Cross Breeds

How does wildlife extinction impact our world, especially plants and animals living in the rainforest?

Public Comments

1. We don't know for sure in complete detail, but we do know that all life on the planet is interdependent. We may not know exactly how the extinction of any one species will change the ecosystem, but it will change it in some way.
2. McDonald's chops down thousands of acres of rainforest every day so they can gain more land on which to graze cattle, so we can buy 'billions and billions' of their cheap hamburgers. Once the rainforest is completely destroyed, the delicate ecological balance between human beings, plants and all other animals is also destroyed. Who knows? There might have been a species of snake whose venom would be a cure for cancer. There might be a rare frog living in the rainforest that could secrete saliva to help save the lives of HIV patients. There might be a plant with leaves capable of performing precision surgeries without resulting in grotesque body scars. But we'll never know because we'd prefer to chomp down on a cheap BigMac. -RKO-
3. All species play a role in their ecosystem. The adverse effects of the removal of a species from an ecosystem can range from minimal to extreme depending on the importance of that species to the ecosystem. Keystone species are the most important. A keystone species is a species whose extinction would consequently lead to the extinction of other forms of life. Keystone species help to support, and are generally essential to, the ecosystem of which they are a part. The loss of a species can have adverse effects on us humans, as well. Many species of rain forest plants, for example, have been shown to have important medicinal uses.
4. Please visit: http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Support/AdoptSpecies/default.cfm Lets help!!
5. Its an integral part of evolution. Before all the environmental scare nazi's come in here I'd like to point out that extinction is nothing new to the world. Extinction is nature's way of weeding out species that can no longer survive under changing environmental conditions. Its one of the forces that drives evolution. Edit: To quote birdgirl "We could very well be destroying ourselves by destroying the rainforest." Exactly my point. Many species that go extinct do so because of their own specializations and impacts on their environment and habitat. This being the case, if we are impacting our environment in a negative way, the end result very well could be our extinction. Regardless though - the world will go on without us. Many new species may evolve in the niches we would no longer inhabit. That is the way evolution and extinction work together.
6. just wanted to comment on Drew's comment...yes extinction is a normal part of evolution. Extinction is the rule, HOWEVER.....humans have sped up the process to an alarming rate. We are wiping things out so quickly that we don't even know what effects they will have on future generations. I think we may find out once it is too late. Has anyone thought that there could be a cure for cancer or AIDS in the rainforest....but we could have already wiped it out!! Also, everything is connected...the food chain, or food web....once you break too many "links" or "strands" the whole thing falls apart. We could very well be destroying ourselves by destroying the rainforest.