Extinctions

2018-2025 Articles

1:4 of Freshwater Animals Are Threatened with Extinction 0125.rtfAlarm Call as World's Trees Slide towards Extinction 1024.rtfRising Seas Wiped Out an Entire US Species for 1st time. It’s a Harbinger. 0724.rtf1 in 5 Migratory Animal Species Faces Extinction - UN 0224.rtf1:4 of Freshwater Fish Are at Risk of Extinction 1223.rtfNearly 1:2 of the World’s Flowering Plants Face Extinction Threat 1223.rtf‘Biodiversity Catastrophe’ - How Earth Could Look in 2050, unless We Act Now 1123.rtfThis Moss Survived 165 Million Years. Climate Change Is Killing It. 0823.rtfEarlier Springtimes Are Driving Some Birds to Extinction 0723.rtfGlobal Wildlife Loss Is ‘Significantly More Alarming’ than Previously Thought 0523.rtfThe Business Case for Reversing Extinction 0323.rtf - Begin with pollination services required for most of our fruit and vegetables. Bees, the #1 pollinators are having great problems.Click for more

Extreme Heat Could Put 40% of Land Vertebrates in Peril by 2100 - 0123.rtfBee Extinction Worries Grow as Species Numbers Drop 0121.rtfEarth Is in the Midst of the 6th Mass Extinction, Wildlife Running Out of Places to Live 0123.rtfMadagascar’s Unique Wildlife Faces Imminent Wave of Extinction 0123.rtfKoalas Could Be Extinct within 30 Years, but Might Survive in Blue Mountains 1222.rtfMore than 5,000 Wild Species (10%) Are at Some Risk of Extinction in Canada 1122.rtf65% of Antarctica’s Plants & Animals Could Disappear, including Its Penguins 1222.rtfClimate Change Threatens Emperor Penguins with Extinction 1022.rtfNearly All Marine Species Face Extinction if Carbon Emissions Don’t Drop 0822.rtfUp to 1 in 6 U.S. Tree Species Is Threatened with Extinction 0822.rtfClimate Endgame - Risk of Human Extinction ‘Dangerously Under-Explored’ 0822.rtfOur Empty Oceans - Scottish Team’s Research Finds that Atlantic Plankton All but Wiped Out in Catastrophic Loss of Life 0722.rtfAs Animal Seed Dispersers Go the Way of the Dodo, Forest Plants Are at Risk 0422.rtfOcean Animals Face a Mass Extinction from Climate Change 0422.rtfClimate Change Is on Track to Wipe Out Most Ocean Life 0422.rtfWhat to Expect from the World’s 6th Mass Extinction 0122.rtf - more pandemics, declines of pollinators & soil microorganisms, and, with vthem, food1 in 5 of Europe’s Bird Species Slipping towards Extinction 1021.rtfVirtually All Emperor Penguin Colonies Doomed for Extinction by 2100 0821.rtfClimate Change Could Drive Komodo Dragons to Extinction 0321.rtfAlmost 1:4 of All Freshwater Fish Species Are in Peril, Thanks to Humans 0221.rtfScience Warns World of ‘Ghastly’ Future Ahead 0121.rtfTop Scientists Warn of 'Ghastly Future of Mass Extinction', Climate Disruption 0121.rtf40% of World’s Plant Species at Risk of Extinction 0920.rtfA ‘Crossroads’ for Humanity - Earth’s Biodiversity Is Still Collapsing 0920.rtfMost Polar Bears to Disappear by 2100, Study Predicts 0720.rtfMass Extinctions Are Accelerating, Scientists Report 0620.rtf - 543 known extinctions in the last 2 decades. That’s 100 times the background rate. 515 more terrestrial species, or 1.7%,half with populations under 250 individuals, are likely to go extinct in the next 2 decades.As Ice Melts, Emperor Penguins March toward Extinction 0520.rtfNature’s Dangerous Decline ‘Unprecedented’; Species Extinction Rates ‘Accelerating’ 0420.rtfPlant and Animal Species at Risk of Extinction 0320.rtfWith Temperatures Rising, Can Animals Survive the Heat Stress? 