Biology · BIODIVERSITY AND CONSERVATION

The ongoing sixth episode of mass extinction ('Sixth Extinction') is fundamentally distinct from the earlier five mass extinction episodes primarily because:

1. It is exclusively restricted to plant taxa, leaving animal phyla unaffected.
2. Only island-endemic species are susceptible, whereas mainland communities remain stable.
3. It originated due to sudden global cooling during the pre-human geological era.
4. The current extinction rate is estimated to be 100 to 1,000 times faster, driven predominantly by anthropogenic activities.