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How Do the Extinctions of Other Creatures Affect Humans Directly?

There are over 1,200 species listed as either endangered or threatened in the United States under the Endangered Species Act. Worldwide, that number jumps to 61,000 species on the International Union for Conservation Red List. Every species has a role in the ecosystem, so when one goes extinct, it can affect the balance as other animals come in to fill that role. Sometimes, the service the extinct species provided is lost. In many cases, those changes have a direct impact on human lives.

Economy
- From tourism to agriculture and fisheries, the loss of wild plants and animals has a direct effect on the world̵7;s economies. For example, rapid population decline of the Eastern oyster, an important fisheries species in the Chesapeake Bay, resulted in a loss of $4 billion to the economies of Virginia and Maryland between 1980 and 2010. The population has fallen to less than one percent of historic levels. In the Pacific Northwest, 60,000 jobs and $1 billion in annual personal income depend on commercial and recreational fishing of Chinook salmon, a species already in decline.
Food
- Millions of people around the world depend on wild plants and animals for their food. For example, 2.5 billion people depend on seafood for 20 to 50 percent of their protein. Most of that seafood comes from coral reefs, which are in severe decline around the world. In 2012, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration proposed adding 66 reef-building species to the endangered species list. If they became extinct, coral reefs and the food they supply would likely disappear altogether. Among deep ocean fish, Southern bluefin tuna are critically endangered from overfishing, while Atlantic bluefin, yellowfin and albacore are either threatened or vulnerable.
Medicine
- Half of all prescription medications have their origins in wild organisms, yet humans have studied only a small percent of the species on the planet. Every extinction is a potential loss to medicinal science. Just one example, ginseng, which is threatened by over-harvesting, is an Asian plant commonly used to fight diabetes and depression.
Ecosystem Services
- Many functions of ecosystems directly serve human needs. Cleared for development or affected by poor water quality, wetlands, such as marshes and mangroves, and all the animals in them, are among the most threatened ecosystems in the world. Losing them could spell disaster for coastal areas. A study in the October 2005 issue of the journal "Science" reported that during the 2004 tsunami that hit Malaysia, villages without mangrove buffers were completely destroyed while those still shielded by mangroves suffered no damage.

Animals & Science