0320.rtf1:3 of Plants and Animals Risk Mass Extinction in 50 Years 0220.rtfSevere Drought, Other Climate Impacts Drive the Platypus toward Extinction 0220.rtfEarth's Most Biodiverse Ecosystems Are Facing Collapse 0120.rtf - tropical forests and coral reefs1:3 of Tropical Africa’s Plants Are at Risk of Extinction 1119.rtfMore than Half of Native European Trees Face Extinction 0919.rtfWhat Are Mass Extinctions, and What Causes Them? 0919.rtf - 4 out of 5 were due to great CO2 outgassing from volcanic events (120,000 to 800,000 cubic miles of eruptions over millennia). The 5th, the most recent, was mostly by an asteroid. It wiped out 75-90% of species on Earth. 252 Mya was the worst, with the only great insect wipeout. 96% of marine species went extinct, sea surface temperatures were up to 104°F (40°C) 1.5 My later, and 76% of dissoved oxygen disappeared.The Animals That Will Survive Climate Change 0819.rtf - reproduce often, non-specialized diets, smaller, mobile, tolerate heat, alter mating season, etc.Climate Change Outruns Evolution 0719.rtf - Rate of climate change over next century will be ~10,000 times as fast as observed rate of species change over time.Global Warming Is Pushing Pacific Salmon to the Brink of Extinction 0719.rtfOcean Carbon Tipping Process, Point, and Peril 0719.rtf‘Frightening’ Number of Plant Extinctions Found in Global Survey 0619.rtfHuman Society under Urgent Threat from Loss of Earth's Natural Life 0519.rtf1,200 Species across the World Face 'Almost Certain Extinction' 0319.rtf1:3 of Arabian Gulf Marine Life Could Be Extinct by 2090 - 0219.rtfExtinction Too May Be Far Worse than Thought 1218.rtf - cascades from keystone speciesWhen History's Worst Climate Catastrophe Struck the World's Oceans 1218.rtfAncient African Mammal Extinctions Caused by Climate Change, Not Humans 1118.rtfClimate Change Reduces Male Fertility, Could Help Drive Extinction 1118.rtfClimate Change Is ‘Escalator to Extinction' for Mountain Birds 1018.rtfGlobal Warming Is Pushing Alpine Animals to Mountain Peaks - and Extinction 0918.rtf8 Bird Species Are 1st Confirmed Avian Extinctions This Decade 0918.rtfClimate Change Could Kill Off Bees, Northwestern Study Finds 0618.rtf1 in 5 British Mammals at Risk of Extinction 0618.rtfBiomass Study Finds People Are Wiping Out Wild Mammals 0518.rtfAs Climate Change Takes Hold by 2050, Bees Will Be the 1st to Fall 0418.rtfClimate Change Threatens 1,000s of Species in Our Lifetime 0318.rtfMagma Burning Coal May Have Caused Earth’s Worst Mass Extinction 0318.rtfWorld’s Great Forests Could Lose Half of All Wildlife as Planet Warms 0318.rtfWorld's Worst-Ever Extinction Event ‘Caused by UV Radiation' 0218.rtfWill Chocolate Be among the Foods That Go Extinct due to Climate Change? 0118.rtf - vrious foods, plus, bees decline

