| Abstract: | Widespread evidence shows that the modern rates of extinction in many plants and animals exceed background rates in the fossil record. In the
present article, I investigate this issue with regard to North American freshwater fishes. From 1898 to 2006, 57 taxa became extinct, and three
distinct populations were extirpated from the continent. Since 1989, the numbers of extinct North American fishes have increased by 25%. From
the end of the nineteenth century to the present, modern extinctions varied by decade but significantly increased after 1950 (post-1950s mean = 7.5 extinct taxa per decade). In the twentieth century, freshwater fishes had the highest extinction rate worldwide among vertebrates. The modern
extinction rate for North American freshwater fishes is conservatively estimated to be 877 times greater than the background extinction rate for
freshwater fishes (one extinction every 3 million years). Reasonable estimates project that future increases in extinctions will range from 53 to 86
species by 2050. |
| Genre: | Article |
| ProdID: | 70040378 |
| Citation Author: | Burkhead, Noel M. |
| Citation Contributing Office: | Southeast Ecological Science Center |
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| Citation End Page: | 808 |
| Citation Issue: | 9 |
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| Citation Language: | English |
| Citation Larger Work Title: | BioScience |
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| Citation Phsyical Description: | 11 p. |
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| Citation Publisher: | American Institute of Biological Sciences |
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| Citation Search Results Text: | Extinction rates in North American freshwater fishes, 1900-2010; 2012; Article; Journal; BioScience; Burkhead, Noel M. |
| Citation Start Page: | 798 |
| Citation Volume: | 62 |
| Citation Year: | 2012 |
| Type: | citation/reference |
| Text: | Extinction rates in North American freshwater fishes, 1900-2010; 2012; Article; Journal; BioScience; Burkhead, Noel M. |
| URL (THUMBNAIL): | http://pubs.er.usgs.gov/thumbnails/outside_thumb.jpg |
| URL (DIGITAL OBJECT IDENTIFIER): | http://dx.doi.org/10.1525/bio.2012.62.9.5 |
| Date Other: | Wed, 17 Oct 2012 00:00 -0500 |
| Publisher: | American Institute of Biological Sciences |
