Abstract
During the last four hundred years some 490 described species of animal are known to have become extinct. In this chapter the patterns of animal extinction are analysed by taxonomic group, against time, and between islands and continental land masses. From species—area curves based upon extrapolation of the rate of habitat loss (particularly tropical forests) estimates have been produced of the future rates of species extinctions. These estimates vary considerably from less than 5% of all animal species between 1985 and the year 2025 to more than 25% if rates of forest clearance accelerate (WCMC, 1992).
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© 1994 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
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Magin, C.D., Johnson, T.H., Groombridge, B., Jenkins, M., Smith, H. (1994). Species extinctions, endangerment and captive breeding. In: Olney, P.J.S., Mace, G.M., Feistner, A.T.C. (eds) Creative Conservation. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-0721-1_1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-0721-1_1
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