Why Evolution and Extinction Is Essential to Humanity Essay

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Extinction Events or Environmental Catastrophes

Many uncertainties exist over the acts and roles of extinction in the world today. Nonetheless, with all these uncertainties, it is possible to formulate reasonable statements that depict the probable role of extinction. The role of extinction can be thought to have some elements, most of which are instrumental in striking the relationship and power seen in evolution and extinction in the earth's history up to the appearance of hominids (8 million years ago) . For any widespread species or any group of a widespread species, extinction needs some bit of environmental shock that comes in the form of physical or biological aspects that normally occur. Such occurrences take place during the geological lifespans of the given species or groups of species. In this case, the shock that is resulting has to be applied with a rapidness that is enough to take place over a broad geographical area as a way of preventing adaptation through the process of natural selection or other methods of escape like migration. In the case that the most effective types of extinction mechanisms are greater than the experience acquired by the victims, there will occur a higher chance and degree of apparent randomness that has to be expected at all times. In such a case, survivors are those organisms that have adapted, with fortune, to the unexpected stress that comes their way[footnoteRef:1]. Through such an occurrence, the acts of extinction in the earth's history up to the appearance of hominids (8 million years ago) plays the role of bringing about extinction selection and organism creation for the survival of the better organism. [1: I Fry, Iris. 2000. The emergence of life on Earth: a historical and scientific overview. New Brunswick, NJ [u.a.]: Rutgers University Press.] [1: Kolbert, Elizabeth. 2014. The sixth extinction: an unnatural history. New York, Routledge.]

Some of the major and intense occurrences of extinction result in what is likely to be famous and natural restructuring of the biosphere. One of such episode of extinction is the Big Five extinction. When such occurrences take place, almost three-quarters or even more, of the diversity that is present is eliminated. At such occurrence, diversification of the lineages that are surviving results in the global biosphere that is different entirely from the one that was existent before the start of the process of extinction. Such occurrences are what have resulted in new features within the biosphere in the world today. Not everything is possibly the same for a long time as long as evolution takes place[footnoteRef:2]. For instance, in the earth's history up to the appearance of hominids (8 million years ago) has been dominated by the changes called evolutionary forms and terms, resulting in changes in the biosphere. [2: Kolbert, Elizabeth. 2014. The sixth extinction: an unnatural history. New York, Routledge.]

It is common to say that in the earth's history up to the appearance of hominids (8 million years ago); extinction does not take place on its own. It does not make any significant contribution to the processes and the complex aspect of evolution structures like the limbs and wings. As far as it does not contribute to such, it cannot be neglected as with no immediate features of change that have on the overall change of the biosphere. Because of such a conception, extinction is influential in the sustenance or elimination of the structures that were dominant in the past and are no longer there today. Through extinction, the characteristics like limbs have been eradicated because of this process of change, notably extinction and evolution.

One major example of extinction that highlights its significance is that of the pterosaurs that died out in the late Cretaceous, resulting in reptiles not again having the power for flight. Such occurrence can be certain to have fostered the tertiary radiation among bats. In the case that the pterosaurs had survived, much could be thought to have happened regarding adaptations and survival of these creatures. In such a case, it can be said that the major extinctions are thought to have greater significance on the future process and path of evolution, which is either constructive or destructive[footnoteRef:3]. [3: Walter, Alvarez. "Armageddon" in "T Rex and the Crater of Doom." (New York: Vintage Books, 1998. Pp 1-22]

When the levels of extinction are still found at the lower intensities, it is common to find the Darwin-style selectivity that is common, but not in the case of a few selected spectacular cases, like Jablonski's studies on the effects of the development of larvae and range of geographical development.

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In such a case, it is possible not to have enough claims and evidence ascertaining that there a lower level of extinction has something common to anything that approaches the significance of extinction as given by Darwin[footnoteRef:4]. [4: Courtillot, Vincent. 2002. Evolutionary catastrophes: the science of mass extinction. Cambridge [u.a.]: Cambridge Univ. Press.]

Normally, the species of extinction is not considered as a significant element of the neo-Darwinian theory. In fact, the contrast is often true as with speciation. This is a bit of surprise considering the special importance Darwin is attached to the process and significance of extinction . One reason for such a perception relates to the number of the species of life that have undergone extinction in the earth's history up to the appearance of hominids (8 million years ago). This is almost similar to the number of the same species and their originations, resulting in the present-day biodiversity within the trivial surplus of originations that have accumulated over many years. [2: Fry, Iris. 2000. The emergence of life on Earth: a historical and scientific overview. New Brunswick, NJ [u.a.]: Rutgers University Press.]

Extinction in the earth's history up to the appearance of hominids (8 million years ago) has been seen as one of the major reasons for the new phase of the world today, together with its contents. Human life is perhaps one of the aspects of extinction of the ancient creatures, mostly resulting in the current crop of the same, like the emergence of the hominids. The causes of the five main mass extinctions cannot be known, as most of them are because of the features that are not known in some way as dating back to the occurrences in the earth's history up to the appearance of hominids (8 million years ago)[footnoteRef:5]. One common aspect that can be obtained from the occurrences of extinction is the common substances that are coming into the atmosphere or the bios space, notably resulting in the much-speculated occurrences like these. Substances like carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide are some that have been seen as part of the mechanistic causal organisms leading to the occurrence of extinction in the world[footnoteRef:6]. Studies suggest other methods, like the common fall of meteorites that might have lead to the extinction elements in the world today. such cases, most of which have been deemed as the major causes of extinction, and hence hold the keys to the significance of extinction in the earth's history up to the appearance of hominids (8 million years ago) [footnoteRef:7]. [5: Abe, Takuya, Simon A. Levin, and M. Higashi. 1997. Biodiversity and Ecological Perspective. New York, NY: Springer New York. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-1906-4.] [6: Walter, Alvarez. "Armageddon" in "T Rex and the Crater of Doom." (New York: Vintage Books, 1998. Pp 1-22] [7: Kolbert, Elizabeth. 2014. The sixth extinction: an unnatural history. New York, Routledge.]

According to mainstream science, extinction somewhat has resulted in what has balanced the world and led to the generation of new organisms and features that are adaptable to the current changes and occurrences of survival and existence. Many million years have witnessed what could be seen as the major occurrences that cumulatively are the reason for the occurrence of hominid generation, something that gave rise to the current history and reasons that show the occurrence of the originations of features and organisms in the world. Theories have been passed, like the Big Bang theory, among others, most of which are a pure speculation and offer evidenced protocols suggesting the presence of extinction and its effects on the natural space in the world. Moreover, it is possible to take note of the significance of the growth of biosphere changes, thanks to the theoretical and evidenced-based perception of the organisms in the world most of which have undergone extinction like in the earth's history up to the appearance of hominids (8 million years ago).

Over the past decade, as a way of accumulating more reasoning to the extinction in the earth's history up to the appearance of hominids (8 million years ago), there has been so much interest in extinction, yet most of the research in the field has been at a reconnaissance level. The current understanding of extinction might be deemed as weak yet substantial enough to indicate the changes that have taken place in the biosphere because of the entire process of extinction[footnoteRef:8]. Some three basic aspects indicate the….....

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