World’s Great Forests Could Lose Half of All Wildlife as Planet Warms 0318.rtf

2017 Articles and earlier

Trophy Hunting May Drive Extinctions, due to Climate Change 1117.rtfHigh Marine Extinction Risk by 2100 - 1017.rtfEarth May Be Close to 'Threshold of Catastrophe' 1017.rtf - rates of carbon additions now vs in previous extinctionsClimate Change May Represent “Existential" Threat to Humanity - Scripps 0917.rtfFuture of Oldest Tree Species on Earth in Peril 0917.rtfMonarch Butterflies in Western U.S. Risk Extinction 0917.rtfClimate Change Could Wipe Out 1:3 of Parasite Species 0917.rtfClimate Change, Sewage, Fertilizers Could Trigger Mass Ocean Extinction 0817.rtfProposed Colombia Dam Threatens to Wipe Out Endangered Plants, Disrupt River 0717.rtfPast Extinctions Point to a Current and Future Biodiversity Crisis 0717.rtf6th Mass Extinction - the Era of ‘Biological Annihilation' 0717.rtf - current steep rates of habitat loss, population declinesBurning Fossil Fuels Almost Ended All Life on Earth 0717.rtf - closest analog of today, but we are changing climate 10 x faster. It is a tour thru the geological record of Earth’s greatest extinction “event” 250-252 million years ago. Magma then erupted to become the Siberian Traps, enough to cover the USA 1 km deep, THRU vast coal beds - the other fossil fuel event.Warmer Climate Raises Extinction Risk 0617.rtfExtinction Looming for Most of California’s Salmon and Trout 0517.rtfClimate Change Plays a Role in Growing List of Species at Risk 0517.rtfMore than 1:4 of UK Birds Face Extinction Risk or Steep Decline 0417.rtf - turtle dove and Atlantic puffin included1,000s of Tree Species Are at Risk of Extinction 0417.rtfHalf of the World's Species Could Become Extinct by 2050, Biologists Say 0217.rtfAct Now, before 47% of Mammal and 24% of Bird Species Are Lost to Global Warming 0217.rtfSurprising Number of Species Going Extinct in Their Usual Homes 1216.rtfClimate Changing Too Fast for Species 1116.rtfButterflies Could Be About to We Wiped Out by Extreme Weather 1016.rtfGlobal Warming Could Kill Off Good Bacteria, Hurting Ecosystems’ Achilles Heel 1016.rtfThe Biggest Animals in the Ocean Are More Likely to Go Extinct 0916.rtfWarming Climate Expected to Squeeze Out Arctic Bird Habitat 0816.rtfMass Extinction Has a Tipping Point 0716.rtf - Ancient plankton communities began changing in important ways up to 400,000 years before massive die-offs ensued.Over 1:3 of North American Bird Species in Danger of Extinction 0516.rtf - Ocean & tropical forest birds are threatened most.The Quest to Protect Threatened Amphibian Species 0516.rtf - 1/3 of amphibian species threatened. 160 already disappeared.1 in 5 of World's Plant Species at Risk of Extinction 0516.rtfClimate vs. Primate - Dawn of Extinction? 0316.rtfDealing with Climate Change in Costa Rica's Monteverde Cloud Forest 0116.rtfMore than Half the Amazon Tree Species Are at Risk of Extinction 1115.rtfClimate Change Means One World’s Death and Another’s Birth 0915.rtfChanging Climate Could Even Oust the Oriole from Baltimore 0915.rtfGlobal Extinction Rates - Why Do Estimates Vary So Wildly? 0815.rtfAndes' Migrating Trees Are Moving towards Extinction 0815.rtfDuring Mass Extinction, No Species Safe 0815.rtfAbrupt Climate Change May Have Doomed Mammoths and Other Megafauna 0715.rtfHumans Are Causing Catastrophic Ecosystem Shifts 0615.rtfEarth is in the Midst of a Man-Made Extinction Event Not Seen for 65 Million Years 0615.rtf1 in 6 of World's Species Faces Extinction from Climate Change 0415.rtfAcidic Oceans Helped Fuel Greatest Extinction 0415.rtfDid Climate Change Kill This Hoosier Butterfly? 0315.rtfMass Die-offs of Fish, Birds, Mammals Increasing 0115.rtfOcean Life Faces Mass Extinction, Broad Study Says 0115.rtf13 Species We Might Have to Say Goodbye to in 2015 - 0115.rtfEarth Faces 6th ‘Great Extinction’ 1214.rtfAnimal Extinctions From Climate Rival End of Dinosaurs 1114.rtfGrowth, Global Warming Threaten African Species 0714.rtfWarming Could Bring Snakes as long as Buses, Horses the Size of Cats 1113.rtfExtinction Rates, Today vs History - May 0110.pdfAcid Rain, Ozone Depletion Contributed to Greatest Extinction 1113.rtf1:3 of Species Now Face Extinction 1109.rtf - of assessed species: 70% of plants, 21% of mammals, 12% of birds, 30% of amphibians, 37% of freshwater fish, 35% of invertebrates.20% of Animal Species Slide to Extinction 1010.rtfFast-Moving Climate Zones Speed Extinction 0413.rtfAncient Extinction Has Ominous Lessons for Today 0313.rtfMass Extinction Forecast with 6°C Warming 0113.rtfIce Age Warmth Repeatedly Wiped Out Lemmings in Regions 1112.rtfExtreme Global Warming Caused Largest Extinction Ever 1012.rtfAntarctic Warming Plummets Krill, Penguin Populations 0411.rtfUp to 50% to Go Extinct in 100 Years 0111.rtf2°C Means 20% of Species Extinct 1209.rtfWarming Drives Caribou to Extinction 1009.rtfWarming Like Today's Caused Greatest Extinction 1108.rtfExtinctions from Warming 0705.rtf6th Great Extinction 0307.rtf - Climate has played a critical role in past fluctuations of biodiversity levels. Among the 5 recognized mass extinction events -- Ordovician, Devonian, Permian, Triassic, and Cretaceous -- at least 4 are correlated to climate change…. "For the Permian, the greatest mass extinction on record, … global warming ... produced temperatures 1 – 30°C (18-54°F) higher than today. It wiped out 95% of ocean life forms and almost 75% of terrestrial species."Dead Zones Warming Extinguished Most Species 180 Mya 0213.rtf900 Tropical Bird Species Could Go Extinct by 2100 0312.rtf

Earth is in the Midst of a Man-Made Extinction Event Not Seen for 65 Million Years 0615.rtf

Extinction Rates, Today vs History - May 0110.pdf

Graph below is from page 4

"Species extinction rates, expressed as extinctions per 1,000 species per 1,000 years. The fossil record tells us that, in the distant past, less than one mammal went extinct every 1,000 years. In the recent past, the number of extinctions has increased 3 orders of magnitude higher than that of the fossil records."
That is, mammal extinction rates are hundreds of times (200-500 x) background rates.