The historical record is full of surprises – and it could encourage conservationists to think more creatively.
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Articles on Mass extinctions
Displaying 21 - 40 of 76 articles
The risks to nature from man-made global warming – and the imperative to act – are clear.
The analysis suggests that there was a mass extinction event at the time of the end-Permian, on land - and that it happened at the same time as the marine end-Permian extinction.
A drying climate and the arrival of people together finished off Australia’s megafauna.
300,000 years ago, there were lots of different species of human. Now it’s only us – and we’re probably the reason why.
Populations of plankton are in decline. If we push this critical foundation of the marine food chain to extinction, we could cripple ecosystems for millions of years.
Every cloud has a silver lining – even the debris cloud from an asteroid impact
The more we know about the animals that lived during this time, the more we can start to comprehend how species react and recover after an extinction event.
The island of New Guinea is home to 6% of the world’s frogs, but if the deadly chytrid fungus invades it could cause a mass extinction.
A new movie highlights the importance of radical hope and courageous action in responding to the climate crisis
Alarm bells went off when several recent studies reported mass insect die-offs in different parts of the world. But reports of an ‘insect apocalypse’ have been greatly exaggerated.
Growing evidence suggests that the extinction of the dinosaurs involved profound, complex and interconnected changes to the global systems that support life. Much like we are facing today.
Australia is losing mammals faster than any other country, as well as plenty more plants and animals besides. Extinction is theft from future generations – it’s time to treat it as such.
More evidence that the asteroid hit on Earth that marked the end of the dinosaurs could have triggered a deadly increase in volcanic activity.
Local tetrapod biodiversity exploded after the dinosaurs, but has barely changed in 60m years.
The natural world depends on insects to function, but they may be the next casualty of climate change.
Climate change threatens to cause mass extinctions – but how, exactly? New research suggests male fertility may be the weakest link.
The movement to kickstart a radical transformation of our society has begun. For the sake of our children – and their children – it must succeed.
Lee’s research identified the cause of mysterious and devastating mass frog extinctions that spread across the world starting in the 1970s: it was a skin fungus.
Death is inevitable for individuals and also for species. With help from the fossil record, paleontologists are piecing together what might make one creature more vulnerable than another.
Top contributors
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Adjunct professor, UNSW Sydney
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Senior Lecturer in Paleontology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences at the University of Bath, University of Bath
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Distinguished Research Professor and Australian Laureate, James Cook University
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Assistant professor, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
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Associate Professor in Earth System Science, University of Exeter
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Matthew Flinders Professor of Global Ecology and Models Theme Leader for the ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, Flinders University
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Professor of Evolutionary Palaeobiology at the Milner Centre for Evolution, University of Bath
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President, Center for Conservation Biology, Bing Professor of Population Studies, Stanford University
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Specialist Museum Scientist and Head of Department (National Museum, Bloemfontein) and Research Affiliate, University of the Free State
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Associate Professor in Geophysics and Remote Sensing, Queensland University of Technology
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The University of Melbourne
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Strategic Professor in Palaeontology, Flinders University
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The University of Melbourne
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Adjunct Associate Lecturer, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland
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Professor of Conservation and Sustainable Livelihoods, Charles Darwin University
