Extinction News

July 19, 2024

Top Headlines

Logged Forests Can Still Have Ecological Value -- If Not Pushed Too Far

July 17, 2024 — Researchers have analysed data from 127 studies to reveal 'thresholds' for when logged rainforests lose the ability to sustain themselves. The results could widen the scope of which forests are considered 'worth' conserving, but also show how much ...

Evidence for Butchery of Giant Armadillo-Like Mammals in Argentina 21,000 Years Ago

July 17, 2024 — Cut marks on fossils could be evidence of humans exploiting large mammals in Argentina more than 20,000 years ago, according to a new ...

Research Tracks 66 Million Years of Mammalian Diversity

July 17, 2024 — New research has examined the fossil record going back 66 million years and tracked changes to mammalian ecosystems and species diversity on the North American ...

History Shows That Humans Are Good for Biodiversity... Sometimes

July 15, 2024 — Humans have been an important driver of vegetation change over thousands of years, and, in some places, had positive impacts on biodiversity, according to a new ...

Latest Headlines

updated 11:09pm EDT

Global Database Reveals Large Gaps in Our Knowledge of Four-Footed Animals

July 9, 2024 — Researchers developed TetrapodTraits -- a global database of animals with four feet -- which can now be applied for better ecology, evolution and conservation ...

Mapping the World's Fungi from Air Samples

July 11, 2024 — Researchers have found that the key to a quick and cost-effective mapping of biodiversity has been right in front of our eyes all along, but at the same time invisible -- i.e., in the air that ...

Wolves' Return Has Had Only Small Impact on Deer Populations in NE Washington

July 10, 2024 — Wolves returned to Washington state in 2008. A new study shows that, despite their rising numbers, wolves are not having much of an impact on ...

Study Projects Major Changes in North Atlantic and Arctic Marine Ecosystems Due to Climate Change

July 8, 2024 — New research predicts significant shifts in marine fish communities in the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans as a result of climate ...

A New Species of Extinct Crocodile Relative Rewrites Life on the Triassic Coastline

July 10, 2024 — The surprising discovery of a new species of extinct crocodile relative from the Triassic Favret Formation of Nevada, USA, rewrites the story of life ...

Research Reveals the Most Complete Dinosaur Discovered in the UK in a Century

July 10, 2024 — The most complete dinosaur discovered in the UK in the last 100 years, with a pubic hip bone the size of a 'dinner plate', has been described in a ...

Researchers Listen to the Hearts of Bats in Flight

July 10, 2024 — Unique recordings show that bats can ramp up heart rate from 6 to 900 b.p.m within ...

First Local Extinction in the US Due to Sea Level Rise, Study Suggests

July 9, 2024 — The United States has lost its only stand of the massive Key Largo tree cactus in what researchers believe is the first local extinction of a species caused by sea level rise in the ...

Restored Oyster Sanctuaries Host More Marine Life

July 8, 2024 — Oysters sanctuaries in Chesapeake Bay are working for more than just oysters. Compared to nearby harvest areas, sanctuaries contain more abundant populations of oysters and other animal life--and the ...

Coral Reefs: Battlegrounds for Survival in a Changing Climate

July 8, 2024 — Coral reefs, those vibrant underwater cities, stand on the precipice of collapse. While rising ocean temperatures and coral bleaching grab headlines, a new essay reveals a hidden layer of complexity ...

Earlier Headlines

Near Chromosome-Level Genome of the Mojave Poppy Bee

July 2, 2024 — Scientists have developed a near chromosome-level genome for the Mojave poppy bee, a specialist pollinator of conservation ...

Ocean Acidification Turns Fish Off Coral Reefs

July 1, 2024 — A new study of coral reefs in Papua New Guinea shows ocean acidification simplifies coral structure, making crucial habitat less appealing to certain fish ...

Researchers Identify Unique Survival Strategies Adopted by Fish in the World's Warmest Waters

July 1, 2024 — A team of researchers have identified unexpected ways coral reef fish living in the warmest waters on earth, in the Arabian Gulf, have adapted to survive extreme ...

The Evidence Is Mounting: Humans Were Responsible for the Extinction of Large Mammals

July 1, 2024 — Human hunting, not climate change, played a decisive role in the extinction of large mammals over the last 50,000 years. This conclusion comes from researchers who reviewed over 300 scientific ...

