Can we turn the tide? Experts have warned that human-driven environmental destruction is killing off our wildlife at staggeringly rapid rates. Have we finally reached our tipping point?
Wildlife numbers down 73% in 50 years
Collapsing: Scientists say that large declines in wildlife populations in Europe and North America before 1970 are now being replicated in other parts of the world, and warn that the loss rate could quicken as global heating accelerates. Glossary
Web - When an ecologist injected radioactive carbon into a birch tree, the radioactive carbon moved through the fungal network into an entirely different nearby species, a Douglas fir.
Catastrophic - Involving or causing sudden great damage or suffering.
Degradation - The process of wearing something down or making it worse.
Overexploitation - The act of using too much of something, especially a natural resource.
Tipping point - The point at which a series of small changes or incidents becomes significant enough to cause a larger, more important change.