Australia’s list of threatened species grows as ecosystems show signs of collapse due to climate crisis and habitat loss, report finds
, and has one of the highest rates of species decline in the developed world. More than 100 Australian species have been listed as either extinct or extinct in the wild. The major causes of extinction were introduced species and habitat destruction and clearing.
Marine heatwaves have caused mass coral bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef in 2016, 2017 and 2020. Ocean acidification – caused by absorption of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere – is nearing a tipping point that will cause the decline of juvenile coral. Sea level rise has affected many low-lying areas, including the Kakadu wetlands. Saltmarshes across much of Australia’s coast are losing territory to mangroves.Photograph: Jamie Lamb/elusive-images.co.uk/Getty Images
Most major Australian cities are growing at a faster rate than other developed cities across the planet. The pace of growth has increasedAt least 19 Australian ecosystems are. Ecosystems experiencing collapse span the continent and include Antarctic and subantarctic ecosystems. Abrupt changes include the loss of Tasmania’s giant kelp forests.
The president of the Australian Academy of Science, Prof Chennupati Jagadish, said the report was sobering reading and the outlook for the environment was grim, with critical thresholds in many natural systems likely to be exceeded as global heating continued.Photograph: Darrian Traynor/Getty Images
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