Biologist E.O. Wilson has estimated 37.000 species go extinct each year. Some skeptical ,however, point?

Question

out that scientist have documented the disapperance of only 1,100 species over the past 500 years. Does this observation demostrate that Wilson's estimate is inaccurate. Explain your answer.

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Answer 1

Wilson is an expert on ants. He sees everything from the insect point of view, so when he gives a number, he is considering all the miscellaneous ants and other very small organisms. In addition, his number is based on the estimates of numbers of insects and small animals in the rain forests that are being burned up without any biologist ever getting a chance to study them. We are pretty certain that there are thousands of species that have been destroyed in the Amazon without us having to get a chance to find them or study them.

The people who give the 1100 number are only considering macro (big) organisms like deer, bear, passenger pigeons, etc. That number doesn't include the tiny living things that are the foundation for the ecosystem.

Answer 2

Wow. Some people will read six words ("27,000 species go extinct each year") and think they then know enough about the the topic or the thesis to simply dismiss it. His thesis is based on the number of species (both known and uncataloged) per square mile of habitat for a particular environment, and the rate of reduction of those habitats. Feel free to disagree or dispute his reasoning or facts, but don't just dismiss it as something pulled out of a hat. You don't get to be a professor at Harvard or a double Pulitzer-Prize winner by being an idiot. (And incidentally, he's not the only biologist expressing extreme concern. Niles Elderidge, Paul Ehrlich, and Georgina Mace are three noted scientists also noting an alarming rate of extinction). P.S., to Sciencenut ... it proves nothing that he is unable to name a species that went extinct last year. He is making a statistical statement about the sheer numbers, not the specific species. I can tell you that there were 15,000 people at a rally in Kyrgyszstan this year, but I could not give you the name of a single one of them (can you?) ... but that does not invalidate the statistic. And requiring "bodies" as evidence of mass extinction?? ... man, you really are an "expert" on the topic ... when you burn down a forest, how many "bodies" of now extinct species do you expect to find?

Answer 3

I've read several of his books and am quite familiar with his reputation. He is not considered to be an alarmist, and his estimates are more likely to be on the conservative side unless he indicates otherwise. The man has been around and has studied the overall issue since before it was popular to do so.

Skeptics usually have a different agenda.