A study published in eLife analyzed ancient genetic data to investigate the decline of great auks. The findings suggest that intense hunting by humans likely caused their rapid extinction, even if the birds weren't already under threat from environmental changes. This highlights the potential for industrial-scale exploitation to drive ...
A new study published today suggests that a combination of climate change and human activity led to the extinction of Australia's megafauna. The research analyzed fossil data, climate reconstructions, and archaeological information to test scenarios explaining regional variation in megafauna coexistence with humans.
A new study reveals that 31.7% of tropical Africa's vascular plant species are potentially threatened with extinction, while an additional 33.2% are potentially rare. The RAINBIO database was used to identify four regions in Africa most exposed to threats.
A recent study found that plant extinction rates have increased significantly, particularly in biodiversity hotspots, due to human activities such as agriculture and urbanization. The research group also discovered that the extinction rates of perennial herb plants growing in temperate regions are among the most threatened.
Researchers found that increased mercury levels in the environment contributed to the mass extinction of three out of four species on Earth 201 million years ago. The study suggests a cocktail effect of CO2, global warming, and toxic substances like mercury, challenging the traditional theory of greenhouse gas-induced climate change.
A new study in Science documents life's rebound after the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event through a collection of fossils found in central Colorado. The findings provide a detailed snapshot of the first million years of taxonomic and ecological recovery, revealing a dynamic interplay between plants, animals, and climate.
A Yale University study reveals that the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event was triggered by a sharp drop in ocean acidity, leading to the demise of marine calcifiers and a 50% decline in species productivity. The research provides new insights into the recovery of marine life after the event.
Researchers found evidence of rapid ocean surface acidification following the Chicxulub asteroid impact, which may have contributed to the K-Pg mass extinction. The study suggests that this acidification led to a significant reduction in global marine primary productivity, lasting up to 40,000 years.
Researchers found that a decrease in oxygen content in the ocean led to the extinction of nearly 25% of marine species. The study focused on carbon, sulphur and thallium isotopes to determine the chronology and mechanisms of the event.
A major impact event around 466 Mya may have triggered cooling and biological diversification, leading to late Ordovician glaciation. Cosmic dust enrichment in the stratosphere is believed to be a key factor in this process.
Researchers have discovered nine new species of bees in Fiji, including one that is nearing extinction due to climate-related changes. The study highlights the vulnerability of highland-restricted species to a warming climate.
Mackerel shark diversity peaked in the Early Late Cretaceous period but declined over the last 20 million years. Cooler temperatures and clade competition with ground sharks drove this decline.
A recent study published in Science explores how humans shaped species coexistence and biodiversity loss in North America, leading to the mass extinction of giant carnivores and herbivores.
New maps reveal that over 3 million square kilometers of wilderness have been lost since the 1990s, threatening species extinction. However, conserving these areas can halve the world's extinction risk, according to a recent study published in Nature.
A University of Queensland and CSIRO study finds that wilderness areas reduce species extinction risk by half, highlighting the urgent need for protection. Vital 'at-risk' wilderness areas require immediate conservation efforts to prevent loss of biodiversity and ecosystem disruption.
Scientists have confirmed a new mass extinction event occurred 260 million years ago, affecting life on land and in the seas. The event is correlated with massive flood-basalt eruptions, similar to those causing other known severe mass extinctions.
An international study has investigated the extinction of two New Zealand songbirds, revealing that habitat loss and introduced mammalian predators were key factors. The research, published in Biology Letters, used ancient DNA to reconstruct the birds' population history, indicating a rapid decline prior to their extinction.
Historical analysis of 9,000 records reveals associations between human disturbance, climate change and local mammalian extinction. Large mammals experienced earlier and larger population declines, highlighting the impact of global cooling and warming on habitat sizes.
A 420 million-year-old mass extinction event, one of the most dramatic ever recorded, was caused by rapid and widespread depletion of oxygen in global oceans. The study provides a mechanism for the step-wise extinction event, driven in part by sulfidic ocean conditions.
A new study found a previously unknown mass extinction event involving minuscule microorganisms, which shaped the Earth's atmosphere approximately 2.05 billion years ago. This die-off is estimated to be even greater than the dinosaur extinction, revealing significant changes in the planet's biosphere.
A new study predicts that up to a quarter of the world's conifer species will face extinction by 2070 due to climate change. Species native to smaller islands are most at risk, with some expected to be pushed out of their fundamental niche and tolerance range.