Sixty-Million-Year-Old Grape Seeds Reveal How the Death of the Dinosaurs May Have Paved the Way for Grapes to Spread

July 1, 2024 — Scientists discovered the oldest fossil grapes in the Western Hemisphere, which help show how after the death of the dinosaurs, grapes spread across the ...

Ecologists Reconstruct the History of Biodiversity in the Indo-Australian Archipelago and Its Rise as a Hotspot

June 28, 2024 — The Coral Triangle, also known as the Indo-Australian Archipelago, is renowned for having the greatest marine biodiversity on our planet. Despite its importance, the detailed evolutionary history of ...

Projected Loss of Brown Macroalgae and Seagrasses With Global Environmental Change

June 27, 2024 — Researchers predict that climate change will drive a substantial redistribution of brown seaweeds and seagrasses at the global scale. The projected changes are alarming due to the fundamental role ...

Ammonites' Fate Sealed by Meteor Strike That Wiped out Dinosaurs

June 27, 2024 — Ammonites were not in decline before their extinction, scientists have ...

Last Surviving Woolly Mammoths Were Inbred but Not Doomed to Extinction

June 27, 2024 — The last population of woolly mammoths was isolated on Wrangel Island off the coast of Siberia 10,000 years ago, when sea levels rose and cut the mountainous island off from the mainland. A new ...

To Protect Corals from Summer Heatwaves, We Should Help Their Microbial Symbionts Evolve Heat Tolerance in the Lab

June 27, 2024 — Most coral reef restoration efforts involve restocking reefs with nursery-grown corals. However, if these corals are of the same stock as their wild counterparts, they will be equally vulnerable to ...

Future Risk of Coral Bleaching Set to Intensify Globally

June 26, 2024 — Researchers have projected future marine heatwaves will cause coral reefs to be at severe risk of bleaching for longer periods than previously ...

Ocean's Loss of Oxygen Caused Massive Jurassic Extinction: Could It Happen Again?

June 26, 2024 — Researchers have found a chemical clue in Italian limestone that explains a mass extinction of marine life in the Early Jurassic period, 183 million years ago. Volcanic activity pumped out CO2, ...

Frog 'Saunas' a Lifeline for Endangered Frog Populations

June 26, 2024 — New biologist-designed shelters will help endangered frogs survive the devastating impacts of a deadly fungal disease by regulating their body temperature to fight off ...

Boosting Biodiversity Without Hurting Local Economies

June 21, 2024 — Protected areas, like nature reserves, can conserve biodiversity without harming local economic growth, countering a common belief that conservation restricts development. A new study outlines what ...

Insecticides Contributed to Loss of Butterflies Across American Midwest, Study Finds

June 20, 2024 — Insecticide use is a major factor causing a decrease in the size and diversity of butterfly populations across the US Midwest, according to a new ...

Natural Hazards Threaten Over Three Thousand Species

June 18, 2024 — Natural hazards can speed up the extinction process of land animals that have limited distribution and/or small populations. But there is hope to turn the negative development around, says ...

Restored Rat-Free Islands Could Support Hundreds of Thousands More Breeding Seabirds

June 18, 2024 — Archipelago case-study shows that removing invasive rats and restoring native vegetation could help bring back hundreds of thousands of breeding pairs of seabirds lost to tropical islands. ...

Nile Perch Invasion Triggered Genetic Bottlenecks in Lake Victoria's Endemic Cichlids

June 17, 2024 — Newfound evidence reveals that the upsurge of the exotic Nile perch in Lake Victoria had long-lasting effects on the genetic diversity of various local cichlid species, report scientists. Through ...

'Lost' Birds List Will Aid in Protecting Species

June 17, 2024 — A group of scientists has released the first comprehensive list of birds that haven't been documented with sound or video in more than a ...

Ancient Polar Sea Reptile Fossil Is Oldest Ever Found in Southern Hemisphere

June 17, 2024 — An international team of scientists has identified the oldest fossil of a sea-going reptile from the Southern Hemisphere -- a nothosaur vertebra found on New Zealand's South Island. 246 million ...