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The sixth great extinction
Scientists around the globe are concerned about the alarming loss of biodiversity.
NERC scientists have unique records of plant, insect and bird populations
going back many decades. These records show that that in the UK:
- Over a quarter (28%) of our plant species have significantly decreased in distribution and number in the last 40 years.
- Over half (54%) of our native bird species have declined in the last 20 years.
- Almost three quarters (71%) of our 58 butterfly species have reduced in number in the last 20 years.
More than half the known species on Earth are insects. Scientists say that if other insects have suffered anything like the same fate as butterflies we could be in the midst of another mass extinction. Scientists estimate that extinction rates today are about 1000 times higher than the background rates of the past - around two extinctions a year.