Causes of biodiversity loss

 Habitat Change. Such as land use change, physical modification of rivers or water withdrawal
from rivers, loss of coral reefs, and damage to sea floors due to trawling.
 Overexploitation (especially overfishing). For marine systems, the dominant direct driver of
change globally has been overfishing. Demand for fish as food for people and as feed for
aquaculture production is increasing, resulting in increased risk of major, long-lasting collapses
of regional marine fisheries. Rainforests disappear because of excessive logging.
 Biotic Change. When an invasive species (species that are not indigenous to a particular habitat) is
introduced to a habitat, it naturally destroys the system or order that exists in that particular
habitat. For instance, when janitor fish is introduced into fishpond of milkfish. Foreign elements
such as plastic or rubber products introduced in marine ecosystems are considered invasive alien
species.
 Nutrient loading or Pollution. Due to human activities and industries, tons and tons of wastes
are produced, which are irresponsibly dumped in nature. These introduce nutrients or chemicals
in ecosystems that may be harmful to biodiversity.
 Climate Change. Climate change has affected many species in the world in terms of the schedule
of their migration and reproduction and the emergence of diseases. A stable climate is important
to maintain the rhythm of these “schedules.”
(source: https://www.millenniumassessment.org/documents/document.354.aspx.pdf)