Lövei (2001): Extinctions, modern examples of.

Lövei, G.L. 2001. Extinctions, modern examples of. Pp. 731-743 in: Encyclopaedia of biodiversity, Vol. 2. Ed. by S. Levin. Academic Press, New York.

The fossil record indicates that recent extinctions were parallel with the arrival of modern humans to areas formerly uninhabited by them. These started at around 40,000 years before present. On continents, large mammals (>50 kg body mass), on islands, mostly birds were affected. The causes of these extinctions are not well known but include hunting, habitat alteration and the introduction of non-native species. By today this developed into a full-fledged mass extinction, affecting all species in all habitats, potentially surpassing the previous five mass extinction events in the history of Earth.