Zoology Department, Oxford University, Oxford, UK.
Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2010 Jan 12;365(1537):41-7. doi: 10.1098/rstb.2009.0164.
Beginning with an outline of uncertainties about the number of species on Earth today, this paper addresses likely causes and consequences of the manifest acceleration in extinction rates over the past few centuries. The ultimate causes are habitat destruction, alien introductions, overexploitation and climate change. Increases in human numbers and per capita impacts underlie all of these. Against a background review of these factors, I conclude with a discussion of the policy implications for equitably proportionate actions-and of the difficulties in achieving them.
本文从概述当今地球上物种数量的不确定性开始，探讨了过去几个世纪物种灭绝速度明显加速的可能原因和后果。根本原因是生境破坏、外来物种引入、过度开发和气候变化。所有这些都源于人类数量的增加和人均影响的增加。在对这些因素进行背景审查的基础上，我最后讨论了公平分配行动的政策含义以及实现这些行动的困难。
