This article was published by Reuters:

Nature is in crisis, and it's only getting worse. As species vanish at a rate not seen in 10 million years, more than 1 million species are currently on the brink.

Humans are driving this extinction crisis through activities that take over animal habitats, pollute nature and fuel global warming, scientists say. A new global deal to protect nature agreed on Dec. 19 has the potential to help, and scientists are urging the world’s nations to ensure the deal is a success.

When an animal species is lost, a whole set of characteristics disappears along with it - genes, behaviors, activities and interactions with other plants and animals that may have taken thousands or millions - even billions - of years to evolve.

Whatever role that species played within an ecosystem is lost too, whether that's pollinating certain plants, churning nutrients in soil, fertilizing forests or keeping other animal populations in check, among other things. If that function was crucial to the health of an ecosystem, the animals' disappearance can cause a landscape to transform.

Lose too many species and the results could be catastrophic, leading an entire system to collapse.