Environmental scientists believe that most animal groups today are facing global population declines. The magnitude of the declines is so great that many are referring to this as the beginning of the sixth mass extinction. Amphibians are one of the most affected groups: Their estimated extinction rate since 2007 is[Read More…]
Tag: extinction
Biological crisis forces species to adapt or go extinct
An extensive report released last month warns that unsustainable human activities, such as agricultural expansion and marine pollution, are accelerating species extinction rates and causing the fastest loss of biodiversity in human history. Authored by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), the foremost body for issues[Read More…]
How invasive species change more than just ecosystems
An invasive species can be any kind of living organism—bacteria, fungi, plants, insects, fish, or even the organisms’ eggs—that has no evolutionary history in a particular region, but is able to establish a self-sustaining, reproducing population. Given that there are no natural mechanisms that control their influence over an ecosystem,[Read More…]