Category Archives: Extinction
BIZARRELY REASSURING OR DEEPLY DEPRESSING?
November 2007 This is the conclusion to a review in Nature by Chris Thomas (York) of a new book by paleontologist Michael Novacek, Terra, about the possibility of a new, human-driven, mass extinction event: “The geological perspective of Terra is … Continue reading
Filed under Books, Extinction
DID A METEOR DO FOR NORTH-AMERICAN MAMMALS?
May 2007 Geological evidence suggests that a 5km-diameter meteor may have exploded over North America around 13,000 years ago. This could explain the disappearance of several species of mammal around that time, including North American camels and the sabre-tooth tiger. Nature news item including … Continue reading
Filed under Extinction, Mammals
EXTINCTION AND SPECIATION
March 2007 Interesting article in Science looking at the role of latitude in extinction and speciation. The authors conclude: ” most efforts have aimed at identifying the geological, climatic, and ecological factors that might have elevated tropical speciation rates, our results suggest that both … Continue reading
Filed under Ecology (scientific), Evolution, Extinction
LIFE THROUGH TIME
January 2007 Stunning pictures illustrating the appearance and evolution of life on Earth, and the conditions involved, here.
Filed under Books, Evolution, Extinction, Images
WHERE’S THE BAIJI?
December 2006 Sad article about attempts to find the baiji, the freshwater dolphin that lives/lived in the Yangtze in China, and which we may have just made extinct. Article here; slideshow here.
Filed under Extinction, Mammals
CLIMATE CHANGE THREATENS MOBILE SPECIES
November 2006 Future changes in the global climate could have a catastrophic effect on highly mobile or migratory species, warns a UN report here.
Filed under Climate change, Ecology (political), Extinction
DO DINGOS GOOD?
November 2006 A new study suggests that the decline in Australian marsupials may have been partly caused by the decline in the numbers of the top predator – the dingo. BBC summary article here; original article here (open access).
Filed under Ecology (scientific), Extinction, Mammals, Marsupials
DO THE STARS AFFECT MAMMAL EXTINCTION PATTERNS?
September 2006 The mean lifespan of a mammal species is around 2.5 million years, which is relatively brief. Study of a 22 million year rodent fossil record from Spain shows that their patterns of extinction are correlated with long astronomical cycles in the … Continue reading
Filed under Extinction, Insects, Mammals, Videos
