame by the animated movie Rio. The Spix’s Macau has gone extinct in the wild and the only ones left are in captivity. Research shows that the bird went extinct because these birds were specifically dependent on a specie of tree, Tabebuia caraiba. When this tree specie was cut down in Brazil the birds too disappeared.
Thus it is important to ensure the protection of the various plant and animal species in our environment because the thought that it doesn’t matter that few of the animal and plant species die out is very myopic. In the long run we would not be able to exist without these animals. We need to have a far sighted view to ensure a better future for our descendants.
I believe we are in need of an industrial revolution where the main focus should not only be to increase production but also how to make the process of industrialisation sustainable. The way the industries are multiplying in today’s times is on the lines of what was followed since the Victorian era. These means of increasing production is medieval and obsolete.