A new study reveals that Antarctic marine life took over 320,000 years to recover after the mass extinction event that wiped out the dinosaurs. It wasn't until up to one million years later that the number of species on the sea floor returned to pre-extinction levels.
A new model suggests that declining fertility rates in young Neanderthal women could have contributed to the population's decline and eventual extinction. The study used demographic modeling to explore possible scenarios, finding that a decrease in fertility rates of just 2.7 percent could have led to extinction within 10,000 years.
Researchers found that considering mutual dependencies between species increases the number of threatened species due to climate change. In Mediterranean regions, this effect is particularly high, with up to three times the predicted local extinctions when considering co-extinction.
Researchers used ecological and evolutionary attributes to model extinction risk for data-deficient amphibians, finding over 1,000 species threatened with extinction. Half of these species are likely Endangered or Critically Endangered, primarily in the Neotropics and Southeast Asia.
A Yale-led study reveals that 1,012 additional amphibian species are at risk of extinction, with many found in South America and Southeast Asia. The study predicts that more than half of these species are 'Endangered' or 'Critically Endangered',
A new study led by York University reveals the American Bumblebee is critically endangered due to a 70% reduction in its area of occurrence and an 89% decrease in relative abundance. Immediate conservation action may save the species from extinction, similar to the fate of the Rusty-patched Bumblebee.
A study published in Nature Communications suggests that volcanic eruptions in the Siberian Traps led to a global catastrophe known as the Great Dying, which killed off 95% of life on Earth. The eruptions released massive amounts of mercury vapor into the atmosphere, causing acid rain and warming the planet.
Scientists studied planktic foraminifera fossil record, finding that global recovery took around ten million years after the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction. The study suggests that it will take an extremely long time, likely millions of years, to recover from current climate crisis.
A new study finds that evolution is the key to understanding the 'speed limit' of recovery after mass extinctions, with a minimum time of 10 million years for species diversity to return. This finding has implications for ongoing extinction events driven by climate change.
A Florida State University team has uncovered conclusive evidence linking sea level rise and ocean oxygen depletion to the Ireviken extinction event. The study reveals that reduced oxygen conditions played a central role in the mass extinction, with only about 8% of global oceans experiencing significant reductions.
Two isolated mountain lion populations in southern California are threatened by low genetic diversity and mortality, which can be addressed through conservation strategies focused on connectivity and coexistence. Research suggests that connecting these populations could help prevent extinction within the next 50 years.
Researchers analyzed ancient ocean fossils to understand ecological transformation after mass extinctions. The study found that survivors shared similar traits with predecessors, but had a surge in modern traits like mobility and diverse feeding habits, driving recovery.
A Yale University study predicts that human land-use will increase the extinction risk for 1,700 species by 2070. This is due to habitat loss and fragmentation, particularly in Central and East Africa, Mesoamerica, South America, and Southeast Asia.
A new study by UCL researchers finds that alien species are the primary cause of recent global extinctions, responsible for 126 extinctions. Many plant and animal species, including mammals and birds, have been affected, with some species, such as rats and cats, being major contributors.
Researchers used high-precision dating methods to study the timing and impact of Deccan Traps volcanism on dinosaur extinction. The studies suggest that massive volcanic eruptions could have dramatically altered Earth's climate, triggering mass extinctions before the Chicxulub asteroid impact.
Researchers find evidence suggesting an asteroid/comet impact reignited massive volcanic eruptions in India, coinciding with the worldwide extinction at the end of the Cretaceous Period. The eruptions, known as the Deccan Traps, produced climate-altering gases that may have played a role in the mass extinction.
Researchers discovered a DNA modification that enhances fear extinction, enabling the brain to rapidly adapt to changing conditions. They found adenosine modifications in neurons involved in fear extinction, which increase levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and promote new non-fearful memories.
A new study finds that 28% of endangered species are unprotected by CITES, with 62% needing up to 24 years for protection. Experts recommend speeding up the policymaking process to prevent extinction.
Researchers revised the megalodon shark's extinction timeline, finding evidence of genuine fossil occurrences until 3.6 million years ago. The team proposes that competition with great white sharks led to megalodon's demise, rather than a supernova or marine mass extinction.
At least 200 large animal species are declining in population and over 150 are under threat of extinction due to humans' meat consumption habits. Megafauna populations are experiencing a 70% decline, with 59% facing extinction.
