Think nature and sports at the same time

In a well-attended lecture hall, Prof. Dr. Manuel Steinbauer gave the audience several examples of how the dynamics of ecological systems and the influence of human activities have changed over time. In the future, the former GCE student will research the effects of outdoor sports on nature and how the potential of sports can be used to raise people’s awareness of environmental issues. When asked about the relevance of the interdisciplinary topic “Sport Ecology”, Prof. Steinbauer emphasized two reasons: On the one hand, our society would tend to “think” about nature and sports at the same time, i.e. if we are planning a nature trip, this is often planned as a sporting event. For example, we travel to the Alps because we want to hike or ski there. On the other hand, sports offer a great potential to bring people closer to nature conservation issues.

From GCE to systems paleobiology to sports ecology

Sport ecology was not always the research focus of the interdisciplinary scientist who grew up in Middle Franconia.In 2004, he began his bachelor’s degree in geoecology at the University of Bayreuth and continued his studies from 2006 to 2009 with the then new master’s program Global Change Ecology. This was followed by his doctorate in 2013 and a three-year postdoctoral stay at the University of Aarhus in Denmark. From 2017 to 2019, Prof. Steinbauer was a professor for “System Paleobiology” at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg. In August 2019, he accepted the call from the University of Bayreuth and returned as a professor for “Sport Ecology”.
Looking back on his time as a GCE student, the 36-year-old particularly emphasized the unique experiences gained through participation in international environmental and scientific conferences as well as the good methodological training provided in the program.
From the coming winter semester, Prof. Steinbauer will teach the new GCE students as a professor.

This text was written for the Elite Network Bavaria.
English editing kindly done by Taylor Blair

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There have been five major mass extinction events in the history of earth. Extinctions of single species has always happened, but these five big extinction events are characterized by a loss of 75% or more of all species. The first mass extinction event occurred in the End Ordovician, 444 million years ago, where 86% of all species were lost. This event was probably triggered by a short and severe ice age, killing most of the – at the time mainly aquatic – species. The second extinction occurred in the Late Devonian, 375 million years ago. 75% of the species were lost. The culprit this time: Newly evolved land plants that stirred up the earth and released nutrients in the ocean, which for its part caused algae blooms, using up oxygen and harming ground-dwellers such as trilobites. The third mass extinction, also known as “the great dying” occurred in End Permian, 251 million years ago. Several natural catastrophes – occurring at the same time and causing each other in a domino effect – killed nearly all life on Earth: 96% of all species vanished. Some groups of species never evolved again. The forth mass extinction happened 200 million years ago, at the End Triassic. Even though 80% of all species were killed, a clear cause could never be found. The fifth mass extinction – 66 million years ago at the End Cretaceous – might be the most famous one: Volcanic activity, climate change and an asteroid’s impact ended the era of dinosaurs on Earth. But also, other species suffered: 76% of all species went extinct. (1)

But soon, we might have to add another mass extinction to this list. The sixth mass extinction, happening in the Anthropocene, right now. How many percent of the species on Earth will be gone this time? Some authors think the sixth mass extinction event has already begun, others say, we are on the edge. Clear is, we are observing currently a rapid extinction of many species due to human activity: Habit destruction, overexploitation, new diseases, invasive species and climate change are just some of the driving factors.

To define a mass extinction event, one has to look at the extinction rate, specifying how many species go extinct in “normal periods”. These so-called “natural background extinction rates” can be estimated by going through fossil databanks. With there help it can be for example estimated that under “normal” conditions every 700 years one mammal species will go extinct. This changes when a mass extinction event occurs. The palaeontologists Anthony Hallam and Paul Wignall write that “a mass extinction is an extinction of a significant proportion of the world’s biota in a geologically insignificant period of time”. (2) And even if we don’t know whether we are witnessing an extinction event equal to the former five events, one thing is clear: Species are vanishing, faster and more thoroughly than during the last 66 million years.

In the first part of the book, Kolbert addresses some species that have already disappeared: The mastodon, an extinct mammoth species, the great auk, the last individual being killed in 1844 in Iceland, and the ammonites, for their part witnesses of a mass extinction event. Kolbert tells the story how in 19th century certain natural scientists discovered there must have been species roaming the earth that went extinct – a blasphemous thought! Hadn’t god created all species, perfectly adapted to their environment? How could some species just have vanished? It took quite some time until the thought of the extinction species caught on…

The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History is quite an eye-opener, covering all important processes that are contribution to the ongoing extinction. And even though the book is dealing with a serious topic, Kolbert writes in a way that leaves you not thoroughly depressed. Now you know the Panamanian golden frog and the white-plumed antbird. And the more people know about their fate, there is a chance that other species don’t have to go the same way.

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