The Sixth Extinction Dan Novinski

Dr. Arenz
Ecology and Evolution
Chapter 1: The Sixth Extinction

The book starts out strong with a modern situation that could have an immediate impact
on our life on this planet. It is one thing to study Ecology and learn about past mass extinctions,
but when the notion that another could be happening today, the subject becomes very real to our
race.

The Panamanian golden frogs is a sad case that illustrates just how fickle nature can be. It
makes you wonder what would happen if Batrachochytruim dendrobatidis was able to evolve
and transfer hosts. The implications of humans dropping everywhere because of an unexpected
heart attacks is a very scary vision. Would our race be able to withstand such an unprecedented
attack? Should viruses like Zika and Ebola start to infect people faster than we can find vaccines,
would we be able to fight off the invisible killers?

I sometimes wonder if our species is just another animal to last an infinitely small
duration in the history of this planet. We had definitely made our impact, but how long would it
take before we fade away completely? I have seen some of this ecological change firsthand,
albeit on a much smaller scale. Each summer, my family and I head up to Flathead Lake in
Montana, which is very near Glacier National Park. I always enjoy seeing the wildlife: deer,
horses, and sometimes even bears. There are also a lot of very large osprey that frequent the
waters and soar over our cabin. In fact, there is an entire island dedicated to them.

However, this past summer, I noticed that their numbers had dropped significantly. It was
a very subtle change at first, but instead of seeing them occasionally every day, I would only see
one every few days, and only when it was especially windy out. It wasn't until I started flying my
dads drone around for some video editing footage that I found a probable cause. As I was flying
the small aircraft around, a massive swarm of presumably sparrows encircled and tried to knock
the drone out of the sky.

While I noticed the absence of the large birds, I failed to notice the gigantic influx of
sparrow population in the wooded area. Sure enough, the next day I saw an osprey flying over
the water attempting to catch fish, but several sparrows pestered it and would dart by trying to
fend it off from their newly-claimed territory. It was an interesting change and I really enjoyed
the first-hand experience of changing ecosystems. I wonder if this is a temporary change, or if it
will have long-lasting effects. Later on I realized that the reason I would only see the osprey
flying during especially windy days is because the sparrows would not be able to keep up in such
strong gusts and were unable to be a nuisance for the large bird.

Chapter 2: The Mastodons Molars

I found Cuviers view on evolution very ironic considering he pushed the boundaries of
science despite the common view. Despite being hypocritical, it goes to show how slowly some
aspects of science are to change. People dont necessarily enjoy change. When you try to change
their world-view and alter something they have taken as truth, there is guaranteed to be some
friction. When you have something as world-changing as the notion that gigantic beasts once
roamed the earth, people are bound to be skeptical.
The Sixth Extinction Dan Novinski
Dr. Arenz
Ecology and Evolution

It was also very interesting to see that they once thought that mammoth tusks were
shaped inward like a walrus. That little detail made me wonder what other types of
misconceptions about fossils there were, or we still have today. Who is to say that we arent
completely wrong about other prehistoric animals structure. We are learning that a lot of
dinosaurs may have been covered in feathers like their modern avian counterparts, but it has been
accepted for so long that they were large, scaly, reptilian creatures. The movies rarely give the
impression that they could have had feathers or fur, but that may just be another misconception
that is okay to change the common view.

A lot of these misconceptions and breakthroughs have some very modern implications. I
wonder what scientific breakthroughs are just around the corner. On the other hand, I wonder
how they will be received in todays society and whether or not people will be accepting or
scrutinize the legitimacy of the said breakthrough. Similar to global warming, there is still debate
on whether or not we are having an effect. While I believe the majority of this conflict stems
from politics, it still illustrates the slow-moving nature of changing scientific world-views.