Biodiversity in the Age of Humans

Lecture 1 – Learning from Past Extinctions

by Anthony D. Barnosky, PhD

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1. Introduction and start of Lecture One
2. Are we at the beginning of the sixth mass extinction?
3. Fossils provide evidence for five previous mass extinctions
4. The rate of extinction has varied through geologic time
5. Comparing the fossil and modern records of extinction
6. The fossil and modern records of mammal diversity are comparable
7. Video: Getting the Fossil Data
8. Fossils are mapped by location and by age
9. How to build a composite geologic section
10. Fossil databases include millions of specimens and thousands of species
11. Over 25 percent of modern species are classified as at risk
12. How to measure the rate of extinction
13. Today's mammal extinction rate is much higher than the background rate
14. A sixth mass extinction is possible if we lose all the threatened species
15. There is still time to avoid a mass extinction
16. Q&A: Are aesthetics the main goal of preserving biodiversity?
17. Q&A: Is paleontology a physically and mentally demanding career choice?
18. Q&A: How can we prevent the next mass extinction?
19. Q&A: Can the current extinction crisis self-correct?
20. Q&A: Why is the general public not paying attention to the extinction crisis?
21. Q&A: How might the sixth mass extinction affect developing economies?

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