Scientist warns the public that the loss and decline of animals might be the early stages of Earth's sixth mass biological extinction.

There were 320 vertebrates that has reached extinction since the 1500s, while, the species that remained show a decline of 2.5 percent.

Rodolfo Dirzo, a Stanford biology professor, said that while previous extinctions have been made by natural planetary transformations or catastrophic asteroids, this time the extinction can be associated to human activity.

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There are 16 to 33 percent threatened or endangered vertebrate species such as elephants, rhinoceroses and polar bears.

Larger animals also produce fewer offspring because they need a larger habitat to maintain a larger population.

Dizo noted that while human population has doubled in the past 35 years, the invertebrate animals like beetle, butterflies, spiders and worms has decreased by 45 percent.

He cited that 75 percent of insects pollinate in food crops which amounts to 10 percent of the economic value of the world's food supply.  

Farmers seem to forget that insects play a critical role in the decomposition of organic materials ensuring ecosystem productivity.

Therefore, the value of pest controls in the United States alone was estimated to be around US$4.5 billion annually

Dizo said that immediately reducing the rates of habitat change and overexploitation can be a solution to this problems but this solution should be modified based on regions.

The scientist said that this extinction is not just a loss of species but also a loss of a critical ecosystem function.

He hopes that warning the public about the ongoing mass extinction of animals could spur a change in mankind.