The Sixth Mass Extinction: A Crisis for Biodiversity and Humankind

Maintaining biodiversity—the variety and variability of life on the Earth—is critical to continued ecosystem function, as well as the food we eat, water we drink, and air we breathe. However, overfishing, habitat destruction and unchecked climate change are causing an extinction rates 50-1000 times greater than background extinction levels, endangering millions of years of evolutionary history and our continued existence. In this talk, Aaron Skinner will outline the extent of the current biodiversity crisis, the major causes behind biodiversity declines, how humanity depends on biodiversity, approaches to its conservation and how we as a society must change to positively bend the biodiversity loss curve. Aaron will argue that we need swift action, starting at the level of the individual, if we are to reverse the startling trends of biodiversity loss observed in recent decades.

Aaron Skinner holds a MS from the Ohio State University, where he conducted research on the full annual cycle of a declining bird, the Eastern Whip-poor-will, in Dr. Chris Tonra's lab. He recently finished a Fulbright research grant conducting pilot work in Colombia regarding more bird-friendly approaches to cattle ranching. He will continue this research for his PhD at the University of British Columbia in the coming years.