A study published in Nature Communications found that the Great Dying, a massive extinction event 252 million years ago, likely targeted plant life before animal species. The research team discovered high concentrations of nickel in Australian sediment, which may have been released from Siberian volcanoes and poisoned plant life.
The Threatened Species Recovery Hub has identified the top 100 Australian plant species facing extinction, with ground orchids topping the list. Urbanization, inappropriate fire regimes and introduced plant diseases are major drivers of these extinctions, highlighting the need for urgent conservation efforts to save these unique species.
A new systematic approach to assess animal extinction risk has found that 20% of previously unassessable species are likely threatened. The method, designed by Luca Santini and colleagues, is more efficient than traditional methods and provides an early warning system for species at risk.
A study found that four mammalian lineages coexisted with the dinosaurs and survived the end-Cretaceous mass extinction. Some species were more resilient than others, while others diversified rapidly in response to new environmental conditions.
A new study reveals a strong positive relationship between global extinction risk and the loss of forest intactness in bird distributions. Most global hotspots of restricted ranges now fall in degraded forests, highlighting the importance of restoring intactness to reduce extinction risk.
A team of ETH Zurich researchers has found a way to harmonize conflicting results from fossil-based and phylogenetic analysis of species emergence and extinction. By considering different mechanisms of speciation, such as budding, cladogenesis, and anagenesis, they have developed a computer model that accounts for these assumptions, pr...
A new study has found that increased marine temperatures and reduced oxygen availability led to the extinction of nearly 96% of ancient ocean life during the catastrophic end-Permian mass extinction event. Tropical marine animals were more resilient to these changes, highlighting a potential pattern for future extinction events.
A new study from the University of Washington and Stanford University reveals that global warming was the primary cause of the Permian mass extinction, which wiped out 80% of oxygen in the oceans. The research predicts that high-latitude species were nearly completely wiped out due to their high oxygen demands.
A machine-learning approach predicts plant species at risk of extinction using open-source data for over 150,000 land plant species. The approach identifies variables predicting extinction risk and calculates probability of a species being designated as endangered.
Researchers simulated catastrophic environmental changes, leading to the extinction of all life. Co-extinctions amplify the effects of climate change, with a 5-6 degree warming globally enough to wipe out most life. This study warns humanity not to underestimate the impact of co-extinctions.
A new study by JRC scientists reveals that global warming can underestimate extinctions by up to 10 times if co-extinction cascades are not accounted for. The researchers constructed virtual Earths with thousands of plants and animals, simulating extreme environmental changes.
Imagination has been shown to be an effective tool in treating anxiety and fear-related disorders. A recent study found that imagining a threat can help reduce neural and physiological responses associated with fear, making it a promising treatment option for conditions like post-traumatic stress disorder and phobias.
A new study reveals that mammals cannot evolve fast enough to escape the current extinction crisis, threatening the loss of unique ecological functions and evolutionary history. Conservation efforts must be improved to prevent further extinctions, with some species facing high risks of disappearing within 50 years.
A recent study published in the Geological Society of America Bulletin suggests that the end-Permian mass extinction may have occurred in only 31,000 years, making it an instantaneous event by geological standards. The sudden extinction was likely caused by Siberian flood-basalt eruptions and local intensive explosive volcanism.
A new study used fossil cores from northeastern Italy to test a thought experiment on mass extinctions. The results showed that the fossil record can produce a misleading picture if not interpreted with care, suggesting smaller bursts of extinctions over a longer timeline rather than a single massive die-off.
A new study found that the Siberian Flood Basalts, a massive volcanic eruption around 250 million years ago, sent nearly 90% of life into extinction. The team discovered that chlorine, bromine, and iodine in the lithosphere were released into the atmosphere, destroying the ozone layer.
A new UBC study analyzed 825 marine fish species and found that 499 are projected to face very high extinction risks due to overfishing and climate change. Effective fisheries management and low greenhouse gas emissions can reduce this risk by up to 63%, saving hundreds of fish stocks from becoming endangered.
A study found that the end-Cretaceous mass extinction event led to the shift in dominance from lamniform to carcharhiniform sharks. Carcharhiniforms, including Tiger and Hammerhead sharks, proliferated in the post-extinction world.
Researchers created a model to simulate biodiversity history in South America over thousands of years, closely matching observed patterns. The model's results suggest topography and climate play critical roles in species diversification and extinction.