麻豆传媒

Mass extinctions are seldom pretty, but this one would transform Earth鈥檚 oceans forever, especially coral reefs.

A by the (IPSO) assesses how climate change, overexploitation, pollution, habitat loss and other stressors are affecting the ocean as a whole.

The conclusion? We鈥檙e on course for a mass extinction that would include coral reefs and the menagerie of species that rely on them, as well as multiple species of fish consumed by people, although it may not be as severe as the 鈥渂ig five鈥� extinctions of Earth鈥檚 distant past.

鈥淲e鈥檙e seeing a combination of symptoms that have been associated with large, past extinctions,鈥� says Alex Rogers, the head of IPSO.

Acidifying waters

Rogers says the biggest problem is the rapid pace of climate change, which is 鈥渧irtually unprecedented鈥�. The closest comparison is the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum of 55 million years ago, when 2.2 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide was released every year for millennia and many deep-sea species were wiped out. Today we release over 25 gigatonnes every year.

Many harmful factors combine to cause additional damage. For instance, the oceans are acidifying as a result of CO₂ dissolving in the water, and this makes corals more susceptible to 鈥渂leaching鈥�.

Rogers recommends nothing less than slashing CO₂ emissions, establishing Marine Protected Areas covering up to one-third of the ocean, and restoring marine ecosystems.