An analysis of 27,647 vertebrate species finds an association between body size and extinction risk, and indicates that the lightest and heaviest vertebrate species experience the highest risks of extinction, and that the heaviest vertebrates are most at risk of direct killing by humans, whereas the lightest vertebrates are most at risk of habitat degradation, suggesting that anthropogenic activities could reduce the size distribution of the world's vertebrates.
###
Article #17-02078: "Extinction risk is most acute for the world's largest and smallest vertebrates," by William J. Ripple et al.
MEDIA CONTACT: William J. Ripple, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR; tel: 541-737-3056; e-mail: < bill.ripple@oregonstate.edu >
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences