Caribou

Arctic: Why the Ice is Melting and CO₂ Emissions Are Rising

The Arctic, once a stable reservoir of organic carbon, is now releasing more carbon dioxide (CO₂) than it absorbs. According to the latest NOAA Arctic Report Card 2024, thawing permafrost, increased microbial activity, and more frequent wildfires are driving this development. The Arctic, which long functioned as a carbon sink,

Continue reading
11 Animals We Have Lost in the Last 50 Years
Over the past 50 years, we have lost numerous animal species forever – a testament to the devastating impact of our actions on nature.

11 Animals We Have Lost in the Last 50 Years

The extinction of animal species is one of the most tragic consequences of human interference with nature. It not only means the irreversible loss of unique creatures but also the collapse of ecosystems whose stability depends on these species. Estimates suggest that in recent decades, around 500 to 1,000 documented

Continue reading
truffles (velvet potato fungus)

What Connects Extinct Moas, Colorful Truffles, and Climate Change?

New Zealand, known for its unique flora and fauna, holds many secrets from the past. One of these was recently uncovered by a study published in Biology Letters: The extinct upland moa (Megalapteryx didinus) was not only a majestic bird but also played a key role in spreading the spores

Continue reading
Extinction versus Eradication
Left: Natural Extinction – the fossil of a dinosaur in a drought-stricken landscape. Right: Human Eradication – a dodo in a deforested and destroyed habitat. The contrast highlights humanity's responsibility for species extinction.

Extinct or Eradicated? – How Humans Make the Difference

I’m not sure if it was because I received two books about species that went extinct in modern times as Christmas gifts, but someone in my family felt compelled to inform me that extinction is just a natural process. “Species have always gone extinct; it’s completely normal,” they said. And

Continue reading
African forest elephants

WWF Living Planet Report 2024: Global Wildlife Populations Have Declined by 73%

The recently published WWF Living Planet Report 2024 highlights the alarming state of global biodiversity. The decline in animal populations is drastic and threatens the ecological balance. Vertebrate species such as mammals, birds, fish, amphibians, and reptiles have been particularly affected, with significant declines since the 1970s. Shrinking vertebrate populations

Continue reading
Stephens Island wren
Lyall's wren went extinct less than ten years after humans settled on Stephens Island. It is considered a classic example of the extinction of an island endemic species, which had no natural defenses against invasive predators. Vertebrate Zoology Curator, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons)

Human-Caused Species Loss: Global Impact Far Greater Than Expected

A study published in early October in the journal Science suggests that human-caused species loss has far-reaching consequences that were previously underestimated. The scientists highlight the fact that the extinction of bird species has not only wiped out ecological roles but also billions of years of unique evolutionary history. In

Continue reading
dwarf hippopotamus

New Study: Dwarf Hippopotamuses and Elephants in Cyprus Driven to Extinction by a Few Thousand People

New research reveals that dwarf elephants (Palaeoloxodon cypriotes) and dwarf hippopotamuses (Phanourios minor) on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus were driven to extinction after the arrival of Paleolithic humans around 14,000 years ago. A small population of possibly just 3,000 people was enough to wipe out these animals within a

Continue reading
biorepository on the moon to save endangered species

The Preservation of Biodiversity: A Lunar Biorepository

Could the Moon soon serve as a storage site for frozen biological samples of endangered species? In a recently published paper in the journal BioScience, researchers from the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute present a futuristic idea: the establishment of a biorepository on the Moon. The scientists aim

Continue reading
thylacine at UCL Grant Museum in London

Extinctions: How Many Animal Species Have We Already Wiped Out?

There have been five mass extinction events in the history of Earth’s biodiversity, all caused by natural phenomena. It is believed that the sixth mass extinction is currently underway, this time solely driven by human activities. The Thylacine, the aurochs, and the dodo are just a few of the most

Continue reading
Preventing the Sixth Mass Extinction by Protecting the Kazakhstan Steppe

Sixth Mass Extinction Can Be Averted by Protecting Certain Areas – New Study Reveals

In a new study published in Frontiers in Science, conservationists and scientists demonstrate that preserving biodiversity hotspots, which comprise only 1.22 percent of the Earth’s surface, could protect the remaining biodiversity and prevent a sixth mass extinction. This strategy could save endangered species from extinction and secure the planet’s wildlife

Continue reading