Category Archives: Biodiversity Loss

If we lose enough species, we’ll drive ourselves extinct as well

Fungi destroy bees, bats, amphibians, trees, etc

Attack of the Killer Fungi: Rising Threat Worries Scientists Wynne Parry, LiveScience   11 April 2012 An unprecedented number of diseases caused by fungi have been causing some of the most severe die-offs and extinctions ever witnessed in wild species and … Continue reading

Posted in Biodiversity Loss, Extinction | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Fungi destroy bees, bats, amphibians, trees, etc

40% of amphibians face imminent extinction

Wake, D. 2 Mar 2012. Facing Extinction in Real Time. Science vol 335, 1052-53. Throughout the world, amphibians are in decline, and many species—perhaps 40%—face imminent extinction. Recent studies have discovered why amphibians are dying. The amphibian decline is happening … Continue reading

Posted in Biodiversity Loss, Extinction | Comments Off on 40% of amphibians face imminent extinction

Hunting can drive species extinct

14 Jan 2009. Humans’ prey species evolving dangerously fast. NewScientist. Hunters and fishermen go after the largest catches they can find, which is driving evolution in a way unlike anything else on Earth, and the rapid changes triggered in wild … Continue reading

Posted in Biodiversity Loss, Extinction | Comments Off on Hunting can drive species extinct

Biodiversity in glacier-fed rivers threatened by climate change

So many of these articles belong in several different places, the web of life is hard to categorize and put in one spot. 16 Mar 2012. “Glacial river biodiversity”. Nature Climate Change. Glacial melt water increases biodiversity in mountainous freshwater … Continue reading

Posted in Biodiversity Loss, Climate Change | Comments Off on Biodiversity in glacier-fed rivers threatened by climate change

Bats that eat crop pests are dying off

There’s an animal apocalypse afoot in the Northeastern U.S. Between 5.7 million and 6.7 million bats are estimated to have died since 2006 from white-nose fungus in 16 U.S. states and Canada, according to officials at the U.S. Fish and … Continue reading

Posted in Biodiversity Loss, Extinction | Comments Off on Bats that eat crop pests are dying off

Invasive species unchecked by climate

Philip Hulme of the Bio-Protection Research Centre, Lincoln University, New Zealand writes in the 3 Feb 2012 issue of Science: Climate change is likely to devastate native species and biodiversity. But ironically, invasive alien species — which are a threat … Continue reading

Posted in Biodiversity Loss, Extinction | Comments Off on Invasive species unchecked by climate

Loss of Top Predators

James A. Estes, et al. 15 Jul 2011.  Trophic Downgrading of Planet Earth. Science vol 333. Before men, large predators and herbivores had huge influences on nature across land, ocean, and fresh water ecosystems.  Their loss has a “trophic cascade” … Continue reading

Posted in Biodiversity Loss, Extinction | Comments Off on Loss of Top Predators

Climate Change: creatures collide, compete, parasitize one another

Climate change models of biodiversity loss are underestimating future extinctions, because as animals move around they compete and parasitize each other.  Already animals and plants that can’t handle increasing temperatures are moving to cooler places. Some can’t move fast enough … Continue reading

Posted in Biodiversity Loss, Extinction | Comments Off on Climate Change: creatures collide, compete, parasitize one another

Stephen Meyer: The Extinction Crisis is Over. We Lost.

Stephen M. Meyer. Apr/May 2004. End of the Wild.  The extinction crisis is over. We lost.  Boston Review. Stephen M. Meyer is a professor of political science at MIT and the director of the MIT Project on Environmental Politics and … Continue reading

Posted in Biodiversity Loss, Extinction | Comments Off on Stephen Meyer: The Extinction Crisis is Over. We Lost.

Climate Change: unprecedented RATE species can’t adapt to

  5 Dec 2011. Climate Changes Faster Than Species Can Adapt, Rattlesnake Study Finds. ScienceDaily. The ranges of species will have to change dramatically as a result of climate change between now and 2100 because the climate will change more … Continue reading

Posted in Biodiversity Loss, Extinction | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Climate Change: unprecedented RATE species can’t adapt to