Climate change isn’t just melting glaciers — it’s erasing entire branches of life. – By Yury Erofeev
Source : Yury Erofeev LinkedIn
A new study in BioScience reveals that six entire animal classes are now at heightened risk of extinction. The most vulnerable? Starfish, horseshoe crabs, jellyfish-like hydrozoans, centipedes, corals, and arachnids.
Researchers from Oregon State University analyzed 70,000+ species:
– 100% of starfish and horseshoe crabs are at risk
– 64% of hydrozoans and 45% of centipedes
– 35% of corals and 26% of arachnids
– Key threats: droughts, marine heatwaves, and extreme temperatures
This isn’t theoretical. A marine heatwave in 2016 killed 29% of the Great Barrier Reef’s corals. Another wiped out 10+ billion snow crabs in the Bering Sea.
What this forces us to confront:
– Climate change ≠ just CO₂ levels — it’s systemic ecological disruption
– “Silent extinctions” are happening underwater and out of sight
– Biodiversity collapse is a carbon problem too — ecosystems buffer emissions
We treat every gram of CO₂ as part of a bigger story. Because climate risk isn’t only about warming — it’s about unraveling the web of life that stabilizes our planet.
